Name that space - Step IV: The Poll Results

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Pacific Plaza naming poll. The results are in and the standout name you chose was Pacific Plaza. Here's a quick rundown of the totals:



Votes

23	Pacific Plaza

8	Triangle Square

7	Pacific Steps

7	Rainier Square

5	Tollefson Town Square

4	Pacific Promenade

2	People's Plaza

1	Cascade Square

1	Convention Center Plaza

1	Harold M. Tollefson Square

1	Tacoma Art Plaza

1	Tacoma Triangle

1	Tollefson Pacific Plaza

62	TOTAL VOTES

View Full Results

Although the total number of votes may not seem like much it's past my goal to be able to make a point to the city council. That point is that on any given day at any give council or landmarks comission meeting is there ever over 40 or 50 public participants expected? If not, the poll on this website shows that, with a little effort, participation can be raised with some creative thinking so more people that live in this city can feel included.

Thanks again for voting! Over the next couple days I'll layout what I plan to say on the Pacific Plaza renaming topic at the Aug. 22 council meeting. I got a couple emails from my op ed piece in yesterday's Trib so my energy on this topic continues to be high. Keep next Tuesday night at 5pm in-mind because I'd like to have a few people besides me there to say a word or two in support of this issue. More to come.

Comments (4) | To Top

8/14/2006 @ 7:38am

Yeah! I'm very pleased with your results. I think it's important to keep the name people are already beginning to associate with the area. But I also love the sense of humor displayed by my fellow Tacomans with the runner up of Triangle Square! If we had been allowed two votes my second would have gone to this name.
Thank you for your work on this, Kevin, and we will be with you on Tuesday.

by Angela

8/14/2006 @ 11:19am

Cool. What fun and a way to have civic engagement at the same time.

Your results certainly are not a scientific poll of all of Tacomans.

Yet, with that said, the results certainly do show something. People seem to like Pacific Plaza. Alot.

Furthermore, other top selections had the word Pacific in them as well (34 of 62)

If the name of the area is changed, it appears the next top name would be Tacoma Triangle.

In a head to head comparison, Pacific Plaza received 23 times as many votes as the proposed name.

by Erik

8/17/2006 @ 9:07pm

I completely agree with the results here. As a city parks director, I all too often see this desire to memorialize people with park names. For me however, parks and public spaces are, first and foremost, physical places – places that have or should have meaning to people that they can relate to, places that are -- as a News Tribune editorial once called such parks – “the heart and soul of the community.” Naming practices should in my view be anchored around such signifiers, i.e. physical landmarks, views, rivers, geography, spirit meaning. These are the things that we as individuals and as communities connect to most deeply. Case in point: do we really feel a connection to or care about the individual for which Mt. “Rainier” is named after? Or would we all feel a deeper bond with the mountain were its official name and we all were still calling it “Mt Tahoma”, the Salishan word for snow peak? Places are what they are … we shouldn’t rely on them to remind us of people. That is our job, as keepers of our culture and historians. Places have their intrinsic nature and meaning that is lessened when we slap somebody’s name on them that is unrelated. If former Mayor Tollefson is deserving to be memorialized, let the City put a statue of him somewhere. Remember, this plaza is a place that we want to have meaning for a far larger and more diverse community of residents and visitors for generations to come, not just for a small circle of Tacoma historians.

by Michael

6/8/2008 @ 3:37pm

call it rat plaza ..for the wokers , that are on this job under cutting livable paying jobs

by s

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Mon. August 14, 2006, 07:10am PDT

Name that space - Step IV: The Poll Results

8/14/2006 @ 7:38am

8/14/2006 @ 11:19am

8/17/2006 @ 9:07pm

6/8/2008 @ 3:37pm

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