PAUL SCHRAG: TACOMA STREETCAR UPDATE >>>

Most great victories are won by taking very small steps. The Tacoma Streetcar movement just made another one, cinching its status as a non-profit organization â€" a step that likely involved several hundred smaller ones, all under the scrutiny of the dreaded Internal Revenue Service, which really likes to stick its foot out when an organization starts down the road toward tax exemption.

“It took over a year,” says Tacoma Streetcar frontman Morgan Alexander.

That said, securing non-profit status will open new doors for the movement, which seems to be gaining momentum, at least the sentimental kind. Despite strong support from local political players, funding will be hard to come by, at least in the short term. With budgets drying up left and right, Alexander says he and his compatriots are keeping their eye on the prize, and will be working to gather support from local stakeholders and funding agencies.

“What we really need is our own Paul Allen,” says Alexander.

Gaining non-profit status helps move the Tacoma Streetcar movement forward in a number of ways, especially financial ones. Tax credits are often a big motivator for people looking to get rid of some money, especially large, institutional investors. But Alexander and crew are looking for all the help they can get, financial and otherwise.

“We’re really trying to move on this. We pretty much have a unanimous decision that yes, it’s worth doing,” he says. “The city did a preliminary feasibility study. We need to find some stakeholders and people in the community that want to be involved in this.”

The benefits of a streetcar system are numerous, for those wondering why the hell we need a streetcar. First, it’s a great way to connect neighborhoods and business districts. Sure, we have buses and cars and bikes, but streetcars are particularly cost effective, says Alexander, and they have a nice bit of historical significance. A new system would hearken to streetcars that ran in Tacoma during the early 20th century. Barring a full network of new tracks, a restored, vintage Tacoma streetcar could run on existing Link Light Rail tracks, which will eventually connect Tacoma’s neighborhoods as part of a complex network of commute options.

“What I would like to see as a lasting result from a streetcar system is stronger neighborhoods that are all connected,” says Alexander.

Sounds good to me.