Four the Future - September 20

Today, the Great White Way becomes more lively, speed bump woes, studded tire destruction, and preparing for EV's.

• Not So Broadway
  Source: New York Times; September 3, 2010
  Summary: Broadway in Manhattan has been narrowed over the last few years by adding pedestrian and bike lanes. From 59th to 42nd, three quarters of the sidewalk chairs which used to be part of the road were occupied between 2 and 2:30 PM. In Herald Square, 93 of 111 chairs were occupied.
  Opinion: Broadway has become a place for people rather than just cars. Turns out, retail is benefited by pedestrians. Very few businesses get a buck out of a car that just drives by. Where is your neighborhood people place?
  
• Speed bump bothering South Burlingame residents
  Source: The Oregonian; September 10, 2010
  Summary: A speed bump the width of a crosswalk was installed adjacent to an elementary school. It is marked only as a sidewalk, however, and people are slamming into the bump, disturbing the neighbors with the noise.
  
  
  View Larger Map
  Opinion: Speed bumps a troublesome for multiple reasons. First, public safety personnel hate them. Here, there is also the concern that they hamper snow removal. But, it seems to me that if there are so many people speeding along this road, the drivers are getting some feeling that it should be faster. Other traffic calming options may be in order, such as narrowing the street at this intersection, as in actually widening the sidewalk so that
  1. there is a visual cue that there's a tight spot ahead
  2. the distance the children must cross is shortened, and
  3. it will encourage children to cross at the proper location
  By the way, if you read the comments on that story, you’ll see just how passionate people can be about these things. It degenerates into name calling pretty quickly.
  
• Editorial: Driving on studded tires taxes roads and budgets
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 15, 2010
  Summary: The Spokesman-Review editorial board urges you not use studded tires. They're not as safe as snow tires, and the money used to repair the roads of the damage they cause would be better used for other road projects.
  Opinion: I mentioned this a couple days ago. Not only do they give a false sense of security, they cost tax dollars for the repair of the roads, and make the roads more dangerous because the ruts can force a car to move unpredictably and water in the grooves can cause a car to hydroplane.
  
• Buzz Kill? Running electric vehicles not as simple as plug and go
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 19, 2010
  Local companies getting prepared for electric cars
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 19, 2010
  Summary: While plug-in electric vehicles may be capable of being recharged at normal household voltage (120V), it's faster if you use a charging station running at 240 volts, which requires a licensed electrician to install. The cost of the dock and labor is around $2,200. Adding a second meter may require up to a 45-day delay for installation. People who do not have garages also have other concerns. Avista says it has available capacity for the vehicles, predicting that nearly 20% of all electrical use will be for this purpose by 2035.
  Opinion: Running an EV in the northwest will be less expensive than in other areas of the country due to lower dependence on fossil fuel fired plants. But, if electrical demand goes up, that advantage will go away. So, to switch from gasoline to electrical vehicles will require that we reduce power usage for our homes and businesses through higher efficiencies.
  

Neighborhoods for People

Scan | Design Foundation, University of Washington’s Green Futures Research & Design Lab, International Sustainability Institute, and Gehl Architects have produced a guide to how to conceptualize livable communities for Seattle, Washington entitled Neighborhoods for People.

It's intended to guide neighborhoods, non-profits, professionals, and students when they’re thinking about what kind of communities in which they wish to live, work, and play. This richly illustrated document (it's almost entirely photography) urges people to look around and see the public spaces they live in. It all around us: in Seattle, 46% of the land is owned by the public. The document provides methods and processes to make your neighborhood yours.

And, yes, much of the land in a city is publicly owned because of the roads, trails and sidewalks! What does traveling (by car, bike, foot, bus, rail, etc.) tell you about the neighborhoods you travel to? What are you sensing about neighborhoods that you’d rather just pass through without stopping? You and I, we’re students in this world of planning, and this document is, in part, talking directly to us. Go take a look!

Four the Future - September 8

Today, an unusual bonanza of Spokesman-Review contributions: roads, roads, roads, and more roads! But, also, federal funding, affordable housing, respecting neighborhood values, and a new transportation fee.

