Posted Fri, Jun 10, 8:34 a.m.

@Tom9, That's true, the Realtor's 2011 Community Preference Survey says: "61% choose larger lots and needing to drive". However that leaves a significant number of people with other preferences (as others have pointed out, perhaps especially those of us that have a less "traditional family"). Contrary to your gut feeling, ...

Posted Thu, Jun 9, 6:25 p.m.

Another tidbit of possibly interesting information, if you look at where the kids are (note: not "families" but "population under 18") you'll find that Seattle actually has higher density of kids per acre than the rest of King County. In other words, Seattle's a great place if you're looking for ...

Posted Sun, Feb 6, 11:05 a.m.

Every once in a while I stop by Crosscut to see if there's anything worth reading. Absurd articles like this are making me thing I shouldn't even stop by.

Posted Sun, Dec 12, 10:30 a.m.

Crossrip, peer regions such as Denver, Minneapolis, and Dallas have bond-financed multibillion dollar light rail expansions underway, though all of course are facing long term funding shortfalls due to the economy. They all compete for federal grants, and are paid for by a variety of taxes including sales, property, and ...

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 7:22 p.m.

Any expense is a boondoggle from somebody's perspective. This reminds me of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's remarks last year that volcano monitoring is a waste of taxpayer money (hurricane monitoring is money well spent of course).

Posted Wed, Nov 10, 9:23 p.m.

Percentages only tell a bit of the story, also highlighted in the recent "Can We Achieve Social Equity Using Smart Growth?" (which you can watch online, links at http://thesouthlake.com/2010/09/29/slu-low-income-housing ) Nick Licata's intro showed how the number of units in South Lake Union affordable for those making under 80% of ...

Posted Fri, Sep 17, 12:45 p.m.

In a related note, Americans are spending less and less on quality food, and more and more on health care. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/business/economy/08leonhardt.html Could there be some relationship?

Posted Fri, Sep 17, 12:34 p.m.

What an amazing piece of luck that the designs fit so well. This project brings more street life to 12th Ave NE in the future, and created construction jobs right now when they're so needing. By the way, the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance has a petition on their website ...

Posted Fri, Aug 6, 10:50 a.m.

Another historical note: the reason Texas housing didn't bubble as much was tighter state regulation that came out of the 1980s Savings and Loan crisis, when literally hundreds of FDIC-insured banks failed in Texas: http://www.fdic.gov/about/learn/learning/when/1980s.html

Posted Wed, Jul 14, 4 p.m.

In my opinion a much better article is "America in 2050: Urban, Suburban, or Both?" which features the opinions of both Kotkin and Chris Leinberger: http://www.fastcompany.com/1668425/america-in-2050-urban-or-suburban-both-neither One important nuance is that what a lot of people (including me) are wanting is not urban vs suburban as such, but walkable. It ...

Posted Mon, Jul 12, 9:02 p.m.

You can find the budget proposals and design mockups of I-5/Surface/Transit here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/FAF9612A-D0D4-4D0C-824D-8C879E457D0B/0/AWV_I5SurfaceTransitHybrid_FactSheet_Dec08.pdf

Posted Sun, Jul 11, 8:27 a.m.

rlhplus, Sounds like you've done some thinking on this and I hope you submitted feedback to SDOT, especially about adding more load/unload zones. However, I have to disagree with your preference for a simple yield sign at the Dexter Way exit. Aurora Ave is one of the most dangerous roads ...

Posted Sat, Jul 10, 8:12 a.m.

John, sounds like an interesting service but looks like it's not any faster--about the same amount of time. For exampple, one Quick Shuttle leaves downtown Seattle at 7:05 and arrives downtown Vancouver at 11:15, while for the Cascades the times are 7:40 and 11:40. Of course either one might be ...

Posted Thu, Jul 8, 8:11 a.m.

nordicelt, I don't believe King County pays for any Seattle roads, but they may pay for the concrete bus stop pads that are in some places. I know that at a recent electric trolley bus system evaluation a Metro Transit representative said they will include the long-term effects on roads ...

