Posted Mon, Apr 23, 6:42 a.m.

My take: http://citycomfortsblog.typepad.com/cities/2012/04/sparring-on-transit.html

Posted Mon, Apr 9, 12:22 p.m.

TIF is a bad idea. TIF is the very worst combination of liberals who don't have any business sense and business people who have no concern for the public. • If a project makes economic sense it will get built. • If a project needs public subsidies to build it, ...

Posted Fri, Jan 27, 9:06 a.m.

65 foot "towers." That's preposterous. Surely you jest, Ivan.

Posted Sat, Jan 21, 6:30 a.m.

Yes it looks grim these days, based on Republican primaries and President DINO ("Democrat In Name Only") but when has it looked otherwise? At what time in human history have people been making anything but very human (i.e.very flawed) decisions? It's a rare time, if ever, where people move en ...

Posted Mon, Dec 12, 1:14 p.m.

I misspoke. The "edit" function does not work with an iPad.

Posted Mon, Dec 12, 7:06 a.m.

PS too bad Crosscut doesn't have a function to allow commenters to make edits to correct typos, etc

Posted Mon, Dec 12, 7:05 a.m.

Excellent idea! Naming is the first step in caring for.

Posted Tue, Nov 22, 8:37 a.m.

My understanding is that, according to John Kerry, Congress told Obama to stay out of these latest budget negotiations. That sorta undercuts TVD's point.

Posted Fri, Nov 18, 6:54 p.m.

Curious to hear reactions from police officers.

Posted Tue, Nov 15, 6:37 p.m.

Bluelight has an interesting idea. If NPR had to float on its own bottom -- through advertising which it already does -- then it would be freed to do better (I.e. more liberal ) programming. And there are plenty of advertisers who would be happy to reach the NPR demographic. ...

Posted Mon, Nov 14, 8:55 a.m.

I agree with you about how unfortunate it is that park is closed and I think you might have spoken a lot more bluntly about the political and human dynamics. I was the City's very first staffer to work on Shoreline Management -- we are talking1971 -- and I remember ...

Posted Mon, Nov 14, 8:34 a.m.

Why does the City would emphasize control of storm water from roofs through rain gardens? Run-off from roofs is relatively clean and while it may create overflows, so is run-off from parking lots and streets. The huge issue is the dirty water from parking lots and streets -- that's where ...

Posted Thu, Nov 10, 9:37 a.m.

The only problem with a "reform" party is when you start getting into the details -- exactly what to reform and how. It sounds very nice -- who can be against reform? -- but once you start talking about what it is -- specific proposals -- then normal (and healthy) ...

Posted Fri, Oct 21, 8:07 a.m.

I wonder if it might have made even more sense for M'soft to spend $8.5 billion by using the $$$ to make an operating system as good as Apple's? To protect its own franchise and dominance in operating systems rather than getting into a new business? Ya know, re-design the ...

Posted Wed, Oct 5, 7:17 p.m.

Some buildings use natural gas (Puget Sound Energy) for space heating and water heating or in the case of the CBD, by steam (Seattle Steam, as I think it used to be called.) So you can't just get all the records from City Light. •• The effort to inventory energy ...

Posted Wed, Sep 14, 10:23 p.m.

Big winner? Tea Party. Am I the only one thing undecided (and troubled) by what is claimed to be congressional districts based on ethnicity?

Posted Sat, Sep 3, 11:39 p.m.

It may well be true that it would be a nice idea to implement "...a bold plan for the future requires coordination and consolidation of local power into a new regional form of governance," but since it is not going to happen, it migh be best to consider ideas which ...

Posted Wed, Aug 17, 11:47 a.m.

Judging from the visualization (above,) if you wanted a highway on the waterfront, you'll get it.

Posted Thu, Aug 11, 7:23 a.m.

I am all in favor of "good things" but the only thing I can take away from this piece is that getting big grants is a good thing. The article states but doesn't show that anyone did anything except to hire a "coordinator." Articles like this one and others -- ...

Posted Wed, Aug 10, 7:58 a.m.

Hey! Maybe no one has suggested this idea: why not REPAIR the Viaduct? Just as we did with the Spokane Street Viaduct, which is on-time and on-budget (of $165 million for roughly half the work done for the AWV!) Try it! You'll like it!

Posted Wed, Aug 3, 8:11 p.m.

Hey Gloomy, my anonymous hide-behind friend: The point is that Brewster himself has made it clear that the powers never took the Retrofit seriously -- Brewster states so explicitly: the politics for a Retrofit wasn't there -- so they never wanted the Retrofit to work. Look we all know that ...

Posted Wed, Aug 3, 7:36 p.m.

As to the notion that a private citizen is capable and able to finance counter-engineering studies to show that a Retrofit can work -- you are talking preposterous humor.

Posted Wed, Aug 3, 7:34 p.m.

Hey Gloomy -- Go look at the Retrofit at Spokane Street Viaduct -- on time and on budget managed by our own SDOT -- and tell me that a Retrofit can' work. You have obviously also drunk the same kool-aid.

Posted Wed, Aug 3, 3:26 p.m.

Thanks, David Brewster, for illustrating my point: that a minority of people in Seattle made it impossible to consider the Retrofit in the form of the "big lie" that the Viaduct cannot be Rebuilt-in-Place. Both factions (Tunnel and S/T) joined a conspiracy of silence to make the Retrofit impossible to ...

Posted Tue, Aug 2, 8:56 p.m.

Good sub-title: "How the Viaduct issue has become such a high-stakes, unending, deeply meaningful battle over the future of Seattle." Unfortunately the article totally misses the very biggest story of all: the unstated but tacit agreement by Tunnelists and S/Ters to ignore the Retrofit and to participate in our own ...

Posted Fri, Jul 29, 8:37 p.m.

Or the term"environmentalist" is a very big tent and includes people living in tree houses and people living on mansions on Lake Wahington.

Posted Thu, Jul 28, 8:26 a.m.

@ Kieth "Hello Capital Hill." We should only live so long.

Posted Tue, Jul 26, 12:13 p.m.

Just FYI, Pim Fortuyn was no "master race reactionary."

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 10:19 p.m.

If you folks want to frame the upcoming vote as a choice between the Tunnel and Surface/Tarnsit, I believe that you will lose big-time. You are walking into a trap if you push S/T at this point. Wait until the Tunnel is trashed, as it should be.

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 9:21 a.m.

Tension between allies — in any conflict: remember "Uncle Joe" in WW2 — is hardly new. And fanning the flames between a tenuous alliance is good strategy for those oppose an alliance. Divide and conquer. So what is most striking about Mr. Royer's post is that a pro-tunnel leader is ...

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 8:57 a.m.

R.I.P.

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 4:26 p.m.

Those are all very smart people and they care about Seattle and frankly I share much of their sensibility. I don't think it's useful to get into conspiracy theories about developers etc etc. But reasonable people can disagree about facts and how to assess them.

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 10:55 a.m.

And I re-read this last remark: "...this SEPA aspect of the proposal could result in 40 new construction projects with 100 to 250 units each year." That's more than puzzling — it calls for the word "absurd." Yes SEPA can be a hassle to deal with. But if there is ...

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 6:46 a.m.

There is much ado about the dropping of retail requirements but two things are missing from any useful discussion: 1. maps showing the extent of the change. 2. any specific fact-based non-anecdotal reason for the change. I find the following rationale to be temporary and shallow — "...recessionary times have ...

