I received a full color glossy to "resident" today from the Washington State Department of Transportation regarding the planned upgrades to the US 195 corridor. Washington State Senator Chris Marr very ably sets out the situation. Go ahead and look at that video, and I'll wait here.
In effect, sprawl outstripped government's ability or willingness to pay for the transportation improvements along that corridor. Of course, in Spokane County, no developer has any responsibilities with regards to their impacts on transportation, and even if they did, the State exempted itself from transportation concurrency requirements to which all other governments in the state must adhere. But, the time for worrying about whether we're paying for our infrastructure correctly has passed. Now it's a safety issue.
Now we have a highway with access roads coming right up to it. Drivers must accelerate and decelerate on the highway itself, and left turns require passing across highway-speed traffic. According to Marr's August video, a couple of people have died so far this year.
Getting people involved in transportation planning (and, I suspect, transportation funding advocacy) is a difficult task. I commend WSDOT at its attempt. For those of you who did not receive it, there is a project web site.
The Perfect City
I woke up this morning to a very pleasant read pointed out to me by my friend Bart Mihailovich at the DownToEarthNW.com blog. David Byrne, yes, the singer/songwriter for the Talking Heads, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal talking about his perfect city.
Byrne muses briefly, read-ably, about what characteristics he'd like to see in a city. While not everyone would like to live there (though, it sure seems intriguing to me), it's a good exercise, I think, for people to have some kind of vision about what they want. Only then can we all come together to create it.
Byrne has the advantage of being well-traveled; most of the people we meet in our everyday lives are not as worldly. But, that doesn't mean they don't have aspirations which could be enhanced by a community which serves those ambitions.
Bart asks the question on his blog: what is your perfect city? I encourage you to go read the Byrne article and tell Bart what you think. Tell me, too, if you'd like.
And a linkback would be greatly appreciated! :)
Byrne muses briefly, read-ably, about what characteristics he'd like to see in a city. While not everyone would like to live there (though, it sure seems intriguing to me), it's a good exercise, I think, for people to have some kind of vision about what they want. Only then can we all come together to create it.
Byrne has the advantage of being well-traveled; most of the people we meet in our everyday lives are not as worldly. But, that doesn't mean they don't have aspirations which could be enhanced by a community which serves those ambitions.
Bart asks the question on his blog: what is your perfect city? I encourage you to go read the Byrne article and tell Bart what you think. Tell me, too, if you'd like.
And a linkback would be greatly appreciated! :)
Off and running!
Classes start tomorrow, but that doesn't mean that we haven't already started our activities related to this quarter. Students in Dr. Winchell's PLAN 261 class (Community Development) received their first assignments through the "Blackboard" online application. On Blackboard, documents associated with a class can be posted so that they are accessible from anywhere.
The first assignment was to post a web page within Blackboard which has a photo, an introduction and some personal details. This was pretty easy since the fields were already set up for us.
The second assignment was to read other people's web pages, and introduce ourselves to our fellow students in the discussion boards. In effect, we're taking the actions necessary to start building our little planning community. Dr. Winchell seems to be pleased with the ongoing comments so far.
I'm also sensing (though, with a very small sample of n=2) that there could be a high correlation between members of the PLAN 261 (CD) and PLAN 201 (U&RP) classes. Additionally, there was a note from Dr. Winchell that indicated that there should be many of the CD students in the Friday-Saturday class this weekend. I was talking to a friend this evening and we realized that in a way, these are the people who I will be with class after class after class for the next two years. And so far, I've enjoyed the interaction, and I'm hopeful that it's true.
I've been reading the first textbook for community development ever since I bought it yesterday around noon. Well, calling it a textbook seems strange because it's actually Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I'm about 90 pages in at the moment. My intent is to read straight through, then go back chapter by chapter as the class goes through it. Of course, this might be sidetracked by any reading assignments coming from the statistics and Intro to Urban and Regional Development classes, but at least at the moment and until I get data to the contrary, I have an interim plan. Of course, Covey would say that I should be proactive, cleave to my principles, and do what should be done in the natural order of things.
Now, a note to current and prospective EWU students. I went to a meeting during orientation yesterday and met several of the members of the student government (ASEWU). The president mentioned that there was a discussion underway to build a new student union building. I wanted to know how much progress there was, so I spoke today with the facility building director, K.C. Traver. (I'm not sure what his exact title is, but if it's important to anyone reading, let me know and I'll run that down sooner rather than later.) He said that the first he heard of it was a few months ago. He told me that there are some issues with the current facility (the Pence Union Building, or PUB), including some life safety issues. My impression is that this is a worthy conversation for the student body to be having, and that it's at the very early stages, so any participation in the planning process could be pivotal at this point. Students could very well have their ideas integrated into the facility which would be part of the daily life of future students of EWU for a generation. Something to think about.
The first assignment was to post a web page within Blackboard which has a photo, an introduction and some personal details. This was pretty easy since the fields were already set up for us.
The second assignment was to read other people's web pages, and introduce ourselves to our fellow students in the discussion boards. In effect, we're taking the actions necessary to start building our little planning community. Dr. Winchell seems to be pleased with the ongoing comments so far.
I'm also sensing (though, with a very small sample of n=2) that there could be a high correlation between members of the PLAN 261 (CD) and PLAN 201 (U&RP) classes. Additionally, there was a note from Dr. Winchell that indicated that there should be many of the CD students in the Friday-Saturday class this weekend. I was talking to a friend this evening and we realized that in a way, these are the people who I will be with class after class after class for the next two years. And so far, I've enjoyed the interaction, and I'm hopeful that it's true.
