Traffic is not-so-great right now. Take the annual return of rainy traffic, add in work due to the “Green Lake and Wallingford Paving & Multi-Modal Improvements” project, and then layer on I-976 passage and the future can look pretty bleak. The governmental reaction to I-976 so far has simply been to throw a legal tantrum, but there is an opportunity for Seattle government to pull up their big boy pants and practice good governance.

King County taxpayers subsidized transit by 6 billion dollars in 2018 while asking nothing of single-occupant car commuters. The passage of Tim Eyman’s I-976 knocked 381 …

Warning: This is going to read like a sponsored post. I’m just a “fan” of eco-solutions, and a whole house fan is one of those things that’s a win-win all around (see, it’s starting already).

Only about a third of Seattle households have air conditioning. Before the days of climate change, it really wasn’t necessary. After a couple 90 degree days in June, it’s tempting to give in and get central air conditioning installed, especially since the hottest months (and years) are yet to come.

Unfortunately, central air is very expensive to install and operate, plus all that electricity use …

One of the best things about Wallingford is the walkable sidewalks we have, separated from roadways by planting strips. Unfortunately, sometimes trees or hedges or other vegetation blocks those sidewalks, especially when it’s raining outside.

Legally, sidewalks and planting strips are public land that adjacent property owners are responsible for maintaining. People are required to keep their sidewalk entirely clear up to a height of 8 feet. The first-time penalty for violating that ordinance is $150. The penalty for additional violations is $500.

If you are on good terms with a neighbor and can be diplomatic and see them outside, …

As covered previously, SDOT was planning to throttle Green Lake Way N and waste a lot of money by putting in a bike crossing at N 52^nd and Green Lake Way N, eliminating parking on the East side of the street. Pretty much everyone said “no please” so SDOT thankfully backed off.

New plans are for the 2-way cycle track around the lake to transition to two 1-way protected bike lanes at a new light going in at the Pitch and Putt (where 3 roads all named Green Lake Way intersect). The West side curb of Green Lake Way …

As transportation chair for the Wallingford Community Council I’ve been closely following the roadway redesigns being done as part of repaving arterials in Wallingford and Green Lake. Most changes break down into familiar cyclist vs parking battles, but one design feature stands out as a terrible idea for both cyclists and residents- the current SDOT plans for adding protected bike lanes around the 5-way intersection of Stone Way N, N 50th, and Green Lake Way N.

The intersection is rated “F” for vehicle throughput by SDOT and regularly backs up with traffic, flooding side streets and school zones with vehicles. …

40th, 50th, and Green Lake Way north of 50th are all to be repaved next year, which includes a full redesign of the streets that is happening now. Current plans swap out parking lanes for bike lanes, with protected bike lanes added to 40th and a cycle track added to Green Lake Way.

In the Green Lake Way cycle track both directions of bike traffic will be on the lake side of the street. The transition between the cycle track and the bike lanes is up for debate, as is reconfiguration of the 50th and Green Lake Way intersection. I …

Pro-HALA folks paint San Francisco as our nightmare future if HALA doesn’t pass, where all housing near jobs costs millions of dollars. Anti-HALA folks paint Ballard as our future if HALA passes, where existing residents are driven out by a construction tsunami and we are left with luxury housing that is 95% tech bros (plus 5% reserved for a few token “poor” people that win the MHA lottery).

I sat down with some Wallingford HALA proponents, looking for win-win solutions to housing affordability in Seattle. Here are some ideas we came up with:

Collaborate with homeowners on affordable ADUs and …