Posted Tue, Jun 29, 2:24 p.m.

Nice article, though you might have mentioned that the area has history prior to the 1970s! There are many 1920s buildings that add a lot of character to the neighborhood. We looked at a couple places in Belltown before deciding to move to South Lake Union. The biggest turnoff was ...

Posted Mon, Jun 28, 10:05 p.m.

Actually, lizard, Seattle is retaining residents under 18 at a higher rate than the rest of Washington State: http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/12/01/the-myth-of-the-childless-city Clever article, Knute, though I think you could push it even further. The reason for the tolls is to pay for the expensive infrastructure, just like the castle walls of long ...

Posted Fri, Apr 23, 12:05 p.m.

It's not too late Lincoln. If you're serious about BRT on the eastside and throughout the region write an initiative and start collecting signatures.

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 8:39 p.m.

Knute, if you get the chance you should ask them about this "Tenant and Business Access Only" sign: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuadf/4545042186/ I think it's in the alley between 2nd and 1st south Pine but I don't remember for sure.

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 8:19 p.m.

Lincoln, sounds like you've identified a funding source so all you need is a plan and the authority to implement. Maybe you can base it off Las Vegas--looks like they have dedicated transit lanes for the ACE system and complete street enhancements too: http://www.planetizen.com/node/43528 It will be a challenge to ...

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 4:57 p.m.

Hey, Weedin Place in Green Lake was apparently named after a cop's family: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2010909866_pacificpcopkillings07.html

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 11:35 a.m.

There is a new tunnel through Beacon Hill providing an east-west route that didn't exist before, and more importantly the Westlake-Capitol Hill-UW tunnel provides a new option roughly along the same route as I-5, which is very congested a peak time. I've been stuck in an "express" metro bus in ...

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 8:06 a.m.

Ted, all I'll say about rail is that it's the standard way to do high-capacity transit all over the world, and in that sense it's the best fix for Seattle too. That said, if there were a different proposal on the table for making mobility improvements I'd probably vote for ...

Posted Mon, Apr 19, 10:26 p.m.

To me Transportation 2040 looks more like a transportation grab-bag than an actual plan. While predictive models are a bit helpful, the future does not always cooperate with the models' assumptions. I'd rather see a plan that updates itself based on observed data. Do we need SR-167 now for freight ...

Posted Mon, Apr 19, 9:47 p.m.

He's describing my life. We haven't driven to a supermarket in years, except for using a Zipcar to stock up for the rare big party, and we're considering Amazon Fresh for next time since we see the vans. When we lived in the U-District we did most of our produce ...

Posted Tue, Apr 13, 10:16 p.m.

Mmm. Seattle also needs yatai (street food carts) with ramen.

Posted Thu, Mar 25, 9:08 p.m.

I'd have a little more sympathy for the supposedly anti-mandate Republicans if they hadn't proposed the idea in the 1990s: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123670612 And my favorite take on tea-baggers so far: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/03/22/health-care-passage-thoughts/ "That said, the Democrats were magnificently fortunate that, as incompetent as they are, they are ever-so-slightly less incompetent than the ...

Posted Thu, Mar 25, 4:51 p.m.

No idea... but I assume from the pretty fair view from Lake St. I'd actually like to dig more up; assuming they kept any records, I wonder they still exist anywhere. We could also name the Heritage Trees: http://www.eastlakeave.com/2010/03/24/three-trees-on-roanoke-named-to-citys-heritage-program

Posted Thu, Mar 25, 3:41 p.m.

Are the POPOS really all downtown, or are only the downtown ones cataloged? I know there's at least one signed new one at 2201 Westlake (at Denny), and I thought UW Tower plaza (now public of course, but formerly Safeco) was one too. I'd never heard of Godden's proposal. Fairview ...

Posted Fri, Mar 19, 8:12 a.m.

By the way, recently several libraries have put digitized versions of early Seattle maps showing original street names on their websites. Here are a couple of my favorites (you need the free LizardTech MrSid software to use the .sid files): Koch's "Birds-eye-view of Seattle and environs King County, Wash., 1891. ...