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 6:34 a.m.

And not a map to be found.

Posted Sun, Jul 17, 5:47 p.m.

Interesting essay Mr. Bozeman but somewhat thin as to specifics, except for one: the insidious idea of tax-increment financing. Is that your real point: to conflate caring for cities with implementing tax-increment financing?

Posted Wed, Jul 13, 4:06 p.m.

@kieth "The theory that shop windows are essential for lively streets has always struck me as superficially convincing but thin intellectually." Which means exactly what? Your sentence has a nice rhetorical balance but collapses upon reading it carefully. Forget about "thin intellectually" and tell us -- empirically -- where you ...

Posted Thu, Jul 7, 12:03 p.m.

Whenever I hear someone state that it is for "lives of our children and grandchildren," I turn-on my BS detector and reach for my wallet.

Posted Mon, Jun 6, 7:41 a.m.

I suspect that if the vote is 55-45 in favor of the Tunnel, the Settle Times will change its tune pronto.

Posted Fri, Jun 3, 12:23 p.m.

Buh bye Andy.

Posted Thu, Jun 2, 8:02 p.m.

To Kieth. You speak with certainty that "The work would stop all use of the Viaduct during the construction period..." I'd like to remind you that that was NOT the case with the Spokane Street Viaduct. Obviously, without question, it is possible to do major construction while such a structure ...

Posted Thu, Jun 2, 12:02 p.m.

Btw, I'd like to point out that the seismic event design standard used for the Spokane Street Viaduct and many (if not all) for the AWV retrofit studies have used the 500 year event. So the question should be answered (without the vague hand-waving by Kieth) why the AWV retrofit ...

Posted Thu, Jun 2, 11:42 a.m.

The Spokane Street Viaduct work cost $160 million. It appears to be about 5 thousand feet of roadway. The Alaskan Way Viaduct is about 8 thousand feed of road. Can someone help me do the extrapolation? Of course we do not know if it is a linear extrapolation. But it ...

Posted Wed, Jun 1, 11:32 p.m.

And following up on JM Rolls: Kieth, Please take a look with your own eyes: the City is finishing (on budget so far as I can tell) work at Spokne Street Viaduct which would be very similar to the work at AWV. Use your own common sense. The numbers used ...

Posted Wed, Jun 1, 3:28 p.m.

@Bubbleator. Just fwiw, the Spokane Street Visduct was repaired/expanded using the 500 year seismic event. So no idea why 500-year event should be an insurmountable issue for the AWV.

Posted Wed, Jun 1, 2:58 a.m.

Very fair. But for one point --had the State offered an honest analysis of the Retrofit, the vote would be for it by a very solid majority. Think a Retrofit couldn't be done? Then go take a look at the Spokane Street Viaduct repair and expansion. It's almost done and ...

Posted Wed, May 25, 12:25 p.m.

I wish this system had. "likes" system on this blog as so many of he comments are all or close to right on in my view. Thank goodness that so many people see through the City and its satraps.

Posted Wed, May 25, 9:50 a.m.

The comments here quite good.

Posted Wed, May 25, 7:48 a.m.

The leadership of Seattle has only itself to blame if people don't trust to follow it.

Posted Mon, May 23, 9:58 p.m.

Well done, Wells. And as to you, Kieth :) 1. Consultants produce the results the client wants. So of course WSDOT's consultants make bad noises about a Viaduct repair. 2. And obviously different consultants for the Spokane Street Viaduct. Consider what is happening at Spokane Street Viaduct: • a complex ...

Posted Mon, May 23, 10:12 a.m.

Folks, you are missing the point of Brewster's piece: he talking about politics, persuasion, tactics. Transportation solutions and urban planning are totally irrelevant. Put in that context, it's not bad work. Obviously distorted since he favors the Tunnel, and he mis-concludes that the "vote that lets both sides interpret the ...

Posted Fri, May 20, 3:47 p.m.

Folks, it's not a design meant to be built. It's publicity to be used by the pro-tunnel forces in the upcoming vote.

Posted Fri, May 20, 8:45 a.m.

"...Slick Seattle leaders effectively snookered the authorities." That's interesting history. Brewster should write more about what happened.

Posted Thu, May 19, 3:18 p.m.

There was little ambiguity. I was in the Court. There is no question that the Judge agreed that a vote is appropriate. The only question is the exact motion and this week she will hear alternative language from the parties to guide her in her decision.

Posted Wed, May 18, 7:47 p.m.

This statement needs to be unpacked: "A radical left-wing solution would be single-payer health care system, not one where private doctors and insurance companies are guaranteed profits from the individual mandate." In other words, a "non-radical radical non-left-wing solution would be a solution where private doctors and insurance companies are ...

Posted Wed, May 18, 9:05 a.m.

Interesting article and of course accurate. But too bad the slideshow -- the evidence -- is not integrated in the article so commenting is easier. Slide # 9 for example. Two commercial buildings north of the Market. Wasn't it built in the late 80s? So nothing to do with any ...

Posted Mon, May 9, 5:55 a.m.

"....the new law will also let the cities finance infrastructure for new residents in development-rights-receiving areas by issuing bonds against the anticipated rise in property taxes." Hold on to your wallets when you hear a phrase like "anticipated rise in property taxes." Such a judgment is a business decision and ...

Posted Fri, May 6, 7:15 p.m.

JMRolls is correct: Repair the Viaduct.

Posted Fri, Apr 29, 11:47 a.m.

If someone has the idea that Obama released the birth certificate to make Trump look good because Trump could be a weak and comical Republican nominee. think of the old expression "Be careful what you wish for." I think that Trump is tapping into a vein of anxiety and fear ...

Posted Fri, Apr 29, 8:51 a.m.

Thanks dbreneman. I had forgotten (if I ever knew) about Trump's slimy and statist government use of eminent domain. For example: "Trump has attempted to use the same tactics in Connecticut and has championed the reviled Kelo vs. City of New London Supreme Court ruling upholding expansive use of eminent ...

Posted Wed, Apr 27, 3:15 p.m.

SalmonJim proves his point: Crosscut neglects to give SalmonJim's comment a "shout out."

Posted Wed, Apr 20, 8:11 a.m.

One way to do what Vldez suggests is traffic calming well beyond what Seattle can imagine...streets where cars are moving so slowly that we don't need to create separate realms for people and drivers. The streets space is shared. Take a look at the concept and actuality of woonerf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woonerf ...

Posted Wed, Apr 13, 9:10 p.m.

Kieth. Have you actually read the studies? And if so, who are you and what credentialsd do you have? That goes for ALL anonymous com enters, btw.

Posted Wed, Apr 13, 7:48 a.m.

One way the City Council might be able to skate around the SEPA rules is to claim that the Council had made the "policy decision" but had also delegated responsibility to SDOT for SEPA compliance. The only problem with that approach is that the Mayor's appointee (Peter Hahn) would be ...

Posted Sat, Apr 9, 9:59 p.m.

In general, Wells, I think we are on accord. I was just telling a friend about the crazy Republicans in Congress and the image of our local elected officials touting the Tunnel -- all Democrats -- came to mind and I didn't feel quite so smug. If we ever needed ...

Posted Sat, Apr 9, 2:27 p.m.

