Hello and thanks for checking out Transiterranean, a Tacoma-centric transit newsletter-blog exploring commuting, food, drink, and destinations across the City of Destiny, Puget Sound, and beyond! I’m Michael Grass, a former journalist and communications professional who has lived car-free for about 25 years, including in Washington, D.C., New York City, Seattle, Bellingham, and now Tacoma. 

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Sound Transit’s T Line light-rail trains in Tacoma have been out of commission most of this week for track repairs at Pacific Avenue & S. 21st Street. Free shuttle vans have replaced trains and are stopping near T Line stations along the route. The shuttle service has mirrored the T Line’s regular weekday schedule, but in my experience in recent days, they haven’t been as punctual as the trains normally are.

As a regular T Line rider, I’ve found it easier to use Pierce Transit’s Route 1 to go between Hilltop and Downtown Tacoma rather than waiting for the replacement shuttle. The shuttle vans are handicapped accessible but offer limited seating compared to T Line’s fleet of Brookville and Skoda light-rail vehicles.

Regular train service along the T Line was supposed to resume on Friday morning but Sound Transit alerts indicate that won’t happen until Saturday’s start of service. 

With new spring service changes now in effect, Pierce Transit has boosted weekday service frequencies on Routes 1 and 3, bringing consistent service approximately every 15 minutes along the routes for most of the day.

Although these two routes had already featured service every 15 minutes during certain parts of the day, the boosted service filled some notable gaps in the schedule, giving riders a more reliable expectation they can walk up to a stop and not wait much more than 15 minutes for a bus. Route 1 connects Spanaway, Downtown Tacoma, and Tacoma Community College via 6th Avenue and Pacific Avenue; Route 3 connects Downtown Tacoma with Lakewood via Tacoma Mall and South Tacoma Way.

With Route 1, from the Pacific Avenue & S. 14th Street schedule time point in Downtown Tacoma, TCC-bound buses previously featured weekday departures at 8 a.m., 8:16 a.m., 8:47 a.m., 9:17 a.m., 9:31 a.m., and 9:57 a.m. That left 30-minute gaps in service on Pierce Transit’s highest-ridership route during during the 8 and 9 o’clock hours.

Pierce Transit added 8 new northbound and 10 new southbound weekday trips to Route 1.

Looking at the same Pacific Avenue & S. 14th Street time point in Downtown Tacoma, TCC-bound Route 1 buses now depart at 8 a.m., 8:17 a.m., 8:32 a.m., 8:47 a.m., 9:02 a.m., 9:17 a.m., 9:31 a.m., 9:42 a.m., and 9:57 a.m.

These service changes for Routes 1 and 3, part of Pierce Transit’s Service Recovery Plan, don’t include any service improvements on Saturdays and Sundays, something that can hopefully change in the future.

The Stream Community Line, a limited-stop bus service between the Spanaway Transit Center and Tacoma Dome Station via Pacific Avenue, has been extended northward into Downtown Tacoma.

North of Tacoma Dome, Community Line buses now stop at Pacific Avenue & S. 19th Street (the stop for UW Tacoma and Union Station), Pacific Avenue & S. 14th Street (adjacent to an expanse of Diamond Parking surface lots), and the Commerce Street Transit Center (Pierce Transit’s main bus hub in Downtown Tacoma).

After plans to upgrade Route 1 along Pacific Avenue into a bus rapid transit line fell short, Pierce Transit launched the Stream Community Line in 2024 as a separate limited-stop route during peak periods.

The revised Community Line schedule features weekday departures every 20 minutes during peak morning and afternoon travel periods.

The March 28 launch of Sound Transit’s 2 Line Crosslake Connection between Seattle and King County’s Eastside over Lake Washington — featuring the world’s first rail service over a floating bridge — was a great moment for our region.

Now that the Sound Transit 2 expansion program, approved by the region’s voters in 2008, has concluded with the opening of the Crosslake Connection, attention has turned to the Sound Transit 3 expansion program, which was approved by voters in 2016 but is facing a significant budget shortfall that is threatening the delivery of voter-approved transit projects across the region.

The Sound Transit Board of Directors met at the Tacoma Art Museum on March 18 for a retreat to set the stage for additional board deliberation in the coming weeks to realign the ST3 program, including decisions that would likely cut or defer certain projects. Although there are no set plans for how to defer or eliminate projects, there are three main approaches the board is considering: One that would prioritize projects farthest along in planning, like the West Seattle Link Extension; a second that would prioritize projects that connect regional centers, like the Tacoma Dome and Everett extensions; and a third that phases the delivery of all projects across the region. (Although that last approach was presented as a theoretical planning exercise and not a likely outcome, a recent KOMO-TV headline about the possibility of truncating the Tacoma Dome Link Extension at Fife has caused a lot of confusion.)

There’s no shortage of opinions on how Sound Transit and regional leaders ended up in such an unenviable position and what they should do to get the ST3 program on a better financial footing to deliver the projects promised to voters.

