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The Urbanist
New Parks Move Forward in Lake City, North Rainier, and Little Saigon
Rendering of the planned park coming to the Lake City Urban Village. (City of Seattle) Seattle Parks and Recreation is heading toward awarding construction contracts on three parks in areas of the city with fewer acreage of parks and open space than most Seattle neighborhoods. The impact of Covid-19 on the overall budget of Seattle Parks has caused many park development proposals to be paused, but these projects are advancing in large part because of the oversized impact that increasing green space in these neighborhoods would have relative to the other park development plans in the pipeline. All of these parks are located in urban centers or villages where Seattle has concentrated most of the new housing in the city in recent decades, and many of them have been in planning for a very long time. These parks still lack official names, but they are sure to be beloved additions to the neighborhoods where they are being built.
Judge Strikes ‘Compassion Seattle’ City Charter Amendment from November Ballot
Supporters of the House Our Neighbors! coalition hold a press meeting in Victor Steinbrueck Park in Downtown Seattle to voice their opposition to the proposed "Compassion Seattle" city charter amendment. (Credit: House Our Neighbors)
Apartment Production Declines toward a 5-Year Low in Seattle Metro
RentCafé's 2021 report on apartment production shows Seattle is slowing down in housing growth; the numbers are backed up by data shared by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections. (Photo by Natalie Bicknell)
Traffic Shift Coming to Allow for Montlake Boulevard’s Expansion to Nine Lanes
A rendering shows a complete aerial view of the Montlake Boulevard/SR-520 project. (Credit: WSDOT) This coming weekend Montlake Boulevard over SR-520 will be completely closed between Roanoke and Hamlin Streets so that the entire roadway can be shifted east onto what will become the Montlake open space lid. The change will allow for crews to extend the lid structure to the west, making space for the newly rebuilt Montlake Boulevard.
Harrell Ducks Police Accountability Forum, Burgess Rides In to Smear González
On Monday, the Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) announced that Bruce Harrell had declined their invitation to a mayoral candidate forum on police accountability and public safety, leading them to cancel the event. Both leading candidates are promising to increase police accountability and reduce incidents of racial bias and excessive force, but their methods vary significantly.
Metro Unveils New Station Area Maps Ahead of Northgate Link Extension Opening
A portion of the new Northgate Station area map by King County Metro. (Credit: King County) Ahead of the Northgate Link extension opening, King County Metro has quietly unveiled new area maps that will be located within light rail stations and at bus bays. The maps share some similarities to existing frequency area maps found in Downtown Seattle, but provide enhanced and streamlined details for riders. The new maps also show the fruits of Metro’s bus restructure in North Seattle, which adds some new bus routes, such as Route 20, and is aimed at improving connections to the new light rail stations — though pandemic budget tightening did cause the agency to abandon some ambitious earlier proposals, such as the crosstown Route 61.
Compassion Seattle Fires Back as Homelessness Charter Amendment Faces Second Lawsuit
Seattle voters wait for a judicial decision that will determine if the controversial city charter amendmentcriticscall an unfunded mandate masquerading as a homelessness solution will appear on the November ballot.
New Designs Expand Possibilities for Tiny Houses as Emergency Shelter
LiteHouse Shelters' tiny houses are fully insulated and modular. Because they can be assembled into structures of different sizes, creator Brad Griffith envisions entire affordable tiny house villages constructed from his design in the future. (Credit: LiteHouse Shelters)
Seattle to Boost Downtown with Additional Street-Level Uses
Empty retail at Rainier Square (Photo by author) On Monday, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to energize Downtown Seattle and South Lake Union (SLU) with new street-level uses. This effort hopes to help Downtown and South Lake Union recover from the pandemic-induced recession by filling vacancies and promoting active streets. The legislation also offers an opportunity to reshape the two neighborhoods with new services that better cater to their burgeoning residential populations.
2021 Primary Precinct Results Show Familiar Rich vs Rent-burdened Battle Lines
Mayoral candidates Bruce Harrell and Lorena González advanced to the General. (Photos courtesy of campaigns) King County Elections finalized Primary Election results on Tuesday and Seattle’s data wizards quickly went to work conjuring maps showing precinct-level results. What emerged was a familiar pattern: left-wing candidates dominated in Seattle’s urban villages, the densest neighborhoods where much of the city’s growth has been funneled by zoning and land use policy.