Wells. In a straight-across election, which wins: Tunnel or Surface/Transit? Just your honest best guess?

Posted Fri, Apr 8, 12:10 p.m.

Good article and I am sick about the Tunnel. I do hope we see a vote but I am concerned that the only alternative, as Mr. Bricklin implies, is posed as Surface/Transit. Here's my fear about the election: • Anti-Tunnel people think that the vote -- if it happens -- ...

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 12:01 p.m.

Dick, Great article except for the political spin.

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 12:01 p.m.

" pleasantly written: aside staa baa as the japs call it.." japs?! Really. How stupid.

Posted Tue, Mar 15, 8:36 p.m.

Let Google provide search functions appear on City (all .gov, in fact) pages. That's an easy, cheap way to make it easier to find stuff.

Posted Wed, Feb 16, 9:37 p.m.

yes, Knute, what is this article about? For example, was there ever a claim by anyone that the Waterfront Trolley was anything but a modern recreation? Pun intended. We know you like to complain but this time it's just a bit opaque.

Posted Wed, Feb 16, 9:46 a.m.

"There have been several attempts to get the mayor to find a way to declare a truce. At one point, tunnel supporters tell me, they suggested that the mayor take credit for all the oversight, for the bids coming in under the ceiling, and other mitigations that could be properly ...

Posted Wed, Feb 16, 9:36 a.m.

Well-intentioned, Roger, but I couldn't disagree with you more. I live in a city (Seattle) because it pleases me not because it is good for me. I happen to eat spinach but I would spit it out if I didn't like it. My motivation for living in a city is ...

Posted Tue, Feb 15, 9:26 p.m.

Btw, Gastil's remarks very intelligent and I'd go much farther in the same direction: Beware of Large Parks. You try to start develop so many partnerships and constituencies -- witness the Commons -- and you end up doing nothing.

Posted Tue, Feb 15, 10:44 a.m.

1. It's misleading to attribute the Highline very much to Corner. That project was fully-formed when his firm won a design competition and he had nothing to do with the underlying question: should the Highline be saved as a public park? So Corner will be free to design whatever he ...

Posted Wed, Feb 2, 10:43 a.m.

Excellent, useful article!

Posted Mon, Jan 31, 11:01 p.m.

It's a noble effort but it seems implausible that people in, say Wallingford, are going to allow, say, six story buildings so that people who live out in the suburbs -- next to the preserves -- will benefit. I.e the problem of the receiving area. It's tough. I think that ...

Posted Tue, Jan 11, 6:32 a.m.

Thank god some recognizable identifiable specific parties have an ox to be gored in this viaduct tragedy/comedy. I fully sympathize and hope that the artists will wake-up and realize that the viaduct can be repaired, and since these folks have imagination and the ability to communicate, they will be able ...

Posted Sun, Dec 26, 9:59 p.m.

I wish that people who hate Israel would actually do something to help the Palestinians. For sixty years the Palestinians have been mistreated by their own fellow Arabs and Moslems. (Kept in camps, no citizenship, looked down-upon, etc etc) Yet people who claim to care about Palestinians say nothing about ...

Posted Thu, Dec 23, 11 p.m.

Thank you, ms anonymous peggyforpeace and I am so plesed to hear that you are not an anti-Semite.

Posted Thu, Dec 23, 4:37 p.m.

As to Middle East Awareness, seems like an odd coincidence that attacking Israel, a Jewish state, is timed to start amid Christmas, a Christian holiday. One can believe that Israeli policy of settlements has been disastrous, Netanyahu is appalling etc etc -- yet also believe that an awful lot of ...

Posted Wed, Dec 22, 10 p.m.

I wonder if we are making the problem -- as complex as it is -- yet more complicated, and with claims of need for radical change etc etc, than it needs to be. So far as I can understand from the PSP web-site, the core issue is fairly straightforward -- ...

Posted Wed, Dec 22, 9:23 p.m.

Great idea, Knute. I hope it gets traction. But there is only one small problem (from what I think is your perspective): naming alleys is yet another way to make Seattle more charming and livable and hence more attractive to newcomers. The only way to stop growth is to make ...

Posted Sun, Dec 5, 12:25 p.m.

Ted, you are up to your tricks. You offer the absurd idea that Assange "...has gone so far as to suggest the United States is attempting to assassinate him." But you neglect in fact the many cries for Assange' murder, as well as kidnapping him by Senator Lieberman. So why ...

Posted Wed, Dec 1, 6:57 a.m.

You offer a huge disconnect: the Mayor is the very person trying to wake up about the STATE fiscal disaster of the tunnel i.e. Who pays for the cost overruns? If you think that who pays is settled in Olympia, then which settled is settled? --- the Legislature (now less ...

Posted Sat, Nov 20, 10:06 p.m.

Star80. Thanks for the specific information about teaching requirements and I think it just confirms my point: One year to obtain a teaching credential -- for doctor, lawyer, publisher, engineer etc etc -- is absurd. I know there is something to the techniques of teaching but once a person has ...

Posted Fri, Nov 19, 10:14 a.m.

I am against paying teachers more until people who do not have "education degrees" (which is what I understand) can teach. That means for example that David Brewster could not teach a class in high-school in say, "modern journalism" or "English composition." Sounds absurd to me. It seems unwise to ...

Posted Sun, Nov 14, 1:33 p.m.

Two interesting points: Per Debo, I think: 1. Why such desire for anonymity when most people (here especially) say the most fairly-put and innocent things? Of course there is anonymity almost without exception on a blog like the PI or Times --and for good reason as most people would be ...

Posted Fri, Nov 12, 3:04 p.m.

Councilmember Godden, Can you please explain the background facts and politics behind the increase in parking rates? My impression was that the Council was up in arms about the Mayor's proposal to raise downtown on street parking rates to $4/hr. Now I read that the Mayor backed off from $5/hr ...

Posted Wed, Nov 10, 12:55 p.m.

Your premise seems a bit odd as Obama was already a very practical politician. What gives you the idea that Obama has acted as anything but pragmatic? My take is that if he caves to the Republic party then he will lose re-election. Btw, try "Cantor," not "Kantor."

Posted Sat, Nov 6, 2:10 p.m.

What a wonderful article! Thx. Looking forward to more stories.

Posted Thu, Nov 4, 11:17 a.m.

Mr. Van Dyk, I like to read fact-based commentary, not fantasy. I stopped at your statement "Jamming through a one-party-drafted health care scheme, which a clear majority of the American people opposed." 1. The majority of the US population was not against Obama-care. 2. One more vote than the other ...

Posted Thu, Nov 4, 6:19 a.m.

The good news, staybailey, is that it seems more and more likely to me that conservative legislators may yet save us — enough of them will speak out clearly that "Yes we did mean that Seattle should pay the extra costs for a tunnel." Maybe there will be a silver ...

Posted Wed, Nov 3, 1:33 a.m.

One of the most tragic things about "the Viaduct" situation as a whole is the lack of imagination to examine options. Imagine for example that we were a declining empire, in serious trouble with overseas entanglements, a nation divided by profound cultural outlooks to the point that the nation is ...

Posted Tue, Nov 2, 3:55 a.m.

Good article, David, except for actually getting to the issue. And I too cringed a bit to hear the Mayor so bluntly. I would rather have heard the Mayor say that the Governor is irrelevant on this issue. The Governor's promises are beyond her ability to follow through.: 1. She ...

