Comments on: Three Big Bread Loaves All In A Row

By: Time Passages (They Grow Up So Fast) | hugeasscity

Time Passages (They Grow Up So Fast) | hugeasscity — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:30:08 +0000

[...] 7.20.09: Taylor and Denny [...]

By: Joshua Daniel Franklin

Joshua Daniel Franklin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:58:25 +0000

I walked up Denny from 9th to Fairview today while thinking of this post. I'd completely forgotten the Wyland Orca mural on the La Quinta which adds a lot to the view across from Denny Park. The corner at Westlake had a lot of life just after 5pm, probably people stopping by for groceries after work. I hadn't realized that there would be absolutely no visibility of traffic coming down the hill because Denny has about a 10% grade up to Terry and Boren, which really makes the Pan Pacific in 2200 Westlake and the Mirabella at Fairview seem even taller than they are. I really like the central courtyard at 2200 except that it's currently for car loading. I could imagine instead of short-term parking maybe someday that could be a green roof for community events. Half of it gets some direct sun.

By: Wes Kirkman

Wes Kirkman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:36:13 +0000

“The need to accomodate four travel lanes leaves very little room for sidewalk, and eliminates the possiblity for substantial planting strips or parallel parking to buffer pedestrians from fast moving traffic. You might think that new development would be seized on as an opportunity to set new buildings further back from Denny and humanize the sidewalk, but as far as I can tell it has yet to happen.”

I’d prefer to be hopeful that the City will strangle its traffic engineers one day and then downsize Denny to a one-lane each way + center turn lane street. Would help to humanize Denny and grab some extra space for wider sidewalk, plantings, and/or bus(s) lane (don’t respond to me about how bad the traffic is on Denny, I know it is and could care less). I didn’t think this would actually happen of course, but with all the not too shabby development happening a little east of this area at the streetcar line, it may actually happen…minus the strangling of the traffic engineers unfortunately.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:12:01 +0000

I prefer the Pike-Pine overlay plans for actual neighborhoods. Brown bag proceedings tomorrow at Noon and I expect on Channel 21.

http://www.cityofseattle.net/council/committees/planning_comm.htm

By: L

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:23:58 +0000

the bread loaves document is pretty convincing. Problem is, the 2nd to last page is titled: “Ideas for Potential Recommendations.” Not really barnstorming material.

By: Joshua Daniel Franklin

Joshua Daniel Franklin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:24:42 +0000

The desirability question is a good one Andrew, but I’m not sure about the comparison to 45th and Wallingford. The worst thing that intersection has is the QFC parking lot, which is awkward but nothing like the Aurora on-ramps! My biased opinion is that Denny’s main problem is that it has way too many through drivers because no one can make any sense of the switch between the downtown and uptown street grids. The reworking of Westlake through SLU is probably a pretty good comparison–wider sidewalks, trees, bulbs, and lots of retail on the ground floor of office or lab buildings. Even though that made Westlake a lot better, I almost got run over in a crosswalk there last Monday. It’s still an auto thoroughfare.

By the way Denny Park did get one development–Vulcan’s moderate-income Borealis Apartments (80% AMI rents, and yet another bread loaf) on the west side of the park at Denny and Dexter. The north side along John is mostly covered by Denny Park Lutheran and Seattle Unity Churches–could they go the way of 1st Presbyterian? The east side is the lot behind Vulcan’s sales center which is surely going to be developed eventually. The south side (across Denny) is sad–there’s an decent Korean restaurant in an small building and a hotel. Denny Park itself is getting a little love. There’s a new playground being built; the equipment is there and it’s supposed to open in May.

By: Maryse

Maryse — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:47:13 +0000

My comment is not particularly on subject, but is related. A dear friend of mine works at the Seattle Architecture Foundation and they do regular tours of Seattle like those listed below.
Considering your great eye and excellent turn of phrase, you should at least attend a tour if not volunteer to lead them.
Contact Roberta Miner and tell her I sent you.
http://www.seattlearchitecture.org/tours.cfm

Sample of tour titles:
Art + Architecture: Let the Streets be Your Museum!
Historic Skyscrapers: Concrete, Steel, Glass and Egos
Harvard Belmont District: The Rich Life on Capitol Hill
Family Tour: Eye Spy Seattle
South Lake Union: Extreme Makeover
Modern Skyscrapers: What’s New?
Architecture 101: Windows on Seattle’s Style
That’s Entertainment: Glittering Palaces of Illusion
Design Details: Lions, Griffins, & Walruses, Oh My!

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:39:56 +0000

Oh GOD Please don’t mess with the #8. It goes all the places and between all the places no other line goes. It hardly has anything to do with the Regrade.

By: Keo

Keo — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:57:05 +0000

I just took a nice long walk around this neighborhood today and I’m more convinced than ever of a few things-

1) Thank god there will be more connections across Aurora after the tunnel is built.
2) Let’s get rid of Broad St. from Roy to 5th and never look back.
3) 2-way Mercer NOW please :-)
4) The idea of a park on 5th and Vine is a great one.

Some suggestions-

1) Denny Park badly needs some park-oriented development around it. It seems city planners and developers have just ignored it for the past 100 years?
2) Why is there a giant power substation at Thomas and 6th? Really hard to create a cohesive neighborhood around such a monstrosity.
3) For a better Denny: replace the #8 with a streetcar or streetcar-conceptually integrated trollybus?

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:59:05 +0000

Wider sidewalks, including overhanging upper floors for outside cafe space? Planting strips to separate pedestrians and traffic? That’s certainly two things I’d like to see generally.