Posted Tue, Mar 16, 9:43 a.m.

Naming alleys is an absolutely fantastic idea! Some recent developments like Alley24 make them fairly nice to walk down; I wonder if I could get them to name that one "Cascade School Alley" after the historic view of the school, seen in the WPA photo here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60802590791#!/photo.php?pid=2343254&o;=all&op;=1&view;=all&subj;=60802590791&aid;=-1&id;=585819580&oid;=60802590791

Posted Sat, Feb 13, 11:12 a.m.

In 6 years living in the U-District, I was never harrassed by panhandlers. Unfortunately, there was a recent case of attackers getting out of their car to beat a homeless man on NE 45th: http://www.realchangenews.org/index.php/site/archives/1700/ "The three suspects briefly exchanged words, exited the vehicle, and assaulted the victim. Victim stated ...

Posted Sat, Jan 30, 7:40 a.m.

Sounds interesting--though I have to say urban Seattle is also full of small ethnic restaurants. It's great these folks have a place in their neighborhood.

Posted Fri, Jan 29, 2:53 p.m.

I like the renovation, though I live a lot closer to Whole Foods. Personally I don't think the QFC on Mercer is nearly as nice as either one. I've also been surprised at what I can find at Pike Place if I ask around--I bought some eggs at Catanzaro's today ...

Posted Sat, Jan 23, 9:36 p.m.

It's funny you mention views of the Space Needle because that's been in the SLU Urban Design Framework discussions. It became clear that while there are some SEPA protected views (e.g., Kerry Park), it's pretty difficult to figure out other views because of the Space Needle's precise location. Unlike the ...

Posted Fri, Jan 15, 3:36 p.m.

Skyscrapers do mostly effect cities where they meet the ground, but there are sometimes neighbors too--such as the case of 1918 8th Ave, "The box the Cosmopolitan came in." 2201 is a strange pick for this article. Due to topography, it doesn't really seem very tall and is not altering ...

Posted Fri, Jan 15, 8:18 a.m.

Does Portage Bay count as that "caliber"? If so, SLU is nearing capacity. Also, Slo Joe’s is gone... it's now Yellow Dot Cafe. Familiar faces though so my guess is that it's the same owners.

Posted Fri, Dec 18, 4:21 p.m.

Schools in any city are enough to make a parent's head explode: public schools (public alternative school?), private schools (religious? prep?), homeschooling, coops, unschooling, etc. My daughters are still preschool age and it's very difficult to navigate. When you consider that schools are a long-term time investment, the shrinking tax ...

Posted Tue, Dec 15, 4:02 p.m.

I'd very much like to hear McGinn and the council talk about Mercer first, since it's a prerequisite for the tunnel or its alternatives anyway.

Posted Sun, Nov 29, 5:37 a.m.

Not a newcomer--I actually grew up in Portland when Powell's was the only retail business in the Pearl District. What I meant was that together Powell's and the UBookstore dabbled in some sort of cooperative used book buying arrangement. I don't know the details, but there were signs about it ...

Posted Mon, Nov 23, 9:52 p.m.

UBookstore and Powells have dabbled with buying used books in the past.

Posted Tue, Nov 17, 4:18 p.m.

Thanks Judy. Reminds me of one of my favorite Vonnegut pieces, his (real) commencement speech at Syracuse: "I have made us, for a few hours at least, what most of us do not have and what we need so desperately - I have made us an extended family, one for ...

Posted Mon, Nov 2, 2:28 p.m.

Slightly related: we were near the Burke-Gilman a while back and saw a Google Street View Trike and chatted with the guy for a few minutes. This article indicates street view for the Burke-Gilman and other bike trails should appear on Google Maps in the next month or two: http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/10/google_maps_trike_team_tell_us.html ...

Posted Wed, Oct 14, 7:33 a.m.