Posted Mon, Nov 1, 12:51 p.m.

Look, Mr. Havel is an important man and obviously he influences people such as Mr. Robinso and he in turn influences others. So of course ideally Havel would reconsider and publicly modify his views.

Posted Mon, Nov 1, 10:27 a.m.

David, so much to fear!! :) ••• What is the historical track record or polls. I assume that they must be fairly good as polls are so widely used. But what are the facts? Your story is based on polls and imagination. The latter, yours, is always vivid but how ...

Posted Sun, Oct 31, 11:23 p.m.

I am a great fan of Prince Charles but he's intellectually wrong and politically unwise to raise issue of morality, spirituality and so forth. Why raise religion? All it produces is rancor. In fact I was just thinking earlier today of Havel, Charles and Kiunstler as all getting it right ...

Posted Sun, Oct 31, 8:05 a.m.

"Good intentions" are not enough in language -- you have to get the word right. And Havel (or his translator) had the wrong term. If he truly meant "atheism" then there is no historical basis to his claim. Or if he meant something else, then we have missed the point. ...

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 12:22 p.m.

Quinn. Touché to your pun. You assume I am a "seeker" (whatever that is) vs an atheist. Putting aside what you mean by "seeker" the translation of my name "sucher" is German for "seeker" or "searcher" or maybe even " hunter?" ...very poetic and all that...for those who may not ...

Posted Thu, Oct 28, 9:58 p.m.

Thanks you Quinn for pointing the link to Havel's speech. It is definitely worth reading because not often do I see so much wisdom combined with hokum. Of course I sympathize with Havel about the state of the built environment; who doesn't? Even people in the suburbs complain about the ...

Posted Thu, Oct 28, 9:54 a.m.

Well terrific! It sounds as if you and I agree and that Havel and Robinson are mistaken.

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 3:54 p.m.

dbreneman. Ahhh. I think that you and I are talking about totally different issues. Havel, Robinson et al claim that atheists don't have any sense of awe. I think that they are wrong and their statement has no basis in reality. That's one question. People of good intention may disagree. ...

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 1:13 p.m.

dbreneman. Great! I wasn't looking for hearts and minds. I am looking for actions. For manifestation. So what examples can you offer? I am genuinely curious.

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 11:38 a.m.

dbreneman. On what basis do you claim that "Madalyn Murray O'Hair style of atheists" have no sense of awe and wonder about the world?

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 4:44 a.m.

That's pure assertion with no foundation. Havel's perspective and nothing more. He offers no reference to any text or act. He cannot. I can define atheism as "love of bowling" but that doesn't make it so. Likewise, Havel can claim that atheism is "self-confident heedlessness that neglects relationships and limits." ...

Posted Tue, Oct 19, 10:33 p.m.

A job well done! Congratulations indeed!

Posted Sat, Oct 9, 4:11 p.m.

My apology, Doug, for name confusion. Me stupid.

Posted Sat, Oct 9, 3:31 p.m.

I hope Dan MacDonald will respond. Obviously my position is clear -- if we are going to have a tunnel EIS then let's do it right with clear inter-governmental agreements -- but I could be persuaded otherwise if I heard something of substance.

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 8:59 a.m.

Hold up there! Dean Locke was merely offering some gentle humor. "McSchwinn" How witty! I know that many readers here are becoming (and proud of) being curmudgeons and they like to exaggerate being antique for a laugh. I have no doubt that the Dean was just joking.

Posted Thu, Oct 7, 11:32 p.m.

Doug, Sorry but you have said absolutely nothing. You said that co-lead status is not important -- "his fuss about the co-lead status on the environmental analysis to date is a red herring" -- and then you say it's beneficial -- City gains by "shaping the analysis." Which is it? ...

Posted Thu, Oct 7, 2:37 p.m.

I think he has.

Posted Mon, Oct 4, 4:37 p.m.

Chuck, Very interesting article, thanks and I wonder 'why there was no agreement on the EIS?' There must be other (maybe a host) of other agreements on the whole AWV project. No? Any history on what strikes me as quite remarkable and I assume that lack of formal agreement must ...

Posted Mon, Oct 4, 3:59 p.m.

That's incredible: no agreement. Hard to believe that the City, WSDOT and the Feds would not have an agreement. Amazing. Astonishing. Amateurs. I have just been asking around for a copy of "the agreement" to read it -- I had assumed without thinking about it as there would be one. ...

Posted Fri, Oct 1, 12:33 p.m.

What locality is child-friendly? The typical suburb where children cannot walk and are dependent on adults to drive them everywhere?

Posted Tue, Sep 28, 9:51 a.m.

I was impressed with your suggestion that a viaduct might actually be a solution was interesting and i'd like to hear you explore and expand on the idea.

Posted Mon, Sep 27, 9:24 p.m.

Andy and Crossrip have nailed it. Many people here are frustrated and angry and want to see "something happen" and law and order can be set aside by expediency. I am saddened for Seattle.

Posted Mon, Sep 27, 11:46 a.m.

Obviously no lawyers here.

Posted Mon, Sep 27, 8:27 a.m.

Folks, please try to separate your love for the tunnel (about which reasonable people can --or used to? -- disagree) and City governance. Imagine if McGinn had proclaimed a new law? Of course it's somewhat overdrawn but Valdez has it basically correct. 1. Conlin is clearly wrong, legally. 2. Council ...

Posted Sat, Sep 25, 11:09 a.m.

"the lowest form of life on the planet- the lawyer who cheats by stalling" says Serial Catowner. Worse than murderers? I know that you were offering hyperbole but I think it's time to lower tempers rather than increase them -- as Conlin and McGinn have both done in their conciliatory ...

Posted Tue, Sep 7, 8:17 a.m.

Somebody help me out: what and how is PSP proposing to spend this vast amou t of money? I honestly don't get it. On the one Mr. R. Talks about land-use as the key issue? But land use is not a public billion dollar issue but a matter of design ...

Posted Thu, Sep 2, 1:05 p.m.

The primary reason for the "design" hoopla is to try garner public support -- the design is supposed to make people so happy that there is no longer a dense barrier. And thanks for the reminder about spelling, Gadflie; obviously that was a central flaw in my point which I ...

Posted Wed, Sep 1, 5:41 p.m.

Ruffner et al. Can you spell "Irony?" "Humor?" "Peels of laughter?" I take no other position on any design as it will not happen, so why bother. And your idea about keeping part of the Viaduct may well make design sense. But don't you folks see how absurd, stupid, asinine ...

Posted Sat, Aug 14, 1:36 p.m.

There we go again: the big lie about tree canopy.

Posted Sun, Jul 25, 10:38 a.m.

Is not likely to be effective because venality rises to the top. Urging voluntary vast new government powers (yes that is what you are saying) just not going to happen voluntarily. So to answer your question, No, the situation with WW2 is not at all analogous to the carbon problem. ...

Posted Sun, Jul 25, 10:06 a.m.

Roger, If you are looking to raise discussion by a wildly provocative statement then you have succeeded. Yes it's possible that we may get to green fascism, and I am glad you pose it without quits or irony, but do you really believe that it will work? And that the ...

Posted Mon, Jul 12, 8:26 a.m.

Retrofit, anyone? In case someone mentioned the obvious.

