October 25, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 12:40 pm
Every member of Seattle's City Council will tell you that they believe the City should invest in infrastructure that promotes walking, biking, and transit and helps reduce car-dependence. Just don't ask them to make any hard choices to pay for it. read more →
October 15, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 11:23 am
No, it's not because I'm trying to save the planet. It's because I'm selfish. read more →
October 12, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:47 am
Seattle, like most U.S. cities, faces a Catch-22 barrier to reducing car dependence: Buildings must have ample parking because there's no reasonable alternative to driving, but all that parking perpetuates travel habits and land use patterns that sabotage alternative transportation and further lock us into unsustainable car-dependence. So here's my proposition: a region-wide impact fee on every parking stall on private property. read more →
October 11, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:21 am
Raising on-street parking meter rates to reflect market value is a dangerous idea, we're told, because it will coerce customers away from businesses in Seattle's commercial centers and send them to far-flung places where parking is cheaper or free. The underlying premise of that contention, however, is critically flawed. read more →
October 6, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:16 am
While many in Seattle's green urbanist community were railing against a deep-bore tunnel alternative to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct, Copenhagen, a vaunted international leader in urban sustainability, completed its own 2.5 mile long deep-bore tunnel beneath the heart of the City. read more →
October 3, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:06 am
A street closure, some hot electric cars, planning the green takeover of Seattle, bikes, and beer. read more →
October 1, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 11:20 am
The KIRO FM bike nazi rant in response to Seattle's first bike box was in large part just a PR stunt, but the truth is that in essence that rant is a pretty accurate representation of how mainstream America thinks. read more →
September 29, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:30 am
Worldchanging's fundraiser this Friday night will feature the mayors of Portland and Seattle, a discussion not to be missed by the Seattle multitudes who suffer from Portland envy. And for those of you not properly feeling that envy, read this post and weep. read more →
September 24, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:33 am
It's the lie that won't die---the rampant, righteous belief among armchair transportation authorities like Joni Balter that the I-5-Surface-Transit alternative to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct would gridlock the City. read more →
September 22, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 12:41 pm
It's great that the City has hired an inspiring design team for the central waterfront, but regardless of who designs it, future success will be severely jeopardized unless we get past the misguided notion that there should be no new development. read more →
September 18, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 3:16 pm
In a past life I worked as a research engineer for a company that was developing a miniature display technology based on scanning beams of red, green, and blue light directly to the retina. And that only heightened my enmity for the color blue. read more →
September 14, 2010
By Dan Bertolet at 10:20 am
The Seattle City Council took a bold step last January when they made the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 one of their official 2010 priorities. I have no doubt that subsequent efforts will produce smart recommendations. What is far less certain, however, is if and when anything will be done with them. Indeed, now that Council has made a high-profile public commitment to achieving carbon neutrality, will that goal become an embarrassment? read more →