It's a wonderful story. There's a little more here: http://shigasgarden.blogspot.com/2009/08/welcome-to-shigas-community-garden.html I don't have any millions, but this has to be a high priority for the Parks Levy.

Posted Sun, Oct 11, 7:59 a.m.

Congratulations to all the recent newlyweds! When we got married we made it not just about us but about the entire community of friends and family that made the day possible. We used certain traditional elements, though we found there are plenty of different wedding traditions around the world and ...

Posted Fri, Oct 2, 9:01 a.m.

The tunnel might be good for the waterfront, but it's all bad for Lower Queen Anne and South Lake Union. This is hard to imagine because we already have the Battery St Tunnel, but let's try: streets like Republican and Aloha with lowrise street-retail buildings like Jane Jacobs loved. Dexter ...

Posted Thu, Oct 1, 10:59 p.m.

I suspect UVillage is not even completely auto-oriented anymore. Yes, it has large and frequently full parking lots, but with the two UW student housing complexes directly north and four market rate apartment complexes along Blakeley they get a lot of foot and bike traffic as well. If the QFC ...

Posted Wed, Sep 30, 4:25 p.m.

It will be interesting to see if you're right, David. My first job was in a small town, but it paid poorly (and no health care). I had to come to the city to find something that would pay the college loans, and it turns out we like Seattle enough ...

Posted Wed, Sep 30, 4:04 p.m.

Hey, no problem. I can't speak for everyone of course, but my urban family prefers to walk when possible (often including a stroller and baby carrier), take the bus when going to the zoo or museums, and drive to camping trips and birthday parties in the suburbs. I also have ...

Posted Tue, Sep 29, 4:31 p.m.

jmrolls, fyi 2000 Seattle commute mode split is 56% solo driver, 11% carpool, 18% transit, 3% bike, 7% walk, 5% work at home. http://www.cityofseattle.net/dpd/stellent/groups/pan/@pan/@plan/@proj/documents/Web_Informational/dpd_001015.pdf Over half choosing (or being forced to?) drive is still a lot, of course. Oh, and if you look at places that make it easy to ...

Posted Tue, Sep 29, 7:54 a.m.

The tram was also hit by the horrible steel and other materials prices: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/282514/cost_of_steel_lifts_trams_price_tag/ For further reading, here is a good discussion with links to several good articles: http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2006/01/talking_about_t.html

Posted Mon, Sep 28, 3:15 p.m.

jniles, my understanding is that transit investment would continue to come from sales tax, while gas tax and tolls would continue to go toward highway projects (including HOV or HOT lanes). Is that not the case? Do you have a citation? I agree that the trains will not go to ...

Posted Mon, Sep 28, 2:02 p.m.

In publicola comments ivan has presented what I think is a compelling case for a retrofit of the viaduct. This has been regarded as the least attractive option, but there is a good chance that due to the funding situation that's what we'll end up with for the next couple ...

Posted Sat, Sep 26, 9:13 a.m.

There's a reason Cascade used to be so affordable: the razing of about 7 square blocks (including the eastern half the business district along Eastlake) for construction of I-5 and the Mercer ramps in the 1960s. I can't imagine why most residents of the former ethnic neighborhood wanted to leave ...

Posted Sat, Sep 26, 8:44 a.m.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the concept of complete streets, which are designed for "everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper." The redesign of the Ave along these lines a few years ago has worked pretty well.

Posted Fri, Sep 25, 2:21 p.m.

Quixote, you have some interesting ideas, but I have to argue about a few things. First, biking is a viable option in any weather for short (say, less than 5 mi) or multimodal commutes (bike to bus/vanpool/train), especially if you live near a trail like the Burke-Gilman or Interurban. Remember, ...

Posted Thu, Sep 24, 5:19 p.m.

I'm confused. Don't nearly all King County Metro routes already serve Downtown Seattle, the University District, Bellevue, and other growth centers like Northgate and Redmond? How would these "strategic routes" be different?

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 9:10 a.m.

