Getting Around Tacoma

With a population of about 200,000 people, Tacoma is the third largest city in the state of Washington. Situated along Puget Sound, this waterfront city has an important location as it attracts plenty of visitors to its port and downtown business district. Tacoma has a well-developed infrastructure to accommodate the transportation needs of locals and visitors.

There are several options for arriving to downtown Tacoma including by cars, buses, trains, and ferries. The dominant form of transportation in this city is by vehicles, and there is a good road system to accommodate the heavy traffic. People traveling from any part of the west coast can end up in downtown Tacoma by taking Interstate 5, which runs in the north-south direction from Seattle down to southern California. Exits 132-134 along I-5 will lead you directly into the heart of Tacoma.

The city's planned grid layout makes it easy to navigate through the streets. Numbered streets run in the east-west direction while named streets and avenues run north to south. However, there is something tourists should keep in mind when driving through the streets of Tacoma. Either a North or South prefix precedes the numbered streets. For example, there is a North 46 street and a South 46 street, which are located in different parts of the city.

The buses of Pierce Transit provide public transportation in Tacoma. Dozens of bus routes that run through the entire city and the rest of Pierce County serve commerce Street, one of the busiest sections of downtown Tacoma. For example, Route 57 connects to Tacoma Mall while Route 1 leads to Tacoma Community College.

Another major form of public transportation in the downtown area is the Tacoma Link, provided by Sound Transit. This is a light rail service that runs between Tacoma Dome Station and South 9th Street/Theater District. Other stops along this 1.6-mile line include South 25th Street, Union Station/South 19th Street, and Convention Center/South 15th Street. All of the major attractions and other important destinations are within walking distance from any of these stations.

Only a few blocks away from Dome Station is an Amtrak station (on Puyallup Avenue), which is served by intercity lines of Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight. These lines stop at major cities such as Vancouver, Oregon, Olympia, Seattle, and Los Angeles.