Mildred Street to Get Bike Lane, Crosswalks and Pedestrian Islands in Traffic Safety Grant

Tacoma streets will get some needed improvements, thanks to more than $1.9 million in safety grants for Public Works from the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The grants were awarded based on the cost-effectiveness of proposed safety improvements and on Tacoma's ability to deliver the projects quickly, according to a city press release. 

This project will rehabilitate Mildred Street from South 19th Street to South 12th Street. In conjunction with the repaving, the project will reduce the number of travel lanes from five to three in order to provide bike lanes, improved transit access, landscaped medians, pedestrian refuge islands and a new mid-block crosswalk with flashing warning beacons. 

The grant will also fund low cost safety improvements at intersections throughout the City of Tacoma. Most improvements will be conducted at signalized intersections, with priority given to the busiest intersections with the most collisions. The work will include installation of durable reflective pavement markings and improved signage, as well as new crosswalks, stop bars, arrows and lane lines. 

It will install a traffic signal and add pedestrian curb bulbs at the intersection of South 25th Street and J Street, interconnecting five nearby traffic signals. The project will also improve curb ramps and signal detection at the intersections of South 25th Street and Yakima Avenue and South 25th Street and Tacoma Avenue. 

Do you think this grant will improve the quality of Mildred Street? Tell us in the comments.