Seattle Area Traffic and Roads Thread

[CrazyAboutCities]

I doubt that Nickels will try again in 2013. I have met Ed Murray in person once, he is seen like a nice guy. I only seeing him as State politician not kind of person to run the city. Maybe I am wrong, I just haven't hear his vision for Seattle yet. We need someone that have really good vision for Seattle and able to get city government act back together and able to get things done sooner.

[Seasun]

Yes it is a slow news day so here's a photo from this afternoon that shows demolition of the last building to come down for the east Mercer project (well there's a metal shed/mini-warehouse that's still standing closer to Terry but it's not much of a building.)

[CityView Jim]

Strangely, I don't think they plan to tear that shed down as part of the road construction.

[Capitol Hill]

I must say, with those buildings knocked down, you get a small sense of what we missed out on with the Commons. I really think we blew it as a community by voting that down.

[CrazyAboutCities]

Agreed.

[meku]

I walked around SLU a couple weeks ago (after not being there for a year) when the weather was nice and I'm really excited for the neighborhood. The corner of Denny and Westlake (around Whole foods and in the little park across the street) had so many people during lunch time that it felt like I was in real city. Walking down Westlake towards the lake is a joy, Amazon campus is coming along nicely, the streetcar was zipping by and seeing most of the buildings demolished on Mercer was definitely a "wow" moment. The boulevard will fit in greatly.

I hope some skinny residential towers will pop up on the lots between Mercer and Valley once all the road projects are done.

It is too bad that Commons didn't happen, but 10-20 years from now on SLU will be one of the most "urban" neighborhoods in the city.

[Seattlelife]

Originally Posted by Capitol Hill

I must say, with those buildings knocked down, you get a small sense of what we missed out on with the Commons. I really think we blew it as a community by voting that down.

It's the Seattle way!

[Seasun]

Just to clarify my earlier post I just walked by and noticed there are old metal shed buildings on each side of Boren. They both look like they'd be useful to store stuff during construction of the new road (and they're far enough out of the way) so it makes sense what CityView Jim said about them staying.

[meku]

Originally Posted by Seattlelife

It's the Seattle way!

How exactly is this "Seattle way" ?

[ak282]

What was the Seattle Commons? Was it Seattle's version of Vancouver's Stanley Park?

[alexjonlin]

It would have been a block or two-wide park going all the way from Lake Union to the edge of Downtown, proposed back in the mid-nineties before SLU was developed by rejected by a tiny margin. Dammit, Seattle voters.

[pwalker]

Originally Posted by alexjonlin

It would have been a block or two-wide park going all the way from Lake Union to the edge of Downtown, proposed back in the mid-nineties before SLU was developed by rejected by a tiny margin. Dammit, Seattle voters.

On the surface, this park might have provided a nice buffer in the SLU neighborhod. Looking beyond, not sure it would have been a great benefit. Lake Union itself is a good recreational draw, and in fact the way this area is developing, a park right down the middle might have prevented maximum development. Residential seems sparse, and a park in the middle of commercial seems unnecessary. Just IMO. Perhaps, the commons would have changed the dynamics of the area, but I doubt it. I'm not against parks, just think they are better served where people actually live. SLU is no Pearl, (Portland), atleast not yet, with no strong indication it ever will be.

[meku]

I think every developer who has land in SLU is waiting for a combination of:

Upzone
Market to recover
Mercer Mess to be fixed

Once that is all done (2-3 years?), I'll bet Vulcan and others will rush with residential buildings/towers.

[mhays]

The Commons idea was based in part on the park encouraging a lot of surrounding property owners to build residential or commercial uses. I suspect it would be much more residential today if it had been built.

(I was a volunteer then on staff of the Commons organization btw)

[alexjonlin]

I think it would have been a big, great step for our city to build a real central park. Look at New York, Boston, DC, etc. They all have a huge park that anchors the city. I wish we had that.

[CrazyAboutCities]

Yeah. We still can build Central Park style park... All we can do just put lids over I-5 to make room for huge park from South Lake Union to all the way to just south of downtown Seattle. All we need to set up an organization to make it happens.

[BoulderGrad]

Originally Posted by CrazyAboutCities

Yeah. We still can build Central Park style park... All we can do just put lids over I-5 to make room for huge park from South Lake Union to all the way to just south of downtown Seattle. All we need to set up an organization to make it happens.

Crazy needs to take a trip to New York. Anyone want to take him? :-)

Lids over I-5 would be more like the big dig parks in Boston (an empty block with a lawn and maybe a walking path and a planter or two). Central park has lakes and hills and trees and skating rinks and museums and bridges, etc.

[cpm_seattle]

[Ruffhauser]

Originally Posted by alexjonlin

I think it would have been a big, great step for our city to build a real central park. Look at New York, Boston, DC, etc. They all have a huge park that anchors the city. I wish we had that.

Seattle Center?

[jessejb]

Originally Posted by BoulderGrad

Central park has lakes and hills and trees and skating rinks and museums and bridges, etc.

..and fountains and huge statues and a rowing lake...

You'd be kicked out of Seattle for suggesting 'litist stuff like that.