For those keeping track of what projects are at stake in Tacoma and Pierce County, here’s a rundown of considerations Sound Transit board members — including Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, Tacoma City Councilmember Kristina Walker, Fife Mayor Kim Roscoe, and Fircrest Councilmember Hunter George — will be deliberating with their colleagues from across the region. ST3 realignment decisions by the board are anticipated by late May or June.

During Tacoma on the Go’s April 3 Friday Forum, Tacoma Mayor Anders Ibsen and Mello discussed local and regional transportation issues, including the current efforts to reassess voter-approved ST3 system expansion projects across the region in the face of spiraling costs and delays. 

Ibsen and Mello noted that building the full Tacoma Dome Link Light Extension remains the county’s and city’s shared top Sound Transit priority. The Tacoma City Council recently sent a letter to Sound Transit reiterating the importance of delivering the full Tacoma Dome Link Extension, which has already been pushed back from a 2030 opening to a 2035 start of service, without further delay.

“I want to emphasize,” Mello said, “that our number one priority is getting Link to Tacoma Dome. We are going to do everything we know to make that happen.”

Although the 1 Line’s planned extension, which will connect Tacoma Dome Station with Federal Way and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, dominates ST3 conversations in Pierce County, Mello noted during the Tacoma on the Go Friday Forum that the ST3 plan also includes two other deliverables in the South Sound. While extending the 1 Line to Tacoma Dome has “99% of everyone’s attention,” he observed, there “is more than Link light rail to be delivered from Sound Transit” in Pierce County.

As local leaders in Tacoma and Pierce County dig in their heels to protect the Tacoma Dome Link Extension and their peers across the region fight to preserve their own local ST3 projects, the importance of the South Sound’s other projects may fail to register more broadly. Unlike Issaquah Mayor Mark Mullet rallying a local coalition in his city to protect the proposed Line 4 on King County’s Eastside or the recent march to save the Ballard Link Extension in Seattle, aside from Tacoma on the Go’s advocacy efforts, there doesn’t yet seem to be a comparable vocal contingency in Tacoma and Pierce County speaking out to defend the proposed T Line extension and Sounder investments.

A singular focus on delivering light-rail access to the airport could squander the attention that’s desperately needed on other transportation investments in the South Sound. That not only includes the other ST3 projects Mello mentioned but also more low-hanging fruit, like finally replacing and retiring the aging MCI buses uses for ST Express routes serving Pierce County and improving Downtown Tacoma’s transit connections to the 1 Line terminus at Federal Way.

It’s unfortunate that Sound Transit couldn’t have accelerated the rollout of 15-minute service frequencies on Route 574 when the Federal Way Link Extension opened in December. (Instead, ST Express bus route and schedule changes are coming this fall.) Even with the boosted 574 service that’s coming, most Tacoma folks looking to connect with the 1 Line via bus will first need to make it to Tacoma Dome Station, since it’s where the only 574 stops are located within the city limits.

Disclosure: I periodically attend Tacoma on the Go events and donate money to support their important work in Tacoma and Pierce County.

After new vinyl seat inserts started rolling out on Sound Transit’s Link light-rail train cars in the Seattle area this winter following a pilot project in 2024 to study customer preferences, new seating inserts have been popping up on T Line trains in Tacoma as the older cloth seating covers are removed.

I’ve regularly encountered the new seat inserts on T Line trains in Tacoma, which feature a distinctive blue pattern with triangles and hexagons. They’ve been popping up on Link trains in Seattle especially along the 2 Line.

According to Sound Transit, agency surveying from the pilot project showed that customers indicated a strong preference for vinyl seats over the older cloth seat covers: “More than 2,300 passengers responded — and the results were clear. Vinyl seats earned higher ratings across every category, with an average satisfaction score of 4.06 out of 5, compared to 3.08 for cloth seats.”

Like the new vinyl seat inserts for Link trains in Seattle, priority seating areas for T Line riders with mobility challenges are more clearly marked.

While it may be challenging to officially pinpoint our region’s nicest train or bus seating material, a top contender should be these Intercity Transit bus seats in Olympia. Although they use a fairly standard American Seating modules for GILLIG-manufactured coaches, Intercity Transit buses also feature super comfortable Momentum-Silica upholstery with a bold blue and green pattern.

With the spring ahead for the daylight savings time shift last month, sunset in Tacoma is now approaching 8 p.m. We’re headed into the time of year when people spend more time out and about in the evenings as sunsets become later and later heading toward summer solstice. It’s a great time to explore Downtown Tacoma and its concentration of local businesses, restaurants, and cultural destinations. It’s also a nice time to enjoy Wright Park later into the evenings and other neighborhoods along the T Line.

Although the T Line plays an important role in bringing people to and from downtown destinations via light rail and connecting them with Tacoma Dome, Hilltop, Wright Park and the Stadium District, it only provides sufficient service six days a week.