John, thanks for the posts, but could you provide a little more detail? :)

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 4:25 p.m.

mhays, I see there are some new designs at the site you linked before (thanks!) http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/workinggroupmaterials.htm The tunnel is shown under the streets at John, Thomas, and Harrison, but I'll now assume that means it's underground (i.e., a lid). There is also the ventilation building between Thomas and Harrison. There ...

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 10:24 p.m.

VinceInSeattle, I don't have any answers on most of the big questions, but I can tell you what my young family decided in this situation: we rent in Seattle. We sold the car and get around quite well with a stroller and baby carrier, or the bus when needed. We ...

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 9 p.m.

No wonder these Mercer Corridor Projects are such a lightning rod: Vulcan, traffic efficiency, bored tunnel, streetcar, industrial freight, bike paths, oh my! Let me explain why I believe they are a poor use of our limited large project funds. First on the phase I or Mercer East project from ...

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 9:53 a.m.

Here's a picture of demolition of the old Lincoln Mercury building (Westlake/Mercer) last Friday: http://www.thesouthlake.com/2009/09/20/to-everything To me, the real Mercer traffic question is where are these trips going to and from, and how many are single-occupant vehicles? The Alaskan Way Viaduct Industrial Centers Survey revealed that "businesses surveyed recognize commuter ...

Posted Fri, Sep 18, 3:16 p.m.

Proposition 1 "narrowly passed in 2008"??? It passed with 2/3 of the vote in Seattle--over 80% in some districts! 68% in the Rainer Valley, where you'd think people would be the most suspicious of SoundTransit: http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/11/24/partial-prop-1-vote-breakdown/ Maybe you'd like all-bus transit, but until we come up with some massive funding ...

Posted Fri, Sep 18, 3 p.m.

This is probably my biggest problem with Nickels. He was always talking about bringing more jobs into downtown, as if that would make a more balanced and livable city. Meanwhile it's actually quite easy to get, for example, from Belltown to downtown Tacoma via ST 590 series express buses, so ...

Posted Thu, Sep 17, 9:46 a.m.

I'm a little baffled that this article doesn't really address the topic they were discussing: the idea of a 2-year plan for greatly expanded light rail on the west side of the city using existing right of way. As the Times reports, this is more like Portland's $576m Green Line ...

Posted Thu, Sep 17, 9:22 a.m.

Well, looks like David covered everything, but here's another note about global health. During a recent visit to SLU-based Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI), humanitarian Paul Farmer said our local biomedical research institutions have "performed CPR on international health" by focusing on global diseases like tuberculosis and malaria: http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2009/04/24/seattle-has-performed-cpr-on-global-health-says-famed-doctor-paul-farmer/ PATH ...

Posted Wed, Sep 16, 8:13 p.m.

Thanks for the article. One thing that we've done in the past is donate canned salmon. Here's another slate of bigger ideas: http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2009/03/05/food-deserts

Posted Tue, Sep 15, 2:27 p.m.

You probably know this already, but Roosevelt has in fact asked for more density... but near I-5, not so much on the Sisley side. Check out the Zoning Recommendations (The "Warren Report") here: http://rooseveltseattle.org/landuse.aspx The tree canopy argument is important for Urban Villages, but a little silly when talking about ...

Posted Thu, Sep 10, 1:20 p.m.

I don't think you know what Phase II entails--overpasses on Aurora that "provide a vital east/west connection during Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement". The initial concepts are not pedestrian or bike friendly at all. The bored tunnel plan includes a lowered Aurora with additional overpasses--I'm also underwhelmed at that method of ...

Posted Thu, Sep 10, 8:44 a.m.

John, for once we are largely in agreement. Mercer Phase II is a complete waste of money, and Phase I could be done much more cheaply. However, some small factual errors: Bridging the Gap includes bike improvements (mostly spent on sharrow paint so far), and Vulcan owns only about one-third ...

Posted Wed, Sep 9, 12:14 p.m.

Well, I guess it depends on your definition of "low". The recent National Academies CO2 report mentioned that Atlanta metro area's median lot size is 0.58 acres! For "moderate" density, I'm thinking neighborhoods in the area of 12-30 units per acre, which I think covers basically all of Seattle's "streetcar ...