I've been reading the first textbook for community development ever since I bought it yesterday around noon. Well, calling it a textbook seems strange because it's actually Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I'm about 90 pages in at the moment. My intent is to read straight through, then go back chapter by chapter as the class goes through it. Of course, this might be sidetracked by any reading assignments coming from the statistics and Intro to Urban and Regional Development classes, but at least at the moment and until I get data to the contrary, I have an interim plan. Of course, Covey would say that I should be proactive, cleave to my principles, and do what should be done in the natural order of things.
Now, a note to current and prospective EWU students. I went to a meeting during orientation yesterday and met several of the members of the student government (ASEWU). The president mentioned that there was a discussion underway to build a new student union building. I wanted to know how much progress there was, so I spoke today with the facility building director, K.C. Traver. (I'm not sure what his exact title is, but if it's important to anyone reading, let me know and I'll run that down sooner rather than later.) He said that the first he heard of it was a few months ago. He told me that there are some issues with the current facility (the Pence Union Building, or PUB), including some life safety issues. My impression is that this is a worthy conversation for the student body to be having, and that it's at the very early stages, so any participation in the planning process could be pivotal at this point. Students could very well have their ideas integrated into the facility which would be part of the daily life of future students of EWU for a generation. Something to think about.
Summer Update
Next week, Eastern Washington University will commence a new fall quarter, and my entrance into planning from an academic point of view will be underway. The planning courses I'm taking will be:
Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning (Mondays and Wednesdays 1-3:30);
Community Development (Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-3:30); and
Professional Planning Practice (September 25-26, 8 am - 6 pm)
These are the classes I will be blogging here, but I may also address other things which are related to the people involved and the program itself.
A couple of things have happened during the summer as the new year quickly approaches. First, I joined the EWU Association of Student Planners. (That's not actually a huge task, every member of the planning department is automatically a member.) I went to a meeting of the executive board at Zola. There are a number of events that the ASP is planning over the course of the year, including some traditions such as a Chili Cook Off (on November 6 this year).
Second, I created a web site for the EWU ASP athttp://ewuasp.ning.com (UPDATE: The Ning site has been closed down). At the moment, the graphics are just standard, but we'll punch it up with some more interesting images and graphics later. The purpose was to get things rolling, and you can already join up and view some of the upcoming events.
Third, I asked the former project manager of the Spokane Light Rail Project and current president of the Inland Empire Rail Transit Association, K.C. Traver, to speak at a brown bag seminar for the planning students. Of course, everyone is invited. Details will be released on the EWU ASP web site when we have them. There will be several brown bag seminars on topics of interest in this area.
Fourth, I went to a tailgate party with several second year graduate students at a Spokane Indians baseball game (Spokane beat Yakima 3-0). It was a great chance to socialize with a really fun and intelligent group of people. I truly enjoy them.
Fifth, I escorted a city councilmember from Mountlake Terrace, Washington to the East Side Block Party and Sustainable Uprising this last weekend. I introduced her to Mariah McKay (The Spovangelist), Angie Dierdorff (of Community Minded Enterprises), Beth Mort (the immdiate past president of EWU ASP) and the Inland Rail crew. She was thrilled by the event, and mentioned to Beth that she'd be willing to host a field trip to MLT to walk the downtown and look over the planning documents. All in all, a great connection there.
Student orientation begins tomorrow. So, I was very pleased to get an email today saying that this quarter is fully paid, and I'm all set. I hope you enjoy my journey, too.
Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning (Mondays and Wednesdays 1-3:30);
Community Development (Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-3:30); and
Professional Planning Practice (September 25-26, 8 am - 6 pm)
These are the classes I will be blogging here, but I may also address other things which are related to the people involved and the program itself.
A couple of things have happened during the summer as the new year quickly approaches. First, I joined the EWU Association of Student Planners. (That's not actually a huge task, every member of the planning department is automatically a member.) I went to a meeting of the executive board at Zola. There are a number of events that the ASP is planning over the course of the year, including some traditions such as a Chili Cook Off (on November 6 this year).
Second, I created a web site for the EWU ASP at
Third, I asked the former project manager of the Spokane Light Rail Project and current president of the Inland Empire Rail Transit Association, K.C. Traver, to speak at a brown bag seminar for the planning students. Of course, everyone is invited. Details will be released on the EWU ASP web site when we have them. There will be several brown bag seminars on topics of interest in this area.
Fourth, I went to a tailgate party with several second year graduate students at a Spokane Indians baseball game (Spokane beat Yakima 3-0). It was a great chance to socialize with a really fun and intelligent group of people. I truly enjoy them.
Fifth, I escorted a city councilmember from Mountlake Terrace, Washington to the East Side Block Party and Sustainable Uprising this last weekend. I introduced her to Mariah McKay (The Spovangelist), Angie Dierdorff (of Community Minded Enterprises), Beth Mort (the immdiate past president of EWU ASP) and the Inland Rail crew. She was thrilled by the event, and mentioned to Beth that she'd be willing to host a field trip to MLT to walk the downtown and look over the planning documents. All in all, a great connection there.
Student orientation begins tomorrow. So, I was very pleased to get an email today saying that this quarter is fully paid, and I'm all set. I hope you enjoy my journey, too.
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