hugeasscity

Gone East to Railvolution in Boston.  They have lots of transit and narrow streets in this city.  Exciting posts will surely be forthcoming.

Preface: To waste some time I wrote the riff below with the deluded idea that I might get it published in the Seattle Times, but upon submission was told they don’t publish op-eds that tout one candidate over another. Except their own, apparently. The “Party of the Future” meme was inspired by local brainiacs Alex […]

Don’t forget about the Futurewise/GGLO/Transportation Choices Coalition Blueprint for Transit-Oriented Communities launch event tonight from 4–6pm at the Pike Brewing Company in Pike Place Market, followed by a gallery opening reception from 6–8pm at AIA Seattle on First Ave between Virginia and Stewart.  More info here.  And at the risk of getting everyone all hot and bothered, […]

Five former members of the Viaduct Stakeholder Advisory Committee just issued the following press release in response the viaduct earthquake scenario video that was made public yesterday by the Washington State Department of Transportation. >>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEATTLE, WA — Oct. 26, 2009 Yesterday the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) released a dramatization […]

I have been trying to think of an analogy, a parable maybe, to explain the absurdity of a waterfront tunnel to replace the viaduct. I think I have one. This should also clarify the term “backward looking,” I used to describe tunnel advocates. That term is not intended to be an insult or some kind […]

What you best be doing next Tuesday, October 27, from 4 to 8pm, is this: Drinking beer and talking the wonk about transit-oriented communities. Because that’s when there’s gonna be a release party and AIA exhibit opening for a new report called Transit-Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State, written by Futurewise and its partners […]

In this, the year 2009, can it really be true that so many of the choices on the upcoming Fall ballot are still questions that are the subject of contentious debate; on which our citizenry must vote; that represent such a clear distinction between backward and forward, yet that could go either way? Let us […]

(Editor’s note: Guest poster Kate Stineback is a resident of West Seattle and an affordable housing developer and community organizer at Capitol Hill Housing.  More on the housing levy here. ) >>> Less than $6.00 a month for the typical Seattle homeowner—that’s about 18 cents per day, or $65 a year for the Seattle Housing Levy, […]

Because Mike McGinn said that if elected Mayor he would honor prior agreements made by the City’s elected representatives.  The sun has set on hugeasscity. >>> UPDATE:  Please note that I grew up in the Boston area where sarcasm is well-used. UPDATE 2:  I better spell it out:  Sarcasm is when you say the opposite […]

(Editor’s note:  The following was excerpted from Jabe Blumenthal’s voter recommendation email, which came my way via facebook, and is republished here with permission.  Much of this will be familiar territory for HAC readers, but nonetheless, it’s good reinforcement from yet another thoughtful voice, and more fodder for the intentionally redundant HAC tunnel blitz.) >>> The […]

Not that I expect to reach many deep-bore tunnel fans in the hugeasscity echo chamber, but for any of you out there who are still unsure, I hope you will consider the many reasons why the Seattle City Council should not rush to approve an agreement this week.   The many remaining uncertainties and unanswered questions […]

[ The deep-bore tunnel would provide no access to the downtown core from SR-99. ] The deep-bore tunnel is the loose cannon of Seattle’s upcoming mayoral election.  In the primary, the tunnel energized Mike McGinn’s supporters while it drove many greens away from the Nickels camp, and was arguably the single most important issue that […]

(Editor’s note:  The following post was copped from Sightline with permission from the author, Eric de Place, who, as is generally the rule with the whole Sightline crew, has a brain that is far too big for his own good.) >>> Will the deep-bore tunnel — the current choice by the city and state to replace […]

[ How many rockstar reporters can you spot at McGinn’s 23rd and Union press conference? ] For eleven years I have lived two blocks from the notorious intersection of 23rd and Union where Mike McGinn recently held a press conference on public safety. We all know that the crime that has plagued the area around […]

(Editor’s note:  Chuck Wolfe is a land-use attorney and an affiliate faculty member in the UW Department of Urban Design and Planning.  Chuck is a frequent contributor to Crosscut, but wanted to take walk on the wild side with the following post, adapted from this longer version.) >>> On Sunday, the Seattle Times asked how […]

[ Susan Hutchison and Dow Constantine facing off at the Seattle Aquarium last night. ] Did I forget that I had just taken a hit off the crack pipe, or did I actually hear Susan Hutchison say that Metro’s $100 million plus projected annual budget shortfall should be addressed by cracking down on unpaid fares?  […]

Please join fellow sustainability and built environment leaders for a fundraiser in support of Mike McGinn. As a leader at the Sierra Club, he fought against highway expansion and last year Mike lead the successful effort to pass the Parks and Green Spaces Levy. Rather than sinking billions of dollars in auto-dependent infrastructure, Mike wants […]

That would be the same King County wherein resides a populace that is among the most highly educated, forward-thinking, and environmentally aware in the entire country.   Allegedly. King County:  birthplace of Microsoft and Amazon; one of the nation’s first municipalities to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with development; former stomping grounds of Ron […]

[ The West Seattle Bridge ] (Editor’s note:  In the comments on Cary Moon’s tunnel post there was much discussion about options for transit service and McGinn’s proposal for light rail to West Seattle, and Joel Horn, former executive director of the Seattle Monorail Project, was asked to weigh in these questions:  So what options ARE […]