Posted Tue, Sep 8, 7:27 p.m.

Knute, this is a nice short piece! You clearly have a grasp of the human level of neighborhood change. However, I'm perplexed that you didn't mention what to me seems like the change most visible by comparing today to historic photographs: space for cars. We wanted, and we got, two ...

Posted Tue, Sep 8, 2:35 p.m.

How is Seattle Center car-centric? It has less parking than downtown, and decent (though not great) bus service. Due to the Mercer Mess it's a lot easier to get out of there on a bus than in a car. If I remember correctly they also want a streetcar connection, though ...

Posted Tue, Sep 8, 2:26 p.m.

Sarajane, I believe Mars Hill seminary predates the church. It's a popular name. Even now you can compare two unrelated Mars Hill megachurchs via Google; looks like the Seattle one is first right now, which must make Mark Driscoll happy... until he realizes that searching for "Rob Bell" reveals that ...

Posted Sun, Sep 6, 4:55 p.m.

Great! Can I choose how all my sales and federal income taxes are spent, too? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2008505127&zsection;_id=268883724&slug;=opin13bikeclub&date;=20081212

Posted Thu, Sep 3, 1:46 p.m.

Interesting ideas. Another issue brought up in Roosevelt is the size of retail space: large NC3 spaces will attract chain stores (or remain empty, as most of Vulcan's space on Westlake has), while smaller spaces are friendlier to someone starting up a new restaurant or clothing store. I'm also staring ...

Posted Thu, Sep 3, 11:30 a.m.

Here's what a safer type of bikeway, the cycle track, looks like: http://bikeportland.org/2009/08/31/first-look-at-portlands-inaugural-cycle-track/

Posted Thu, Sep 3, 8:04 a.m.

I'm afraid it's so, smacgry: http://crosscut.com/2009/02/10/mossback/18838/ The Northwest fell from the least religious area to the #2 place behind New England. Of course, as with many demographic changes this is probably a case of mix of factors: people moving in and out, deaths, etc. I am curious about the changes ...

Posted Wed, Sep 2, 4:49 p.m.

lizard, perhaps the design "can" be altered, but that is definitely not the current plan from the SR-99 Alaskan Way Viaduct North Portal Working Group: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/workinggroupmaterials.htm

Posted Wed, Sep 2, 4:44 p.m.

Jabailo, My understanding was that the freight operators in Kent have become increasingly frustrated with congestion due single-occupant vehicles. Is that not the case anymore? I don't really have time to go check, I need to ride down the bike trail and buy a hammer at my Seattle neighborhood hardware ...

Posted Mon, Aug 31, 9:59 p.m.

I'm way too lazy to do the research, but are you perhaps thinking of the Phase 1 (Fairview to Dexter) cost? They're already taking down the facade of the Pacific and Ford buildings, and demolition of it and other buildings (old West Marine and Taco del Mar, etc) are scheduled ...

Posted Fri, Aug 28, 1:57 p.m.

DMorrill, I think I agree with you about the preferences of 75% of the population, but for the most part the market is not providing moderate density, it's providing low density. The little moderate density that we have is in very high demand: Seattle's "streetcar suburb" neighborhoods and other walkable ...

Posted Fri, Aug 28, 9 a.m.

eastkingcountyrednecklogger, I agree that there are a lot of people who really like low density living. However, that's 80% of what's been built the past 50 years or so, which is simply too much. Some people want walkable, which is why is there such a long waiting list for UW's ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 3:35 p.m.

Why can't it be both? They need to furlough everyone for financial reasons, but it also serves the purpose of reminding us that real people are behind a "pretty much free" website.

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 3:08 p.m.

I am curious on the argument that the growth of outlying areas is a preference issue and not a supply issue. As I've mentioned my family of 4 and several of our friends prefer a walkable lifestyle over low density, but we've seen very few options as most new housing ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 12:55 p.m.

