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Find Your Commute Buddy This September
This September, Ride Together Pierce will be randomly awarding eight commuters with $25 during the Find Your Commute Buddy campaign for adding or updating their commute on the trip calendar and looking for others to share the ride to work with (or being open to it).
How to Get Started:
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Register on the trip calendar at RideTogetherPierce.com.
- Save your home and work address on your profile.
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Make sure your commute is visible to everyone or those in your employer network. That's it!
Your home address is always obscured from public view.
Already have your commute in the database? Be sure to update it before the end of September!
| | Use the Trip Planner to find potential matches with users who share your commute! You can look for carpool buddies, bike buddies, bus buddies, etc. | |
Star Commuter: Nicole E. at Puyallup Public Library
Nicole rides in a vanpool from Thurston County to Pierce County and has been able to travel internationally with the amount of money she has saved! Now that's impressive!
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Be Extra Alert for Back-to-School Season
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges drivers to be alert as children head back to school. Some tips include:
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Around school buses: Drivers should slow down and prepare to stop when a school bus’s yellow lights are flashing.
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Around people walking: Drivers should always look out for pedestrians everywhere, follow the speed limit—especially in school zones and neighborhoods—and use extra caution at dark or in other hard-to-see conditions.
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Around people on bikes: Drivers should give bike riders enough room on the road, being careful not to pass too closely, yield to bike riders, and look left-right-left and behind when turning right on red.
| | Youth ride transit for free! Order a youth ORCA transit card today. | |
Week Without Driving, September 29 - October 5
If you can drive or afford a car, you may not realize what it’s like to rely on walking, rolling, transit, or asking for rides to get around.
But for nearly one-third of people living in the United States—like people with disabilities, young people, seniors, and people who can’t afford cars or gas—this is everyday life.
The Week Without Driving campaign was created so those who have the option to drive can learn firsthand about the barriers and challenges that nondrivers face and work with nondrivers to create more accessible communities.
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Pierce Transit Adjusts Service on August 31
Starting August 31, many Pierce Transit routes will have their weekday schedules adjusted.
Additionally, the Spanaway Transit Center opens on August 31, featuring a convenient Park & Ride lot, electric vehicle chargers and bus shelters. This transit center serves as the new start and end point for Route 1 and Stream Community Line.
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What Sound Transit's Station Selection Means for Freighthouse Square
The Sound Transit Board selected the "Close to Sounder" design as their preferred station design, which involves purchasing and rebuilding Freighthouse Square. This design selection will be finalized in a couple years, after an Environmental Impact Statement is published and the Board selects the project to be built.
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"Pedal with Politicians" Bike Ride Thursday, September 11, 5 p.m.
Join Downtown On the Go for their annual bike ride with elected officials and city staff. This is an opportunity to engage directly with council members and city staff about biking in Tacoma.
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PARK(ing) Day Wednesday, October 1, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in Downtown Tacoma
Celebrate international PARK(ing) Day in downtown Tacoma, a one-day global event where artists, designers, students, and community members transform curbside parking spaces into interactive, temporary public places. This event is a chance to rethink what public space can be, even just for a day.
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Sound Transit Special Event Service
Catch the Sounder train on these special event days next month:
| | Tips for riding the Sounder train or Link for the first time. | | News from Around Pierce County | | |
Sheffield Trail Reopened in Fife
On August 28, Sheffield Trail officially reopened after the City of Fife repaved and doubled the width of a portion of the trail; installed lighting bollards; added a retaining wall; cleared away the overgrown vegetation; and planted native plants and trees.
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New Non-Motorized Path Coming to Lakewood
Earlier this month, the Washington State Department of Transportation began building the Gravelly-Thorne Connector, a 1.3-mile-long, 14-foot-wide path between Tillicum and Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest in Lakewood.
The paved urban trail will run parallel to southbound I-5 and is expected to open in late fall 2026.
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In 2026, Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) will adopt an updated Regional Transportation Plan, which acts as a blueprint for the central Puget Sound’s future transportation network.
The goal of the plan is to improve mobility throughout the region and ensure that all people equitably benefit from the region’s transportation system.
PSRC is looking to connect with residents about transportation priorities at an upcoming event near you:
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Thursday, October 2, 5-7:30 p.m. at Pioneer Park Pavillion in Puyallup,
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Thursday, October 16, 5-7:30 p.m. at the Point Defiance Pagoda in Tacoma.
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If you go to baseball games at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, why not arrive by bike? There are bike racks at the Left Field entrance on the north side (pictured below) and at the main entrance on the south side. Biking guarantees you easy access getting in and out of the stadium and saves you $10-$20 on parking!
Not into biking? We recommend Pierce Transit Route 2 bus line — choose the 19th & Mullen stop, which is about a 7-minute walk to Cheney Stadium.
| | Have a transportation-related photo to share? Reply to this newsletter and share your travel photo with a brief description. If we use your photo in an upcoming issue, we will send you a $10 Starbucks card! | | | | |
