Dubbed the "Seattle Squeeze," heavier traffic is expected in the new year as the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes and downtown construction projects continue. While the city prepares, activists want to use the opportunity to encourage other modes.
"On Jan. 11, 2019," Josh Cohen writes, "the Highway 99 Viaduct will close, three weeks before its replacement tunnel opens. With the Viaduct's more than 90,000 daily drivers spilling onto other streets and highways, January is sure to be a mess." On top of that, major construction projects will continue to impact traffic conditions until 2024, a period some are calling the "Seattle Squeeze."
During the Viaduct closure and beyond, the city is "desperate to get fewer people to drive solo." But as the city focuses most of its attention on mitigating the Squeeze's immediate effects, activists want to use the moment to change how Seattleites get around in a lasting way. They include Move All Seattle Sustainably (MASS), an advocacy group that has released a list of priorities for the city during the crunch.
Activists are focused on ways to improve bus service, build out bike lanes, and make it easier for commuters to walk to work. Making progress on those fronts, they argue, will make the city's long-term transportation goals more feasible as people contemplate getting out of their cars. Those goals include congestion pricing, "the centerpiece of [Mayor] Durkan's long term strategy." If implemented, Seattle would be the first U.S. city with such a policy.
FULL STORY: As Seattle’s traffic doom looms, some see a silver lining
Opinion: Los Angeles Must Prioritize Bikes and Buses
L.A. has a plan for improving mobility. Why are city leaders ignoring it?
Seattle's Pioneer Square to become pedestrian zone during World Cup
The city will restrict car traffic and street parking in areas around Lumen Field on match days.
Feared Traffic Increase From New Bike Lanes Failed to Materialize
Data from a much-criticized bike lane project in Montgomery County shows no noticeable decrease in vehicle capacity and a sharp decrease in bike fatalities.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association