• Federal funds advance North Side corridor
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 8, 2010
  See Also: Obama to Call for $50 Billion Spending on Public Works
  Summary: United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Senator Patty Murray headlined a gathering of dignitaries at the site of the North Spokane Corridor to celebrate the beginning of the construction of the southbound lanes between Farwell and Francis. The funds for this construction came from the 2009 federal stimulus package. LaHood will be asking congress members about their attitude with President Obama’s $50 billion transportation investment plan. Murray isn’t ready to endorse the idea.
  Opinion: I've mentioned Secretary LaHood before (with a link to video). While this is clearly a high-profile construction project and will get all the attention, he appears to be a "livable communities" advocate, and won't concentrate just on huge freeways that don't go anywhere.
  
• More buildings in freeway's path set for removal
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 8, 2010
  Summary: Even though no one knows where the money is coming from to complete the North Spokane Corridor's freeway, homes are being demolished in East Central adjacent to I-90. One hundred thirty buildings have already been removed. Forty-nine more will be razed under the new contracts. More than 500 will be pulled down by the time WSDOT is done. One property, however, was recently purchased by the City of Spokane for use as subsidized housing and transferred to ECCO, the East Central Community Organization. The building is being renovated, and will be moved to a city-owned lot.
  Opinion: There are an immense number of displacements occurring with the destruction of this neighborhood. It's good that some affordable housing will be preserved. However, my usual snarky comment is that it's a good thing that they’re building a freeway so that all these displaced people can travel out to the edge of town where all the new houses will be built. Did I mention that they don’t know where the $1.6 billion dollars for the construction is going to come from?
  
• Vestal: Smooth streets well worth turmoil of construction
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 8, 2010
  Summary: Lincoln Street on Spokane's south hill has been reconstructed. It’s smoother now, and also includes new “storm gardens” which deal with rainfall more effectively. There are construction projects all over the city, and it will be worth the hassle. They are brought to you courtesy of a $117 million road bond in 2004. Local leaders are talking about a car license fee of $20 that would generate about $8 million per year, but that's only about one fifth of the annual backlog.
  
  
  
  Opinion: Now, that wasn't hard, was it? The City of Spokane experienced a change in its leadership due, in part, to its mishandling of Bernard Street. You hardly hear a peep this time, only a few blocks away, because the city worked with the neighborhood and respected its values. The silence may be reward enough for the city, but we should praise their effort. Now, if only we could have the dedicated funding. Change in federal policy from sprawl creation to neighborhood infrastructure preservation, anyone?
  
• City, Valley might back vehicle tax, Mielke says
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 8, 2010
  Summary: County Commissioner Todd Mielke says that the Cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley may support the creation of a transportation benefit district which would charge a $20 vehicle license fee throughout the county. He also said that "all the city officials he has talk to have agreed that no tax should be levied without voter approval." Commissioner Richard was concerned that having the voters weigh in might harm the construction of a new jail.
  Opinion: The problem with a car license fee is that it charges people for owning a car, when it's using a car which causes the need for road maintenance. But, people without a plan resort to desperate, uncoordinated measures, so this should be expected. The lesson here is that every time you hear local elected officials complain that there's not enough money for road maintenance, they're arguing against the federal government's policy of funding new road construction instead of maintenance. If we were arguing about whether to charge $20 for the construction of more sprawl, this issue would be DOA.

Complete Streets

Recently, a significant amount of debate has been underway in Spokane about the "complete streets" concept. In a nutshell, a complete street is one which all people can use and feel safe, whether they are using a car, bike, feet, or any other conveyance. There has been a great deal of reasoned discussion on this important transportation topic. (There have also been spirited assertions* on the issue.)

Futurewise's Kitty Klitzke worked hard on convincing the Spokane City Council to adopt a resolution directing the city to gather the information for and prepare a complete streets ordinance. Futurewise's web page on the subject is here. Councilmembers Corker, Rush, Shogan and Waldref voted in favor of the resolution. Councilmember Jon Snyder blogged about it the next morning and posted the resolution text as well.

There is an embarrassing amount of angry, anti-bike sentiment expressed in Spokane (and those two both on the same day). Oh, and by the way, first letter writer above, the roads were not made for cars. They were made for pedestrians, horse and buggies, and streetcars.

Spokane's Citizen Streets Committee Chairman Dallas Hawkins states that he is in favor of the concept, but it concerned about the cost. This is a reasonable initial concern, but federal grants are available ("enhancement grants") which will cover up to 80% of that cost. Since the cost of pedestrian and bike facilities are low anyway, this makes them exceptionally inexpensive.

