On the one month anniversary of the mudside that wiped out much of Oso, Wash., President Obama came to tour the devastation. The death toll stands at 41, with two missing. Restoring the region's economic lifeline, state Route 530, is top priority.
Martin Kaste visited the mudlslide site along the highway, speaking with residents, workers involved in recovery, and experts including David Montgomery, "a prominent geomorphologist at the University of Washington and author of books such as "The Rocks Don't Lie." Listen here, or read the transcript.
Kaste states that "(t)he state Department of Transportation says the road will take months to clear, and maybe longer to rebuild," affecting the town of Darrington the hardest. "People there have been cut off from jobs and family, unless they spend hours on a roundabout route."
"A 35-minute commute up valley from Arlington to Darrington is now a two hour-plus drive up and around through the Skagit and Sauk River valleys," according to the Seattle PI.
What's striking is that unlike in other areas hit by landslides or other natural calamities, there does not appear to be the willingness to rebuild that is often seen elsewhere, such as disaster-prone areas in southern California where residents have said the "risk is worth it". Resident David Hall explains his thoughts to Kaste:
I think everybody would like to see some kind of memorial there, from what I've heard. And as far as building there, everyone's saying no way, you know. We shouldn't have been allowed to build there in the first place.
Kaste states that officials will investigate why housing was built there when the location has a history of landslides as recent as 2006. Montgomery, the geomorphologist, has doubts. "I don't think it's really fair to sort of second-guess whether or not people should have been able to see the potential for such a large slide at this site," he states.
I never imagined that the hillside on the far side of the valley could actually come across and wipe out the highway in under a couple of minutes. That never crossed my mind, as a geologist going up and down that slope.
"Oso is a chance for geologist to learn more about big slides," he adds.
FULL STORY: Obama To See Effects Of Deadly Mudslide In Oso, Washington

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)