Posted Tue, Jun 22, 7:35 a.m.

Excellent critique. One thing to remember is that a great program is behind a great design. And since Seattle is absolutely incapable of creating such a consensus, we are likely to get a camel. After 9 years of Viaduct "emergency" I am still betting that nothing will happen besides the ...

Posted Fri, Apr 23, 9:23 a.m.

"Republican environmentalism" It's a nice idea. But it can't be done, or it would have been done.

Posted Fri, Jan 22, 9:27 p.m.

What I find bizarre puzzlement is some weird combination of, as you wrote, a "59-41 majority in the Senate" and "the early signs of panic..." This moaning and whining and kvetching makes me sick about Democrats. Democrats need to "screw your courage to the sticking-place."

Posted Thu, Jan 21, 3:04 p.m.

Of course, obviously, putting a ballot on in May was dumb. But...when (from the McGinn-haters perspective) if it is too good to be true, maybe it's not true i.e. I find it hard to believe that McGinn could blunder so hugely. If that's so -- that no reasonably intelligent adult ...

Posted Wed, Jan 20, 9:32 a.m.

"...end polarization and to govern across party lines; and he needed to abandon a hard one-party governing strategy..." You confuse me. Why is everything that Bush did exactly -- i.e. polarized, governed along party lines and a hard one-party strategy -- and yet Obama is wrong? I think you are ...

Posted Sat, Jan 16, 9:35 a.m.

Main2 was a bit harsh and without enough background on that "bungalow." (I don't think it was ever a "bungalow.")

Posted Wed, Dec 30, 10:38 a.m.

The problem with this piece and the whole pro- or anti-density discussion of which it is part: Urging density is putting the cart before the horse. The task is to create interesting places. Then people will compete to be there. You don't start by creating density. You create interesting urban ...

Posted Mon, Dec 28, 11:35 a.m.

Art has nailed it. The only hope for the tear-down would have been a plan of "Repair (the Viaduct) and Prepare (via street and transit improvements)" to tear down the Viaduct. Such an approach was urged by Peter Sherwin and others several years ago. But such a plan was apparently ...

Posted Mon, Dec 21, 8:46 a.m.

"Rypkema and others say the "edge" is part of the Square's urban appeal." What an odd perspective. There is nothing attractive about people who are for whatever reason down on their luck, have no place to live and no nothing but hang around on the street, drink and beg. It's ...

Posted Fri, Dec 11, 11:04 a.m.

"...consider for a moment what the R-71 map would have looked like if the vote were held 10 years ago..." That's an interesting question to ask. I assume that the author is suggesting that the difference on R-71 between the two Washington would have been even greater. Is there data ...

Posted Fri, Nov 20, 10:11 a.m.

Btw, Mayor-elect McGinn has asked "3 questions" of the public about what he should be doing. My own take is that "personnel policy," understood broadly, is the central issue for him in managing City Hall. http://citycomfortsblog.typepad.com/cities/2009/11/personnel-policy-as-the-basis-of-organizational-competence.html

Posted Fri, Nov 20, 10:06 a.m.

As to the matter of "no experience in managing an organization," that goes for Mayors Rice and Nickels as well as Uhlman and Royer. I believe that either Rice nor Nickels had managed anything larger than their own City Council offices. That's four out of the last five Mayors lacked ...

Posted Tue, Nov 17, 4 p.m.

David Brewster, Do you really believe in the possibility of "post-partisan solutions" In the current political environment? It seems unlikely and maybe that's why so many react to your post. A\In fact I wonder about the possibility of any such thing as a "post-partisan solution" to a significant problem in ...

Posted Mon, Nov 16, 9:10 p.m.

Let me put it slightly differently: mellow is not marshmallow. I understand the impulse which calls forth the desire for moderation. But that is a moderation of temperament and civility in relations. All well and good. But we here in Seattle too often confuse moderate temperament with meaningless consensus. I ...

Posted Mon, Nov 16, 9:01 p.m.

Civility but not consensus. I am about as moderate as they come in terms of policies -- a capitalist "carbon-phobic" Democrat. But _your_ "moderation" is all not what we need. You are confusing civility with consensus. This desire to seek moderation and consensus prevents honest discussion. It's our Seattle disease ...

Posted Mon, Nov 16, 8:37 p.m.

"I suspect we will see this trend replicated as we continue to count votes in the King County Executive’s race." Have you no shame Mr. Vance? If not, I do hope you have a sense of self-deprecating humor.

Posted Thu, Nov 5, 7:25 a.m.

I heard Ehrenreich on KUOW and I was no sufficiently impressed by her to take time to read her book. So I would be curious to know if your paraphrasing is precise: "Ehrenreich was bowled over by the requirement of positive thinking in the world of breast cancer patients and ...

Posted Wed, Oct 28, 7:18 a.m.

You made the case for McGinn so well that I am surprised you have any doubts: brains over malleability seems pretty clear.

Posted Wed, Oct 7, 9:57 a.m.

Folks, there is a political stalemate which will bleed us. The Tunnel has bitter enemies. So does the Surface/Transit option. (You noticed the lawsuit filed yesterday against the Tunnel? The very first of many. Plus voter initiatives, I am sure, if it gets that far.) Why don't we get realistic ...

Posted Sat, Oct 3, 8:47 a.m.

Moreover Jacobs would have shaken her head at our naive sense of urban priorities which proposes to spend BILLIONS on FIFTEEN BLOCKS in one Seattle neighborhood. (Caps are for emphasis.) The "bang for the buck" on the Tunnel is extremely low. (I dismiss Surface/Transit as politically impossible and far too ...

Posted Sat, Oct 3, 8:40 a.m.

Jacobs would have said "repair it." Then clean it (wash, paint) and civilize it (e.g. shops underneath between thru-streets, 24/7/365 bike patrol etc). Period. Both interventions — Tunnel and Surface/Transit — are far too big and with huge unpredictable consequences and she would have been skeptical of both. As will ...

Posted Wed, Sep 9, 6:05 p.m.

Heaven help us if we get "comprehensive, integrated, whole-cloth change." Does anyone take such rhetoric seriously? I hope not. Besides dramatic change generally being a bad idea, we in Seattle are simply not capable of such broad thinking, There is no way that Seattle (or any place to be fair) ...

Posted Sat, Aug 22, 8:30 a.m.

The best solution — and the only one politics allows and the only one Seattle is capable of doing — is to repair the existing Viaduct. No other solution can gather the political or financial support. Seattle will not vote to pay for its share of the cost of a ...

Posted Wed, Jul 1, 7:19 a.m.

I see you are still riding that "we are losing trees" myth. Why do you persist when you know that the City has no studies to show that in fact Seattle is losing trees? You agreed with me that there is no factual basis for that view, though I admit ...

Posted Wed, Jun 10, 4 p.m.

David Brewster writes "As for Freeway Park's design, it happens to be celebrated around the world and is a master work by America's finest landscape architect, Lawrence Halprin." We must each judge Freeway Park for ourselves. Reliance on authority such as "celebrated around the world" much less the conclusory "master ...

Posted Tue, Jun 9, 3:22 p.m.

David Brewster, how can you use Freeway Park as an example to emulate?!! :) It could have been a great place -- certainly the concept of using airspace over the freeway is to be enthusiastically lauded. But its design -- the way the concept was realized --makes it, and I ...

