Expanding Green Spaces and Increasing the use of Solar Energy

There’s nothing quite like the Pacific Northwest when the sun is shining and our beautiful blues skies are filled with love and laughter. 

There's nothing better than finding a nice green patch of grass to chill out upon and breathe in the clean air that our lush forests provide for us on a daily basis.  Our parks and recreation areas provide more than just a great space to enjoy alone, but they are great meeting places for the community to gather together and spend time with friends and loved ones.

There are quite a few Community Gardens around Tacoma and to be perfectly honest, they are in sad shape.  Most of what I have seen are overgrown and dilapidated, which can be a pretty daunting task to get back under control.  My guess is that people also want guidance into better practices and “How To” seminars on what it takes to garner more vegetables and healthier crops. Generating food for families as well as food for those in need.

We need to put more effort into each and every one of our Community Gardens and that is going to take more support from our City Government.

I also believe that with all of the construction projects cropping up around Tacoma, we need to provide more shared green spaces.  Many times, developers get away with building from sidewalk to sidewalk.  Simply planting solitary trees in a four foot by four foot tree grate should be an unacceptable practice.  Tacoma is lacking when it comes to collective tree canopies.  Statistically, we are far below the national average.  In fact, Tacoma ranks LAST in the Puget Sound region.  Dead last.

This is completely unacceptable.

We need to mandate more plantings per development.  In the downtown area, I recommend that we selectively choose areas in which development builds taller buildings, taking up a smaller footprint, leaving more room for shared green spaces.  Imagine being able to walk out of your apartment building, and into a small park.  One park per four buildings.  Dozens of small parks throughout downtown to be enjoyed by the masses.  Full of trees, plants, birds and bees.  Places and spaces to unwind after work, invite friends and family over to fellowship and enjoy the great outdoors.  Barbecues and benches all in the heart of what will be a beautiful downtown for everyone.

This concept not only applies to downtown, but anywhere that development is underway.  We also need to do more to protect old growth trees in our established neighborhoods.  Trees that generations of Tacoma residents have enjoyed, throughout their lifetimes.

When it comes to clean energy and the use of solar power, Tacoma should be mandating that most commercial businesses utilize not only green roof technology but solar energy as well.  With literally acres and acres of flat roofs on buildings, that space should be generating solar electric power and heating for that building as well as Tacoma’s already strained electrical grid.  As I said during the campaign in 2021, there is no good reason that the Tacoma Dome should not be utilizing solar panels.  There’s no better way to show the world that Tacoma takes ecology seriously than to adorn its most famous landmark with solar panels.  To take that message one step further, there should be LED lighting on those panels to display art, inspiring messages and information that residents need on a daily basis.  Not advertisements, but beauty.  Not to mention, another way to attract attention to our beautiful city.

Tacoma has so much to offer the world.  We can lead the way in community gardens, beautiful cityscapes and the message that our planet’s health is important to our own health as well.

In the words of Tacoma’s own Ed Hume, “Our relationship with the planet today is tomorrow’s future”.