There is a comment on that opinion piece above which says, essentially, that bikes should be allowed the equal proportion of right-of-way to the proportion of trips that road carries. This is a specious argument. If the road doesn't have a bike lane, the road may very well be impassable by bikes. Those are the roads which are most in need of bike lanes, not the least. Besides, if you start considering the number of kids riding bikes on residential streets--well, the auto-only advocates had better watch out for what they wish. They might be banished from the neighborhoods forever.

And, the tide is turning at the federal level regarding transportation alternatives to automobiles. The United States Department of Transportation has issued new policy regarding complete streets which will have the effect of putting communities which fail to accommodate all transportation modes at a disadvantage. Here is the policy statement, issued of March 15, 2010:

The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blogged about this new policy as well, and included two videos of his "tabletop speech" on the topic.

It's important that we fully understand the costs, yes, but we must also be mindful of the advantages, including improved air quality, improved cardiovascular health, reduced street maintenance costs, reduced dependency on foreign oil, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, reduced personal transportation costs, improved public safety, and even an improved economy for locally owned businesses. Only short-sightedness and prejudice can get in the way.

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* My term for debates in which the tin-foil-wearing, UN-conspiracy-fearing, black-helicopter crowd is inspired to participate. Apparently some people think that the UN is taking us over through installing sidewalks so that people with disabilities can use them.

Four the Future - January 26

Today: Real estate default, Phosphorus fertilizers, transportation connectivity, and animal control.

• N.Y. Housing Complex Is Turned Over to Creditors
  Source: New York Times; January 25, 2010
  Summary: Four years after the most expensive real estate transaction of its kind in US history, the owners of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village have turned them over to their creditors. The owners owed $3 billion after purchasing the 110 buildings and 11,227 apartments but could not collect enough rent to pay the mortgage. The development was built after World War II for middle class families, and it stayed affordable until the latest purchase. The new owners performed expensive upgrades to the apartments and attempted to rent them for higher prices, to no avail. The owners had been warned that their plans were risky by tenant advocates and urban planners.
  Opinion: Another part of the real estate bubble bursting. Clearly they had too much money on their hands and needed to purchase something. They depended on highly speculative instruments and their willingness to move out middle class renters caught them with their pants down. There is way too much irrational speculation in America.

• No P on Grass
  Source: The Inlander; January 21, 2010
  Summary: Washington State Representative Timm Ormsby and Senators Lisa Brown and Chris Marr are sponsors of a bill which would ban the use of phosphorus-containing lawn fertilizers. The purpose is to reduce the amount of fertilizer entering the Spokane River. Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District banned phosphorus several years ago. However, the Washington Friends of Farms and Forests opposes the measure, as it does not think it will help. The State of Minnesota banned it years ago, and the City of Ann Arbor banned it and phosphorus pollution in the river went down by 28 percent. Marr and Ormsby say that Costco and Wal*Mart are amenable to stocking low phosphorus fertilizers.
  Opinion: One of the ways this region will become compliant with future limits on phosphorus in the Spokane River, not to mention cleaning it up so we can eliminate unnatural algae blooms, is to reduce what is called non-point (or "not-from-pipes") sources of pollution. The soil in Spokane County is naturally rich in phosphorus, and needs no amendment past the first year of growth for lawns. The City of Liberty Lake took the initiative to stop using phosphorus for regular use on the golf course, and there were no complaints. It's simply not necessary. (However, it must be noted, that the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District's ban is nothing but talk. They don't have any authority to any such thing. Even if they did, to be effective the ban must be region wide.)
• Complete Streets needs you
  Source: Down to Earth; January 24, 2010
  Summary: Spokane County is updating its subdivision ordinance regarding transportation connectivity. Connectivity is a measure of how "connected" the community is--how many ways there are to travel from one place to another. Connectivity is important for cars, bikes and pedestrians to get around, is more compliant with other jurisdictions' street plans, and saves taxpayer dollars for emergency management, transit, and cooperation with other jurisdictions. The Spokane County Planning Commission approved of the change, but Commissioners Mielke and Richard don't find their work valuable. However, the commission receive no opposition and the Cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, the Inland Northwest Trails Coalition, Futurewise and the Neighborhood Alliance all approved of the change. Details, and the letters of support, can be found in the planning commission report.
  Opinion: People who like gated communities and long commutes are not going to like this change. I'm all for it. Having multiple routes to where you're going means that you're not going to be forced onto as many congested arterial roads. Additionally, vehicle accidents are less frequent on connected roads than on unconnected roads. Then add that this will make the routes our children take to schools safer, and it's a home run.
  Update: Heard from Kitty Klitzke. She says, "In the face of overwhelming public support two commissioners want to...extend the public comment period." I guess Mark and Todd didn't want the public opinion they got, so they're ordering new opinions.
• Animal control options limited
  Source: The Spokesman-Review; January 23, 2010
  Summary: The City of Spokane asked voters to support funding to expand the regional animal control facility to allow the entire region to have a single animal control authority, but didn't get the funding. They have now asked Spokane County to ask for $14 million for the region to build the facility. Such a tax would cost $14/year for a $200,000 home for 6 years. Commissioner Mielke says we should look at building a new facility, but Commissioner Richard says he can't support a new tax. SpokAnimal is raising rates by 5% a year, but wants to get out of the animal control business.
  Opinion: I have advocated a regionalized animal control policy for years. This is something that just must be figured out. Some of the readers' comments that are on that page show that not everyone understands that this is a service to everyone, though I do support the idea that animal owners do have a greater responsibility. Ultimately, the real problems that we face are not caused by animal owners, though, as there is also a feral animal population which we all have responsibility to manage.
  Postscript: The City of Spokane did renew the SpokAnimal contract.

