Perhaps Metropolis: Launching Seattle’s New “Neighborhood Character”

Legislation from District 6 Councilor Dan Strauss is an endorsement that the neighborhood character of Seattle is changing.

by Josh Feit

Councilor Dan Strauss passed a bill this week extending the city’s pavement and curb permitting program for Seattle businesses for another year. Standing next to one of the semi-permanent “pergolas” that now line Ballard Avenue, Strauss said, “We want them here forever.” Mike Stewart, director of the Ballard Alliance, noted the “great symbiotic relationship between restaurants and retailers and the Ballard Sunday Farmers Market. By supporting one of these companies, ”said Stewart, customers are supporting the entire urban core of the neighborhood.

It’s a good start. In fact, during the pandemic riot last fall, I inaugurated the “Perhaps Metropolis” column using the street seating program as a promising sign that the COVID-19 crisis unleashed Seattle’s greater urban sensibility.

But…

Strauss legislation does not take full advantage of this crucial moment. The public dynamic is currently driving Seattle in an urban direction. In just one year, the city has now issued 233 outdoor dining permits, compared to roughly 384 outdoor dining permits issued over the past 12 years combined.

Obviously, part of that increase has to do with the fact that the permits were free that year. Usually there is a square meter fee and $ 232 upfront charge. However, this year’s permits mean an increase of more than 700 percent compared to the average of previous years – a huge increase.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the pandemic, it’s that Seattle’s “neighborhood character” has a different personality type than we thought. Long an encoded excuse against anything from more mother-in-law apartments to triplexes to night lights in parks, it turns out that Seattle’s “neighborhood character” is far more malleable and exciting than Seattle’s reactionary reflex suggests.

If we miss this opportunity to transform the non-downtown neighborhoods of Seattle on a larger scale than outdoor seating, and not turn our local communities into places that support our actual lives – as opposed to support the life of Stepford -, we squandered the urban revelation of 2021.

Sure, some of the pent-up energy is specific to the pandemic, but given that trends like working from home were already in the game before 2020 – Seattle teleworking rose 113 percent between 2010 and 2019 – that seems to be the case Pandemic actually shown. rather than invented, neighborhood needs and preferences.

For example, the leap at work from home wasn’t a function of the concurrent Seattle population boom, as it dramatically outperformed other modes like driving (which actually took off) and walking. The need for more neighborhood options for doing business, shopping and going out nearby will not go away as people continue to work at home in greater numbers.

The pandemic has actually revealed the needs and likes of the neighborhood rather than inventing them.

The change in sentiment, which coincided with the need for more active neighborhoods, certainly prompted the city to relax some strict rules last year. In addition to making it easier for businesses to set up sidewalks and street restaurants, the local council has eased restrictions on small home businesses and turned some streets into pedestrian and bicycle zones.

It looks good. But instead of taking a step-by-step approach, councilors need to think hard about making all of our neighborhoods more neighborhood friendly. This means a recalibration of the zoning (more density and use), a restriction of the existing lane (more bus and bike paths) and a regaining of the public right of way (with bioswales, bike racks, P-patches, micro-parks and road closures for cars).

In March, I published a list of seven must-dos in the neighborhood to fulfill this moment, mostly focused on increasing housing density in non-downtown neighborhoods (end of the one-family zone, please!) And increasing the density of indie -Business focused. With that in mind, I wrote, “As hundreds of companies are getting street (or sidewalk) seating permits, this has to be a permanent option.” As the Council seems to be responding to the zeitgeist, I want to use the momentum and make any necessary corrections for the neighborhoods from Seattle offer.

With District 6 councilor Strauss showing such leadership on this issue, I suggest Ballard, who makes up the bulk of District 6, as the first quarter to implement the following recommendations to recognize and activate our new neighborhood character.

We can call it the Ballard Action District or BAD.

Ballard Ave.

While the approval of apartment buildings in Seattle’s exclusive single-family areas must be central to any plan to reinvent our neighborhoods, let’s first zone the properties that are adjacent to our neighborhood parks and schools, creating Parks Oriented Development (POD) and Schools Oriented Create Development (SOD).

89 percent of the city’s parks and open spaces are in single-family areas. Likewise, the vast majority of the city’s top performing elementary schools are located in single-family areas. Let’s give more people access. To redistribute these assets, we’re starting to reverse those single-family enclaves that make up 65 percent of the city’s buildable land by prioritizing properties in parks and schools for multi-family and affordable housing.

Second, to meet the health needs of some of Seattle’s most vulnerable residents, we should seek out harm reduction services in the neighborhood. Nearly five years ago, the Seattle, King County’s Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force recommended the establishment of monitored drug use sites as a necessary infrastructure. Despite the vocal support from politicians, the idea has been weakened. Ballard should step up, set up a website and show how valuable these services can be.

Third, although I oppose encouraging more driving, there are ways to make cars more efficient. Let’s set up a neighborhood park share program. This would work as follows: Since parking garages in residential areas are largely underutilized, buildings near businesses can give customers access to spots. For example, you can park in the Odin Apartments while attending a show in the Sunset Tavern.

Let’s also sync cars with transit by introducing first mile / last mile programs where commuters can simply swipe their ORCA cards for a Lyft or Uber trip between their home and their transit stop . A King County Metro / Sound Transit pilot has already shown how successful this can be.

And lest you believe I care about the car culture, let’s introduce higher prices – i.e. market prices – for street parking in the neighborhood and create a transit subsidy program for Ballard’s citywide destinations. For example, local grocery stores like Fred Meyer, Ballard Market, Trader Joe’s, and QFC, as well as cultural venues like the Tractor Tavern and Farmers Market, should stamp and subsidize transit prices – just as grocery stores already subsidize parking.

Fourth, add banking and seating infrastructure across the neighborhood. A recent study by the Seattle Public Transportation Department found that 61 percent of people who spend time in public are standing and 11 percent sit or lie on infrastructure that is not intended for sitting or lying down. These data points underline the need for more infrastructure.

This is just a selection of ideas that reflect the new urban character of Seattle by appropriately activating our neighborhoods and retrofitting them for actual city life.

From supporting the main workforce (reduced nightly rates for buses) to supporting the arts (subsidizing rent for performance rooms) to basic infrastructure (more public toilets and water fountains, free outdoor WiFi), there are a number of other political ideas that support this could fit into a comprehensive neighborhood action plan. Let’s unlock Ballard as the pilot to build Seattle’s new neighborhood model.

Josh@PubliCola.com

Like this:

To like Loading…

connected