Posted Tue, Jun 9, 8:20 a.m.

I agree that it would be unwise to save the Viaduct as a linear park as it is far more valuable for movement of vehicles — and will continue as a vehicle transportation corridor for many decades to come. But the Promenade Plantee does have something to offer by way ...

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 2:21 p.m.

RE: huh? Indeed!: "So of all the former presidents that have gone to war, John is the only one that might have PTSD?" Besides Dwight Eisenhower and Jack Kennedy, which presidents is the last 100 years have actually been at war? (And I don't know if Ike was ever under ...

Posted Sat, Sep 27, 3:43 p.m.

RE: Silly, superficial, inaccurate reading of history: I won't speak to Ivan's comments but only to the superficial and (look at the polls) untrue assertion that the choice of Palin was in any way "masterful." It was a sign of McCain's weakeess, irresponsibility and unfitness for office.

Posted Fri, Sep 26, 5:19 p.m.

You finally get it:: The Viaduct has no exit.

Posted Thu, Sep 25, 8:41 p.m.

It's got some merit: Chopp's plan actually has some merit but he goes too far i.e. a brand new Viaduct. And as the many passionate but oddly-informed comments to this post suggest, we are not even remotely close to a financeable court-proof consensus. Ergo: minimal fix-up/repair and we'll be back ...

Posted Thu, Sep 11, 7:59 a.m.

RE: C'mon Knute. Stop giving voice to lies.: Oh Knute. You are probably a nice guy so don't try to make this personal by asking me to insult you by calling you a liar. But I will say that you look to me like a man practicing to be a ...

Posted Wed, Sep 10, 9:27 p.m.

RE: C'mon Knute. Stop giving voice to lies.: You have got it backwards, Knute. The burden is not on me to prove that the facts you offer are false. The burden is on YOU (and those at the City who opine as you do) to document that your statements are ...

Posted Wed, Sep 10, 4:34 p.m.

C'mon Knute. Stop giving voice to lies.: You very know that this statement is not supportable and is someone's fantasy: "... the city's extensive tree survey determined that the major loss of tree canopy is on private, not public, land. In other words, parks and greenbelts are maxed out. The ...

Posted Sat, Sep 6, 8:06 a.m.

RE: Why the Panic?: You do yourself no good with a lie such as "In their playbook, you're either liberal or you're stupid, evil or deranged."

Posted Mon, Aug 18, 5:29 p.m.

You are missing one big issue: Everyone is missing one very big issue about density: it requires a great deal more social coordination and government than we are used to or (if one judges by our success in transportation) very good at it. This is not Canada much less Holland. ...

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 8:42 a.m.

RE: Feels Like the City of 1975?: Not to be rude RatCity, but how old are you? Surely you simply don't remember 1975? In fact Morrill is dead-on correct and that qualitatively Seattle and the suburban cities do indeed look and feel much like they did in 1975 – there ...

Posted Thu, Jul 10, 8:33 a.m.

The assumption that we will "do something" is illusory: Dream on, folks. A repaired Viaduct will stand and be used in ten years. It is implausible that we can gain a civic consensus. much less the money, to do anything except repairs, which in fact are being done right now.

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 3:26 p.m.

Anonymity cloaks: Anonymity cloaks. It allows people to hide. Now if the USA were any one of a hundred countries I could see the need for widespread anonymity. But it's not, even with Bush Junior's wrong-headed incompetence. So the desire for anonymous commenting strikes me a bad thing because of ...

Posted Fri, Jun 20, 7:46 a.m.

Aren't there plenty of R.O.W. areas which need tending?: My general impression is that Seattle has extensive areas in public right-of-way which are forlorn and unkept, some of which might be perfect for gardeners looking for a place to dig. I recognize that a garden needs water and P-Patch gardens ...

Posted Thu, Jun 12, 12:02 p.m.

RE: LA is not what you think: Dick, Could you please offer a source for that claim? I just found a list in a US Census Bureau paper which usies somewhat old statistics (1990) but which contradicts your statement. http://tinyurl.com/3kjyn

Posted Tue, Jun 10, 1:40 p.m.

RE: Yes and no: Ah, the monorail. :) We may have to agree to disagree on that one. Killing the whole project because of incompetence of the then board was foolish, tragic. And some other day I will dissect your statement that the monorail issue was "an example of where ...

Posted Mon, Jun 9, 12:10 p.m.

Yes and no: Knute, I agree with 110% about the importance of the idea of "embodied energy" in existing structures. But you go off in so many other directions – with so many superficial characterizations which amount only to diverting sideshows – that your excellent main point gets lost. "Diverting ...

Posted Fri, May 23, 8:02 a.m.

Is that accurate?: That the basic problem is we lack the knowledge of what to do? I thought I have been reading for decades that "non-point" pollution – storm run-off from roads and parking lots in particular – is the biggest problem. Did I misunderstand? Can you offer any scientific ...

Posted Mon, Apr 28, 3:28 p.m.

Sustainable? Royer raises some profound issues.: I wish Royer had offered some suggestions about what to do as there's a larger context to his observations about our inability to make decisions (unless forced through by a large institution). That's the impending need for us to actually make decisions about some ...

Posted Sat, Apr 26, 4:02 p.m.

A mixed bag: • Jacob's tenure appears to have been A+ when it comes to keeping the Library free of partisan (i.e. Republican) meddling with the freedom to read. She very much deserves recognition for that. • The Library's new buildings seems to have been developed with some degree of ...

Posted Mon, Apr 14, 9:47 p.m.

You've just made matters worse, Matt: I think Knute has covered it. But distinguishing between NYCs 'cordon' system and our 'congestion pricing' doesn't help gimmick-prone pseudo-market enthusiasts (that's where this 'congestion pricing' stuff starts -- with guys who carry around a copy of Wealth of Nations. and who somehow fantasize ...

Posted Sun, Apr 13, 10:50 p.m.

RE: Privacy: "Protecting privacy in road user fee systems will not be easy to get right." Yup. That's my point. And there are large elements of society -- the police and security services -- which will lobby against any such system --- should such system even be technically plausible, which ...

Posted Fri, Apr 11, 7:40 p.m.

Privacy: There is a huge difference between you, a neighbor knowing something, and Karl Rove knowing it. Furthermore, in fact I think one of the benefits of big-city living is anonymity. No one "promised" it? What about the Constitution> It's not unlimited privacy of course but the boundaries are to ...

Posted Thu, Apr 10, 7:57 p.m.

Yes!: Bravo, Brewster!

Posted Tue, Apr 8, 5:43 p.m.

Pretty good analysis: But I think you gloss over the incredible (I say impossible) difficulties with: • if tracking systems protect privacy • if plans can be overseen by non-political, independent entities

Posted Sat, Mar 29, 11:17 p.m.

The problem is unrealistic expectations: Part of the issue is that people are too damned picky and simply like to meddle. And then people have been poisoned by starchitecture to expect that "good design" means...well they are confused as to what it means – but they know it means "SPECIAL!!!" ...

Posted Fri, Feb 8, 10:03 a.m.

What's the plan?: The idea that anyone can project the $$ costs of a Puget Sound "clean-up plan" without knowing the substance of the plan strikes me as peculiar and cause for skepticism.

Posted Sat, Jan 26, 4:49 p.m.

