Tonight the People Gather ... at People's Park

So I'm off to Seattle tonight to celebrate my birthday with the opening film at the Seattle International Film Festival, Battle in Seattle. I'll give a full rundown tomorrow about the opening and the partying.

But my big adventure means that I'll be missing a cool event that Tacoma Chickadee just reminded me of.--Open House on Hilltop (officially, the Upper Tacoma Business District).

Every Thursday a different business district will be showcased with late hours for some stores, prizes, and bocce in a nearby park. If you're like me, you've spent a lot of time in a couple business districts but others you only have a vague idea of where they're at. It would be cool if this became something like the Frost Park Chalk Challenge, where people got together to hang out and "go local" in a new business district as a group.

Mmm ... Frosty!

I hung out at lunch today at Frost Park. Where's Frost Park you ask? It's the really ugly place on the corner of 9th & Commerce by the Park Plaza North garage. It's loud with lots of traffic ... so why was I there?

The Frost Park Chalk Challenge, of course!

Check it out here at the Tacoma Urbanist. Even if you weren't there you can still vote for your favorite chalk drawing of the set. This monster frog won my vote:


Cool event.

Ethnic Fest - Great Day for Wright Park

Mary and I wandered over to Ethnic Fest this afternoon. One of the nice things about living in the St. Helens area is that Wright Park is just two blocks away.

It was full of people today and the food is great. Gateway to India is there with a good bargain on their garlic naan and chicken curry. Go!

We also ventured over to Hannah Heights and took a tour of the nearly-completed penthouse suites. They are really well done, and some of them have incredible views. Triangle Townhomes, across the street, looks incredibly inviting from 4 or 5 stories up. I really believe that if you are a skeptic on the project it's worth going to Hannah Heights just to look out over the rooftop decks at the Triangle. The appeal is self-evident. I know they have a lot of problems, but on a Saturday in July I don't know that anyone would care about those when you can sit on the roof and drink a beer.

We'll probably grab some more food from Ethnic Fest tomorrow and wander around the neighborhood a little bit more.

A new tourist stop at the Grand Canyon

Here's a perspective you wouldn't see every day ...

More here at National Geographic.

My suggestion for a new Tacoma Park

I'd like to propose a new park for Tacoma: a long walking park, stretching 24 blocks in the North End.

I don't have to explain to any Tacoman that north of 6th Ave, traffic on Union is split by a wide green space, populated with trees and grass. I've walked Union on that strip of green space and was surprised to find there was no path or any sign that anyone thinks it would actually be a good idea to walk there.

But it is a beautiful walk and could make for a great park, I think. Here's what to do:

• First, remove the bike lanes out of the traffic flow, allowing Tacoma to widen the green strip by roughly 6 feet without impeding traffic flow. The bike lanes and a walking path can be added in the middle of the new park.
• Second, add more trees on either side of the park, and add fixtures along the way to keep it well lit.
• Third, put public art sculptures along the path.
• And fourth, if you really want to get gutsy, instead of justing letting the park die out near 6th, why not figure out a way to bring it all the way to 6th and Union?

I think it could be a great walking area for the city and may be a beautiful green space that could eventually be extended. Perhaps from Union and 30th it could go toward Proctor and tie in with the trail that currently goes from the Proctor bridge down to the waterfront and the Ruston Way Promenade. Once we're at Ruston, we can connect to Point Defiance and from there we have an incredible green path through the city.

A long time ago someone told me of their dream of a bike path from Gig Harbor to Mt. Rainier. We may have just completed a long leg of the Tacoma section.