I'd actually say that the statistics prove that you CAN force people to live someplace they don’t want to. About 50 percent of the population likes suburban life; unfortunately about 80 percent of the housing has been built that way, and it will take a long time to get caught ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 11:36 a.m.

Here's a link to the data: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/pop/april1/default.asp It is depressing. However, it's probably worth pointing out that the "Housing Change by Structure Type by County" table shows that King Co added more multifamily units (50,638) than single-family (39,827) from 2000-2009. I'm not which category townhomes would fall under, since they're ...

Posted Wed, Aug 26, 9:12 p.m.

Having worked in a library (not SPL), I can tell you that most library websites are not at all simple; they are a complicated mass of many systems and databases from outside vendors. (More like leaving your oven on...) It seems easy once it's up on the web, but the ...

Posted Wed, Aug 26, 3:56 p.m.

bjohn, that reminds me of this interview with Christopher Leinberger: http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/02/10/how-to-save-the-suburbs-an-interview-with-christopher-leinberger/ He points out that they surprisingly found that in the DC area "most of the walkable places are in the suburbs."

Posted Sun, Aug 23, 2:38 p.m.

I may be wrong, but I'd doubt that HSR proponents say that rail lines change land use patterns; rather, they allow different land use patterns. Atlanta's sprawl despite an urban rail system is a great example; just because TOD is possible doesn't mean a commuter office park won't be built ...

Posted Sat, Aug 22, 9:27 a.m.

I'd actually give the NIMBYs to McGinn. He's always been a neighborhood guy about sidewalks and concurrence.

Posted Thu, Aug 13, 8:29 a.m.

Well, I'll give it a try then: Carsey Institute for Families and Communities: http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/ Photo of Safeco (now UW) and UDPA parking lots (much was trees 30 years ago): http://uwnews.org/photos.asp?articleID=28500&spid;=28501 "Downtown residents not pining for suburbs" http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=2ccf8cf1-3feb-481c-8edf-0aeea75ac16a&p;=2

Posted Wed, Aug 12, 4:15 p.m.

Hmm. I guess I can't post links. The Vancouver article is called "Downtown residents not pining for suburbs". UW also has Blakeley Village, a housing complex designed for families, but there is a long waiting list.

Posted Wed, Aug 12, 4:01 p.m.

Well, I'm sorry to see this has devolved into a shouting match. There is a great conversation to have about expected growth in the city and region. Personally, I like dense urbanized living--I am professional staff at UW and live in the U-District, where I can walk or bike to ...

Posted Fri, Jul 31, 12:05 p.m.

At UW public records compliance is a big part on the debate on cloud sourcing. However, it's worth pointing out that UW uses secure commercial data centers as well as ones on campus. In some case it is more cost effective to rent rack space in Tukwila.

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 1:33 p.m.

It seems like the main argument here is about the extra cost, which is also seems to be the problem with the Mercer project. I do think there are several better things to spend the money on in each case (such as state highway HOV lanes, and bike/pedestrian paths). As ...

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 10:31 a.m.

Kent, you raise a lot of important issues, most of which the city is already facing without this proposal. For example, our neighbors recently expanded their 1920s home and we lived with the backhoe out our dining room window and sounds of saws for months. I understand, though, they are ...

Posted Mon, Jul 20, 7:14 a.m.

I like the article Knute, but I have to nitpick: the "big city" attitude is not new. Rememeber "New York Alki" and our founders, who Bill Speidel so aptly named "Sons of the Profits"? We also did go in for some shortsighted urban renewal, too, including the razing of the ...

Posted Tue, Jul 14, 9:40 p.m.

Nice writeup. Your mention that we could "add one or two people per household, we would likely exceed density goals without a crush of new construction." That reminded me of the recent newspaper article about the Ravenna Kibbutz. It's a loosely organized group of young adults renting 3 houses and ...

Posted Thu, Jul 9, 1:30 p.m.

Very nice work on the history, though the headline is pretty sensationalist. :) (By the way, the Cascade part of South Lake Union has a soul, and had it long before Vulcan.)