Fast Growing Issaquah Plans for More Density – and Sprawl
A look at many Issaquah Highland developments (Photo by Author) With their Central Issaquah Plan, zoning updates, and planned communities, in recent years the City of Issaquah has experienced a steady increase in new development, mostly in the form of townhome and apartment housing. In accordance with the city’s zoning map, the development is primarily happening within the Central Issaquah, Newport, Olde Town, Talus, and Issaquah Highlands areas. A handful of other small clusters also have seen or are seeing significant housing development, and Squak Mountain and South Cove are two examples that fit this trend.
Sound Transit Announces $500 Million in Savings from New Federal Loans
The $500 million in savings announced by Sound Transit will help the agency continue its regional expansion plans, although more cost savings and revenue will be needed to close the current gap in funding. (Credit: The Urbanist)
Pierce Transit Plans ‘Stream’ BRT Expansion, Bus Lane Cutbacks on First Line
Nighttime rendering of the suspension station option. (Pierce Transit) Pierce Transit is advancing its new bus rapid transit (BRT) program, Stream, with a first line planned from Tacoma to Spanaway that the agency hopes will encourage further expansions. In June, the Pierce Transit board of commissioners approved a study that could bring four more Stream lines into service by 2040. But the initial line continues to stagger as the Pacific Avenue/SR-7 design advances. Cutbacks over the past two years have trimmed backexclusive right-of-way mileage. Those changes could reduce operational speeds and reliability on the corridor, but Pierce Transit thinks targeted investments will do the job.
SDOT Rolling Out Emergency Bus Lane During the Montlake Bridge Closure
An emergency bus lane on Campus Parkway should help keep buses moving during the Montlake Bridge closure and could improve reliability of buses on other streets in the University District. (Photo by The Urbanist)
Study Ranks U.S. Cities by '15-Minute City' Pedestrianization Potential
A group of pedestrians and cyclists files down the narrow sidewalk of busy Boren Avenue in Seattle. Seattle and other cities identified in a recent study as "promising" future 15-minute cities will need to make investments in safe walking and rolling infrastructure. (Photo by author)
Sound Transit Proposes Cutting Pedestrian Access to Trim Stride I-405 BRT Costs
A rendering of an I-405 Stride bus rapid transit station.Sound Transit. Sound Transit boardmembers received an update on the Stride I-405 and SR-522/NE 145th St projects on Thursday — just one week after the board approved major realignment of the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) capital program. Among the highlights of the update were ways that the agency is trying to cut Stride project costs to deliver projects within affordable budgets.
What It Would Take for Seattle to Lead on Climate
Electric buses can jumpstart the process of weaning Seattle off fossil fuel based transportation. (Photo by Doug Trumm) The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report on Monday underscoring its past warnings that governments must act decisively and immediately to stave off climate catastrophe. Although many American leaders issued remarks in response, few could boast of having taken tangible actions to meaningfully change our current course — among them Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.
Will Sizzling Heat Finally Spur Seattle to Act on Tree Canopy Protections?
One block off busy Broadway Avenue in Capitol Hill, street trees bring greenery to an area of dense apartments and courtyard cottages. (Photo by author) Urban Forest Commission Chair Weston Brinkley weighs in on why Seattle needs to act and what can be done to better protect the city’s urban trees.
Metro’s Via To Transit Service Expanding to More Hubs, Adding Renton and Skyway
Via to Transit promotional postcard. (King County) King County Metro has announced that Via to Transit, an on-demand rideshare service, will expand to new areas and serve more “hubs” throughout Southeast Seattle, Renton, and Tukwila. The service expansion goes into effect today.
Help Snohomish County Shape Future Light Rail Communities
Mariner Station concept art. (Courtesy of Snohomish County) On August 3rd, Snohomish County returned with a 2021 Summer Survey to continue their light rail planning process. When we last covered Snohomish County’s Light Rail Communities project in fall 2020, the County was seeking input on housing in urban unincorporated Snohomish County and presented data on housing density acceptability and affordability. This time around, the County is seeking feedback on form-based code, or land use development regulations that craft a specific urban form. Design preferences for parking, tree canopy, streets, and sidewalks are among the many elements of urban landscapes that the 2021 Summer Survey hopes to elucidate.
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