Transportation

Transportation Division Sections

Traffic Engineering and Safety

The Traffic Engineering, Operations, and Safety section comprises staff who manage programs and carry out capital project development and review efforts, traffic signal and streetlight engineering, neighborhood traffic concerns, asset management, channelization, and overall traffic engineering pertaining to operations and safety.

Operations and Safety

This workgroup is focused on providing technical assessments to address internal and external traffic operations and safety concerns and manage roadway channelization-related controls and assets. Key resources for understanding and analyzing traffic operations and safety: Traffic Counts and Traffic Incidents within the City of Tacoma.

Neighborhood Programs

Neighborhood Programs, like traffic calming, help ensure safe traffic conditions on Tacoma’s neighborhood streets. We respond to residents’ questions and concerns regarding speeding, traffic safety, traffic signs, and similar issues. We also administer the City’s neighborhood traffic circle program and the arterial and non-arterial traffic calming programs.

The City of Tacoma’s website contains answers to a variety of Frequently Asked Questions about Neighborhood Programs, such as methods for community action regarding speeding in neighborhoods, traffic circle maintenance, speed hump installation, and signage.

Asset Management and Channelization

This workgroup’s responsibility is to provide technical assessments to address internal and external traffic operations and safety concerns. This group also focuses on the management of roadway channelization-related controls and assets.

Planning, Permitting, and Mobility

The City of Tacoma has several programs focused on creating a safer, more sustainable, and equitable active transportation network for all of Tacoma. Information about these programs and their internal City program managers can be found here. The City’s website has additional information about its Mobility Programs, including existing and funded bikeways, links to helpful mobility resources, bicycle and scooter rules of the road, Bike Month, transit, and Downtown on the Go.

The Transportation Development and Permit Review group works closely with Planning and Development Services to address transportation-related issues throughout the permitting process.

Transportation Planning

The City of Tacoma has created a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to promote safer walking and bicycling routes for K-12 students. With this program, we hope to empower students and parents to feel comfortable walking or bicycling to school, which in turn should encourage children to lead more active and healthier lifestyles.

The City has worked with the community to build a comprehensive Safe Routes to School program that includes a Safe Routes to School Action Plan.

Long-Range Transportation Planning and Vision Zero

The long-range transportation planning efforts in the City are rooted in the Transportation and Mobility Plan (TMP) that was developed with the Tacoma Transportation Commission and City of Tacoma staff. The TMP helps city staff examine its transportation systems, how well they are functioning, and what needs, including funding, will be necessary over the next 20 years and beyond.

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. Staff are currently working to create a Vision Zero Action Plan for the successful launch of Vision Zero programming throughout the City.

Development and Permit Review

The Planning, Permitting, and Mobility section reviews development applications to manage impacts to community, streets, and rights of way. Development review staff work with permit applicants on the access and street frontage features of a development application. Elements can include access design, curb placement, landscaping, sidewalk location and width, street lighting, and paving requirements. Staff also look at parking design because it affects public ways and how traffic enters and exits your site.  Staff utilize the Transportation Master Plan, Subarea Plans, Vision Zero, Safe Routes to Schools, industry best practices, and federal, state, and local regulations and codes to ensure development supports a safe and accessible transportation system for all ages and abilities.

 

Traffic Signal and Streetlight

The Traffic Signal and Streetlight section is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all traffic signals, beacons, and streetlighting for the City of Tacoma, including:

• 340+ Traffic Signals
• 22,000+ Streetlights
• 300+ School Zone and Pedestrian Crossing Beacons
• 110+ Overhead Beacons and Warning Beacons/Signs

 

Right of Way Enforcement

The Right of Way Enforcement section comprises of Parking Services and the City’s Road Use Compliance Enforcement.

The primary function of Parking Services is the management and enforcement of the City’s on-street and off-street parking systems.  There are currently over 1,800 actively managed on-street parking stalls within the downtown meter district.  The off-street system includes eleven facilities with a total of nearly 2,600 spaces.

Tacoma’s Parking System also includes parking enforcement for areas of the community that has on-street parking regulations.  This includes business districts such as Proctor, Stadium, South Tacoma Way, Proctor, and 6th Avenue along with Citywide ADA and residential parking support.

The City’s Road Use Compliance Officers (RUCO) manage a number of programs related to the safe operation of vehicles in the right-of-way throughout the City of Tacoma. RUCO manages the commercial vehicle enforcement program, abandon autos program, and enforcement of the heavy haul industrial corridor in the Port of Tacoma.