RE: YESBUT: To the contrary, Kieth, I have communicated at length with Surface Option leaders and supporters and they are universally dismissive of the Repair. Of course none of them are engineers so their opinions are not worth much as to engineering feasibility - but they certainly are sure that ...

Posted Thu, Jan 24, 10:41 p.m.

Conspiracy of silence: CR, if you look further -- such as into the seawall itself -- you'll find other interesting facts which "raise doubts (I am being polite) about the whole brouhaha. It's obvious that there are other alternatives to tearing-down the Viaduct e.g. strengthening it. But there has been ...

Posted Fri, Jan 18, 7:34 a.m.

Will anything work?: If I remember correctly Knute, you are also against region-wide rail, the monorail (of course!), wider and more highways and now I see that you can't see the value of neighborhood-scaled systems. Are you a bus guy? Criticizing without having an alternative is OK but I am ...

Posted Thu, Jan 17, 2:15 p.m.

An impossible & unrealistic dream, or maybe nightmare.: We will have bi-partisanship when we all have the same opinions.

Posted Fri, Jan 4, 10:05 a.m.

RE: interesting: The phrase "a retail destination zone" says it all.

Posted Fri, Jan 4, 9:56 a.m.

The problem is rather broad: And revealed by these very sad remarks from our Governor which I read in this morning's P-I: "What international city do we know of that would have two-way traffic in downtown? What international city do we know of that would have street parking in the ...

Posted Fri, Dec 21, 1:04 p.m.

Right idea: This article is indeed a good one. The author's key practical point is that "the development process needs to retain some of the neighborhood irregularities and imperfections that make cities interesting." It is a point which bears repeating: "[T]he development process needs to retain some of the neighborhood ...

Posted Tue, Dec 11, 12:19 p.m.

Huh?: I don't get it, David. It sounds like simply changing names on a map. What would be different? i.e. what is wrong with the zoning and regs we have in place now? What is the point? Yes I agree that we should try out "some more advanced ideas for ...

Posted Thu, Dec 6, 1:15 p.m.

Some more memory: Good job, Knute. Part of my comment from my own blog at http://tinyurl.com/26tnpw When I think back over 40 years about how Seattle has changed -- and not changed -- on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis I just cannot figure out where these trees were that have supposedly disappeared. ...

Posted Thu, Nov 29, 9:40 p.m.

RE: Apples and oranges: Doctor Reis. I am not "conflating" anything. I am making NO claims except expressing my own personal skepticism and trying to determine the methodology behind the statement. Such skepticism does NOT offer a claim that the statement is false -- it just means I am skeptical ...

Posted Thu, Nov 29, 9:39 p.m.

RE: Mr. Sucher, you seem to be attacking the wrong study.: Doctor Reis. I am not attacking any study at all. If you read what I wrote I am simply trying to find the source of Knute's statement that "Thirty-five years ago, tree canopy covered 40 percent of the city. ...

Posted Mon, Nov 26, 8:24 a.m.

RE: I question the numbers on decline of tree canopy: Well Knute, I gather by your response that at least we can agree that neither one of us has the dead-on facts about what has happened to the number of trees in Seattle over the past 35 years. (The aerial ...

Posted Sun, Nov 25, 8:20 p.m.

RE: It has DRM, for Pete's sake!: It's interesting that so many people proudly proclaim that they will never use an ebook reader...that they love "real" books...that they are "linear" (which I assume means that they never consult a dictionary when they run across an unfamiliar term) and etc etc ...

Posted Sun, Nov 25, 5:07 p.m.

RE: I question the numbers on decline of tree canopy: Thanks for finding it, Ratcityreprobate. The study is somewhat unclear about its spatial scope but in any case there is no question that the study area is vastly larger than the city of Seattle per se. • The main study ...

Posted Sun, Nov 25, 9:32 a.m.

I question the numbers on decline of tree canopy: For anyone who has lived in Seattle for the past 40 years and has been observing the physical environment, it's not credible that "Thirty-five years ago, tree canopy covered 40 percent of the city. Today, that's down to 18 percent. " ...

Posted Mon, Nov 5, 4:22 p.m.

Interesting...but...: What actually happened? You glossed over the most compelling part -- what was the cause of the fire?

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 7:24 p.m.

Pointing the way: I have no idea whether Prop 1 will pass but in any case we will soon have one bit of mass transit to praise. I predict that SLUT will be a rousing success and, should Prop 1 fail, will point the way.

Posted Thu, Oct 25, 9:14 p.m.

"Squander the money now because we can get the votes.": That's what the man said. "A first reason for supporting it is timing, a very big factor in all politics. We have a strong economy, so taxpayers are willing to vote to spend on things we normally put off, like ...

Posted Tue, Oct 23, 5:16 p.m.

High-rises cost high rents?: Uh...how does that work? If people didn't want to live in them, they wouldn't and rents would be low. It is demand to be in a wonderful city which creates high-costs.

Posted Tue, Oct 23, 5:13 p.m.

Let's examine one element: on-street parking: It sounds good until one examines the details. Morrill proposes reducing on-street parking, which appears harmless enough – until one realizes that something so simple as on-street parking is essential to a walkable. pedestrian-scaled neighborhood. Consider Wallingford's 45h Street in or Eastlake Avenue East. ...

Posted Sat, Oct 13, 8:32 p.m.

Let us test this first? Indeed yes.: I have no issue in principle with some limited use by mountain bikes as they are human powered and non-motorized and to me are consistent with the purpose of wilderness. So I like Bob's suggestion that we experiment in some limited areas to ...

Posted Thu, Oct 4, 11:39 p.m.

Goldlilocks Planning -- Getting it "just right" is impossible: I am surprised to hear a Republican advocating such dramatic government intervention in the marketplace as does Chris Vance. Spend! Spend! Spend! But that's a sidepoint. My real disagreement is with the conventional wisdom that "we can all agree...we have a ...

Posted Mon, Oct 1, 6:28 p.m.

RE: More Than "Medical Research": I believe that the much-maligned SLUT is going to be a blockbuster and one of the very few transportation successes that the region has seen in the past 30 years. One can debate the method of finance (I don't but I can see that reasonable ...

Posted Sat, Sep 8, 11:04 a.m.

Not far enough: Government should not only provide a carrot to build new community spaces but should use the stick to require people to join these new "community" organizations and provide voluntary on-going financial support. If people don't know what's good for them then in the words of former City ...

Posted Sat, Sep 1, 7:36 a.m.

Corr is correct. But...: According to people I have talked with who claim to know (i.e. gay males) his behavior was clear. Craig was indeed cruising. (I'm simply repeating what I have been told; like many people, my first response was to wonder about the ambiguity of Craig's actions.) There ...

Posted Fri, Aug 31, 7:37 a.m.

RE: It's NPR thats to blame: "Now Promoting Republicans" is a catchy phrase but it is not a reality-based statement. Our local KUOW is totally liberal and the only conservatives it ever shows are either also statist or are so stupid as to give anything non-liberal a bad name. KUOW ...

Posted Tue, Aug 28, 7:46 p.m.

Why is commercial radio not copying KUOW?: It seems so obvious: a commercial station with interesting thoughtful talk. Btw, Brewster forget Crosscut, as it is. This format won't work. Go manage the programming of a commercial radio station. Or even better, add a radio station to Crosscut. You'd find lots ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 8:09 a.m.

why?: "I walk a lot and love historic preservation: Why am I not thin?" Putting aside a medical condition, it's probably got something to do with an imbalance between calories expended by physical activity and calories taken-in through eating.