On Sundays, not only do T Line trains have reduced service frequencies — trains arrive every 20 minutes vs. every 12 minutes the rest of the week — the last trains wrap up service in the 6 o’clock hour. The last St. Joseph-bound train departs Tacoma Dome at 6 p.m.; the last Tacoma Dome-bound train departs St. Joseph at 6:32 p.m. (T Line trains also start around 10 a.m. on Sundays, which as I’ve previously noted, leads to breakfast-planning conundrums.)

For Hilltop, Stadium District and Wedge District residents who rely on transit, that means Pierce Transit’s Route 1 becomes an especially important connection on Sundays since it’s one of the few local bus routes with later service on Sunday evenings. The last buses leaving Downtown Tacoma on Routes 11 and 16, which serve the Stadium District, depart around 6 p.m. Similarly, the last buses on Routes 28 and 57, which serve Hilltop, depart downtown around 6 p.m.

In a previous Transiterranean newsletter-blog item, I highlighted the challenges of getting home via transit from a performance of Tacoma Opera’s Das Rheingold at the Pantages Theatre via transit. But that was on a Friday night when transit schedules are more generous. Enjoying Tacoma via transit on Sundays is far more challenging — especially in the evenings.

While not being able to enjoy the arts in Tacoma on a Sunday evening via transit may seem trivial, but the T Line’s lackluster Sunday schedule can impact transit-reliant folks in more consequential ways, including those who can’t easily reach the Stadium Thriftway grocery store by walking.

To better support residents, local businesses, and visitors in Tacoma neighborhoods along the T Line and and other key corridors, there should be better Sunday transit service.

You don’t necessarily need a car to explore the best of what the City of Destiny offers. Here are some recent transit-accessible food and drink highlights from my transit wanderings around town you may want to consider.

There’s always something nice when you have a one-seat ride via transit to your destination, especially when that destination has pizza. 

Route 1, Pierce Transit’s highest ridership route, took me south on a recent Friday evening from Hilltop and Downtown Tacoma to Pacific Avenue & S. 21st Street on Friday evening and after a quick walk uphill one short block on S. 21st Street into Tacoma’s Brewery District, I arrived at Camp Colvos Beer + Pizza Co.  

The Tacoma outpost of the Vashon Island brewery features New York-style pizza. (Camp Colvos also runs the Canteen up the hill at the 7 Seas Tacoma taproom.) The pizzeria’s interior is tall, spacious, and features a giant cluster of hop-shaped lights. There’s also a patio area facing S. 21st Street.

The menu features a handful of traditional and specialty pizzas, plus pizza by the slice, sandwiches, and salads. My party chose to order a large 18-inch pizza, half Margherita and half with one of Camp Colvos’ specialty pies, Tahoma chicken. The latter half was a particular standout with some shredded chicken, ricotta cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and a drizzle of balsamic. The giant sun-dried tomatoes really pulled this pizza together. (You can also order a side of garlic ranch for dipping bits of crust, if that’s your jam. If you do, you won’t be disappointed.)

The Caesar salad also hit some really nice notes and was generously dressed. The dressing itself was nicely lemony and had a good amount of anchovy flavor, something that is sometimes lacking in Caesar salads at restaurants.

Since you may be bringing some home as leftovers — slices from large pizzas are gigantic — a key test with this particular pizza was that slices reheated very well in a countertop toaster oven. 

Coming up the steep hill on S. 21st Street to 7 Seas Brewery’s Tacoma tap room from the Prairie Line Trail or Pacific Avenue, you’d likely head first to the bar to find a refreshing beverage. But tucked inside the brewery is Naomi Joe’s Coffee Roasters, regarded as one of Tacoma’s best roasters, and on their menu is a small array of sparkling espresso drinks.

When paired, orange and cardamom flavors end up being such a great combination, whether it’s in a morning bun (like the one that pops up periodically in the pastry case at Three Hearts Tacoma) or in a caffeinated beverage at Naomi Joe’s.

The orange cardamom sparkling espresso is incredibly refreshing, delicious, and aromatic. It really perked me up on a sluggish afternoon.

The Broadway Farmers Market in Downtown Tacoma has resumed operations for the spring and summer season, bringing various vendors to the 900 block of Broadway on Thursdays. Compared to the Saturday market in the Proctor District, the Broadway market is far more transit accessible given its adjacency to Pierce Transit’s Commerce Street Transit Center.

I popped by this week’s market in search of a quick lunch bite. There are plenty of food vendors to choose from but the Pampeana Empanadas stand caught my eye. While I generally don’t eat too much red meat, I quickly zeroed in on the lamb empanadas. (I love lamb.) And I wasn’t disappointed.

The lamb filling was full of flavor and the pastry dough was sufficiently crisp and flaky without being overly greasy. Pampeana Empanadas bakes their empanadas, which are healthier than deep-fried or pan-fried versions.

And don’t forget to get some chimichurri on the side! It’s herby, vinegary, and punchy and pairs very well with the lamb filling.