Posted Thu, Jul 9, 1:15 p.m.

Very nice article. A small note: the early 20th century streetcar neighborhoods were often privately built as a unit, and those streetcar routes are sometimes called "Development-Oriented Transit" instead of "Transit-Oriented Development."

Posted Wed, Jul 1, 11:35 a.m.

It's a good topic. There's more in the discussion we had in Orphan Road a while back: http://www.orphanroad.com/blog/2009/05/beautiful-schools-my-son-could-have-attended By the way, the "good schools" movement started on the east coast and predated Frank Cooper, though he was certainly influential. Here's a bit from the SPS archives: "In January of 1882 ...

Posted Wed, Jun 24, 9:40 p.m.

At least in the U-District, the townhomes are not even providing density and they're really hurting affordability. There have been several cases of old houses north of 50th (long ago carved into apartments) being torn down to build $500k townhouses. Often there are fewer townhomes than there were units in ...

Posted Thu, Mar 5, 11:56 p.m.

So I agree that Greg Nickels doesn't play well with others. But honestly, was this "his dream for South Lake Union"? I'm thinking we should give credit to all the people at the Center for Wooden Boats and the parks who've worked hard for years to make Lake Union Park ...

Posted Mon, Mar 2, 8:11 p.m.

Great idea and I hope it gets funding! I actually like both the trolley buses and streetcar (I usually take the SLUT to work at UW SLU, though I walked today because the weather was great). Unfortunately capital costs are only part of the picture--KC Metro's budget problems right now ...

Posted Tue, Feb 24, 11:15 a.m.

My wife and I lived in a small town for several years and loved most of it. We knew the neighbors and could easily walk out of town in just a few minutes. The part I didn't like is what brought me to Seattle: my $22,000 a year small-town pay ...

Posted Tue, Feb 17, 6:35 a.m.

This doesn't relate to the article much, but according to the UW, the Seattle campus Autumn 2008 enrollment was 42,113, so it's almost identical in size to Madison. Click on "Factoids" at http://www.washington.edu/discovery/about.html

Posted Sun, Feb 15, 8:42 a.m.

I'd be interested in some charts or tables comparing growth rates of different factors. For example, I assume by "overwhelmingly suburban" growth you mean new population. Is that in raw numbers or percentages? Job growth is a different category, but is surely what is bringing people to Seattle. Jobs are ...

Posted Sat, Feb 7, 9:17 a.m.

Knute, this is an excellent article. My young family rents in the city but some of our friends have chosen to commute from the suburbs, and I can't say that either one is the right choice for everyone. Our friends do have more yard space, and in at least one ...

Posted Mon, Feb 2, 8:04 p.m.

It's very easy to dictate to others that they must live in locations that highway planners find convenient. That assumes, however, that people are fungible "workers" waiting to do the bidding of the state, and not free agent individuals with roots, families, friends, communities and history in the places they ...

Posted Tue, Oct 21, 9:57 a.m.

I'm afraid your argument against Proposition 1 is actually against the 1996 Sound Move, which voters already approved. Funding is already in place for the Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium stations, and construction preparations have already begun. Voting no in 2008 will not change that fact. By the way, the ...

Posted Fri, Aug 29, 11:38 a.m.

Interstate Highway System: 4 times original estimate: The true biggest US boondoggle is the Interstate Highway System, proposed in 1956 with an initial cost estimate of $25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $114 billion and taking 35 years to complete just the original system, and it's been ...

Posted Wed, Jul 16, 2:10 p.m.

RE: Your creds: I actually like the Target/Best Buy/Joe's complex and have taken the 66/67 buses there regularly from the U-District in the past 5 years I've lived in Seattle without owning a car. We also typically hit Red Robin or the food court on the way home. Having 4 ...

Posted Tue, Jul 15, 1:50 p.m.

light rail, trolleys, and buses, Oh my!: Excellent article. I just wanted to say I love light rail, trolleys, AND buses! Maybe we could fund with an initiative for really high car licensing fees.