Posted Tue, Aug 21, 8:06 a.m.

would that it were so: I wish we had a press which did anything relentlessly beyond accept press releases as if they were gospel.

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 7:52 a.m.

Oops!: Of course what I meant to write is that "fans of "free market solutions" to traffic woes should be disabused of the idea that congestion pricing iIS such a solution."

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 7:39 a.m.

Good article: Glad you mentioned the huge issues of alternate routes and privacy. Both are huge issues. As the former, think about the impact on the Eastlake neighborhood of pricing I-5 through the CBD. It makes Eastlake Avenue East an alternative to save money and thus urban speedway. Unless you ...

Posted Mon, Aug 13, 7:06 p.m.

good for the goose, good for the gander: "We're still not sure where it will lead." Well the initiative process leads to things like saving the Pike Place Market, to Shoreline Management, Growth Management (after a fashion), Abortion Rights, the CAP limitations in Seattle and probably more that I can't ...

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 3:06 p.m.

The fantasy continues: In our region the only place "congestion pricing" will exist is in the mind of policy-wonk fantasists. Tolls to pay for specific infrastructure is a different story. But congestion pricing as management tool -- no way. It's far too complicated for us to implement.

Posted Tue, Jul 10, 6:51 p.m.

Hmmm...: I wonder how much the public is subsidizing the deal.

Posted Tue, Jun 26, 10:29 a.m.

Two obvious solutions: Personally, I don't care about preserving this Denny's (and that is not because I don't like Denny's –I do; give me a Denny's any day as my venue of choice for first dates) But I think anyone arguing in favor of it is simply using it to ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 5:55 p.m.

Just look around: It seems to me that there is match-point in favor of the argument that "rail fostering walkable neighborhoods is less plausible" is simply to look around Seattle (and elsewhere) and see how many wonderfully walkable neighborhoods exist without rail. Admittedly, they originated in the rail era (and ...

Posted Wed, Jun 20, 9:03 a.m.

Street car: I was not speaking tongue-in-cheek at all. I believe that the Lake Union STreet car (LUST) will be wildly successful and will be a model for future, small incremental changes. 1. It required substantial private investment and 2. was capable of being completed in a foreseeable time-frame. 3. ...

Posted Wed, Jun 20, 8:10 a.m.

btw about the "do nothing alternative.": I want to make it clear that I am not really proposing or favoring or praising the "do nothing alternative." I am just describing the reality of what we are doing. i am a coinventional do-good liberal; i voted for the Monorail five times. ...

Posted Wed, Jun 20, 7:57 a.m.

The politics don't allow it: Morrill's overall suggestion that the solution is better management of our existing road surface might well be correct though making every arterial an urban freeway – the outcome if you follow his ideas through -- hardly promotes urban livability. But there are two other issues: ...

Posted Thu, Jun 14, 11:50 p.m.

Right conclusion, poor analysis: Knute's conclusion is most likely accurate – of course most of these so-called "studies" are done to further an interest-group agenda – but his analysis is...well there is no analysis, no de-construction of even one study to show its methodological weakness.

Posted Tue, Jun 12, 1:38 p.m.

Thank you, Mike O'Neill: It's hard to comment when so much of what is going on in the public conversation is fantasy. I find it fantastic that anyone can think that a community which cannot figure out how to fix what everyone agrees is a damaged road (i.e. the Viaduct) ...

Posted Tue, Jun 12, 1:30 p.m.

Pre-existing toll roads: I believe that the reason why certain elements of the Interstate System (NY, Indiana etc) are toll roads is because they pre-date the Interstate System.

Posted Mon, Jun 11, 5:20 p.m.

The "No Action" Alternative: Carless. 1. Just because I am dubious that this trendy policy-of-the-week congestion pricing has political legs does NOT mean I support more highways. 2. Your suggestion that we let congestion itself exert itself as a cost to force people to change their behavior is a realistic ...

Posted Mon, Jun 11, 9:12 a.m.

What about non-highways?: 1. I don't think a system in which only highways are tolled will work as people will divert to local arterials, making those roads & streets even worse than they are now. 2. A system in which ALL roads & streets are tolled is not politically viable. ...

Posted Tue, May 22, 8:53 a.m.

You are not asking the key question: Would any fixed mode (e.g. underground light-rail) succeed in the Las Vegas alignment you describe? And at the rates of $5/ride? If not, then the fact that it was a monorail which is failing is irrelevant.

Posted Mon, May 21, 9:39 a.m.

Density is a byproduct of creating interesting places: You don't start with density but with creating great neighborhoods which allow density. Then people will compete to be there and buiklders will respond. The emphasis on density as a means of avoiding sprawl is well-intentioned but misplaced. Dense, vibrant neighborhoods don't ...

Posted Mon, May 7, 6:44 p.m.

When all else fails, do the obvious.: Punch holes in the now-blank wall to create small retail spaces inside what is now garage. You'd have to give up the first row of parking inside. (I admit I have no idea of the internal arrangement of the parking garage behind the ...

Posted Sun, May 6, 11:17 p.m.

It's very good, maybe better than very good.: The new SAM succeeds in all the ways which the Seattle Public Library fails. SAM is a city comfort, a fine urban design which meets the sidewalk in a friendly and open way. Folks who were hoping for a piece of "iconic" ...

Posted Fri, May 4, 7:50 p.m.

Policy wonks make like it. But how many policy wonks are there?: My bet is that it won't happen. 1. Too complicated. 2. A region which can't figure out if/how to repair 8000' feet of Viaduct cannot handle something so contentious and far-reaching as making people pay to drive on ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 10:25 p.m.

It's a done deal.: The Viaduct is being Repaired, in-place, with minimal disruption – which is what we should have done six years ago. The new person to head WSDOT will be able to claim that it is being "Rebuilt" (to save face) but that's because we will all agree ...

Posted Wed, Apr 25, 11:09 a.m.

RE: Does Foster have any demonstrated record of successful urban design?: The standard of "world class" doesn't help us. I believe that what we want is an inviting place which fosters (in a subtle way) human interaction. "World class" is both irrelevant and also, actually, meaningless. He may very well ...

Posted Tue, Apr 24, 10:44 p.m.

Does Foster have any demonstrated record of successful urban design?: I ask again. Yes, he is a big name and that always impresses the yokels. But what has he delivered?

Posted Tue, Apr 24, 10:38 p.m.

I like what KK says: WSDOT (and other institutional forces such as the Mayor, City Council, Governor) lost too much credibility with the Viaduct fiasco to be able to get the money for a brand-new 520. They all claimed that a Repair was impossible. What is it happening now? The ...

Posted Mon, Apr 23, 5:59 p.m.

My question: I hope GGLO takes the lead. They know how to create good urban spaces -- look what they did with University Village. Does Foster have any proven experience with urban design? (That's a question.)

Posted Thu, Apr 19, 10:38 a.m.

The end result?: Nada. Nothing will happen. We will repair the Viaduct in a piecemeal, haphazard fashion without even having the benefit of softening its impact. Repair is fine by me but it should have been the plan from the beginning 6 years ago. Politicians have wasted a huge amount ...