Tacoma rises from the tideflats of Commencement Bay up a series of hills to the North End and the bluffs above the Narrows. I-5 runs through the city's south and east sides, past the Tacoma Dome, toward Seattle to the north and Lakewood, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Olympia to the south. I-705 is the short spur into downtown, and SR 16 heads west across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to Gig Harbor and the Kitsap Peninsula. SR 509 serves the port and the tideflats, SR 167 runs toward Puyallup and the Kent Valley, SR 7 follows Pacific Avenue south toward Spanaway, and SR 512 links Lakewood with Puyallup.
For a mobile mechanic, I-5 is the big obstacle. The stretch through Tacoma and Fife backs up most weekdays, especially near the Tacoma Dome and the SR 16 interchange, and military traffic headed to JBLM adds to the load. Truck traffic from the port fills SR 509 and the tideflats roads. Inside the city, though, most neighborhoods are easy to reach on surface streets, from the older homes of the North End and Proctor to the bungalows of South Tacoma, and the hills of the North End and Hilltop just mean planning for a level spot.
Sea-Tac Airport is a drive north up I-5. Sound Transit runs Sounder commuter trains from Tacoma Dome Station to Seattle and the streetcar line from the Dome through downtown to the Stadium District and Hilltop, and Pierce Transit buses fill in the rest. The University of Puget Sound, UW Tacoma downtown, Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland and the hospital district near Hilltop bring steady daily traffic.