Sound Transit, the regional transit agency that builds Link and Sounder rail services and operates a lot of our express buses, is currently updating their Long Range Plan - a list of projects that informs their future expansion. This is the first phase of any ballot measure for additional...
Residential, woonerf. Attributed to: La Citta Vita - license - original
Over the past few years, the southern section of Manhattan's Broadway has steadily transformed from a major vehicle arterial into a “complete street” and pedestrian boulevard. Instead of a "car sewer", Broadway is now an inviting thoroughfare for walkers and cyclists, and a destination for shoppers,...
Great cities have active pedestrian-oriented retail areas, and Seattle has many. Could we use more? I think so, and Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) does, too. DPD is evaluating a major expansion of the city’s Pedestrian Retail Area zones, the biggest such expansion in the city’s history.
The Pedestrian...
Read more stories form the road at www.nathanvass.com.
It's that kid again, the one with the observant eyes. I've had a chance or two to chat with him in the interim. He is Amad, eleven or twelve, dressed in ordinary, low-profile garb. No flashy bling or starched denim–just a regular...
This past week saw a new plot twist in the Bertha tragicomedy: vehicle traffic is way down on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, from 110,000 daily trips in 2009 to 62,000 in 2012. As Ben noted, this not only explains some of the drop in solo commuting Mayor Murray touted in...
Next City's article "Five Extreme Models to Combat High Rent" is an interesting read simply because it lays out solutions to housing price problems that have actually been put into practice. It also illustrates (intentionally or not) why some of those methods aren't actually solutions.
Methods That Aren't Working
The first method discussed is...
One of the biggest pleasures I get out of living in a city is that I don't have to own a car. Cars can be a great convenience and a lot of people enjoy driving, but I've never been one of those people. I've always found driving stressful. Nevertheless,...
Yesterday, in Mayor Murray's first state of the city speech, he touts downtown's low single occupancy mode share (page 10) - fewer than half of downtown commuters drive alone to work, preferring instead transit, walking, biking, or carpooling. He laid out a vision I strongly agree with - reducing driving...