Four the future - December 19

Today: Mobius moving, Downtown improving, parking editorial, and another auto-pedestrian victim (or two)

• Science center won’t be in Riverfront Park
  Source: Spokesman, 091219
  Summary: Mobius will be building the science center in phases and is looking for a building to put it in. Spokane Park Board members on both sides of the recent contract dispute with Mobius think it's a good idea.
  Opinion: There is a serious disconnect between Riverfront Park and its northern neighbors. There needs to be a transitional use of some kind, and it needs to be capable of drawing crowds. I encourage the park board to look for ways to increase the number of activity spaces (not mere open space, there is plenty of that) in Riverfront Park.


• Spokane primed for more growth
  Source: Spokesman, 091219
  Summary: Daniel Iacofano is a principal at MIG, Inc., and helped work on the downtown Spokane plans of 1999 and 2008. In this opinion piece, he says that great progress has been made in terms of retail, the convention center, University District, arts and entertainment, the north bank, and housing. He also says much more can be done.
  Opinion: It is true, things have changed, but Spokane hasn't always grasped for its best options. But, with the new majority in the city council, things like complete streets and moving parking away from ground level will improve the downtown experience, and make more room available to retail. Add a regional rail system, and watch downtown launch a renaissance not only for itself, but at each station along the way.


• Editorial: Parking lot blight merits ban while study done
  Source: Spokesman, 091220
  Summary: In this Spokesman-Review editorial, the editorial staff says that the surface parking ban shouldn't be considered permanent, as there is a Downtown Spokane Partnership parking study due next year. However, they state that they do not want a "barren downtown that offers abundant places to park but little to entice anyone to go there." They note that there are conflicting values with this topic: property rights and the free market versus the character of a downtown.
  Opinion: This is a classic tragedy of the anticommons situation. For those businesses that are downtown, it's important that they have a vibrant downtown environment, but individual property owners can't count on others respecting that. As a consequence, they take the most profitable course assuming that no one else will support them enough to make the cooperative (and more highly profitable) alternative work. The only way to earn the requisite faith is to have a strong and enforceable vision for downtown Spokane. Make it different from all other areas in the region. Make its streets complete and focused on economic activity rather than throughput. Yes, some property owners will not be able to do what they want. (If they want suburbia, there's plenty of that just a mile in nearly any direction.) But in the end, they will profit more and so will the community because everyone knows what to expect and can integrate that into their more profitable plans. Oh, and one other thing: the argument between surface parking and structured parking is not volume, it's location. Parking should be distributed throughout the downtown but not on the surface (except on the street--there's a reason for that), Surface lot parking defeats the purpose of a downtown: putting places close enough together to be walkable. Surface lot parking makes walking distances greater, while parking off-grade doesn't.


• Region in brief: Victim, driver in fatal crash ID’d
  Source: Spokesman, 091220
  Summary: The seventh auto-pedestrian victim was identified. Stephen W. Shockley and his dog were struck and dragged under a minivan after attempting to cross Francis.
  Opinion: The very first step of planning is identifying a problem. Anyone see a problem here that planning can pursue? Now's a good time for people to familiarize themselves with the complete streets movement. By the way--the dog was also a victim. That would be the eighth.