Author Archives: Scott Bonjukian

The Alaskan Way Viaduct Must Come Down

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

A group of Seattle residents called Park My Viaduct is campaigning to convert the city’s waterfront freeway into a linear park, akin to New York’s High Line. They are proposing to save 14 blocks of the concrete double-decked structure, put … Continue reading →

Posted in Megaprojects, Parks, Public Space, Transportation | Tagged Alaskan Way Viaduct, analysis, construction, criticism, earthquake, High Line, Highway 99, idea, keep, New York, Nisqually, park, Park My Viaduct, parks, participation, plan, preservation, preserve, proposal, public, replacement, seismic, tunnel, waterfront, WSDOT | 14 Comments

U-District Open Space Forum Wraps Up

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

The third and final public meeting on an update to the U-District neighborhood’s park plan was held on Wednesday night. Like the first meeting (I missed the second), the event was well attended and organized. Here, city staff and their … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Land Use, Parks, Policy, Public Space, Transportation | Tagged 12th Avenue, 15th Avenue, 42nd Street, 43rd Street, Brooklyn Avenue, department of planning and development, DOT, DPD, farmer's market, festival street, framework, green streets, growth, light rail, MAKERS, meeting, neighborhood, open space, Open Space Forum, parks, participation, Partnership, plan, public, square, station, street, The Ave, transit, transportation, U-District, university of washington, upzone, urban design, zoning | 11 Comments

Paving the Way for Bike Safety on Roosevelt Way

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) expects to repave arterial streets every ten to twelve years, and each cycle presents an opportunity to comply with the city’s complete streets ordinance and improve mobility for all users. One such project is … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, Cars, Government, Parking, Policy, Public Space, Roads, Transportation, Walking | Tagged advocacy, asphalt, bicycle master plan, bike, bike lane, buffer, citizen, concrete, department of transportation, greenway, loading zone, neighborhood, parking, peak hour, policy, protected bike lane, repaving, Roosevelt, Roosevelt Way, SDOT, transit, U-District, University Bridge, University Greenways | 4 Comments

Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

The Pacific Northwest is already being impacted by climate change, according to the latest National Climate Assessment (NCA). The consequences for the region’s economy and natural resources are significant. Washington, Oregon, and Idaho can expect reduced snowpack for water supplies, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate, Energy, Food, Government, Resources, Water | Tagged adaptation, agriculture, British Columbia, Cliff Mass, climate change, fire, floods, Idaho, mitigation, ocean acidification, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Planning, Puget Sound, resiliency, sea level rise, Seattle, seattle times, Washington, water, weather, wildfire | 1 Comment

Seattle Area 2014 Election Results

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

The votes are still being counted, but the early results of the 2014 election indicate good news for urbanists and transit advocates in the Puget Sound area. Here is a brief rundown on the key measures and races as of … Continue reading →

Posted in Buses, Government, Rail, Transportation | Tagged analysis, buses, district, Eastside, election, general, House, King County, legislature, light rail, metro, monorail, rail, results, Seattle, Senate, sound transit, state, transit, Washington | 6 Comments

Legacy and Prophecy: The 2014 APA Washington State Conference

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

The annual two-day Washington state planning conference wrapped on Friday in Spokane, and I came away with a refreshed sense of the many issues planners face both now and in the coming years. The sessions covered a wide variety of … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Event Writeup, Housing, Land Use, Transportation | Tagged agriculture, APA, APA WA, big ideas for washington, business improvement area, conference, Davenport, economic development, economy, family sized housing, farmland, hotel, industry, maritime, national, planning commission, Riverfront Park, Seattle, Spokane, Spokane Falls, state, subarea planning | 1 Comment

Event Recap: U-District Open Space Forum

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

Some 100 University District residents and employees attended a new community forum on Tuesday night that seeks to revitalize the neighborhood’s vision for its existing and future public spaces. Seattle’s standards for open space are 1 acre/1,000 households and 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged consultant, department of planning and development, forum, light rail, meeting, neighborhood, open space, park, plaza, public space, Seattle, square, station, U-District, University, university of washington | 4 Comments

U-District to Discuss Neighborhood Open Space

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

The U-District Partnership will host a community forum on Tuesday, October 7th at 7pm at Alder Hall (1310 NE 40th Street) with the Seattle planning and parks departments to discuss public open space in the the University District, one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Writeup, Land Use, Public Space | Tagged 42nd, 43rd, Brooklyn, Campus Parkway, community, forum, light rail, meeting, open space, park, parklet, plaza, public space, square, station, street, U-District, university district, university of washington, upzone, zoning | Leave a comment

A Planner’s Visit to Vancouver

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

After growing up and living the Pacific Northwest for many years I finally had an opportunity to visit Vancouver, British Columbia last weekend. Along with Seattle and Portland, it is an important hub of the Cascadia region and I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Editorial, Housing, Land Use, Parks, Public Space, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged Amtrak, Burnaby, bus, Canada, Cascadia, complete streets, Gastown, Granville Island, light rail, mixed-use, Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Simon Fraser University, Stanley Park, transit, trip, University of British Columbia, urban, urbanism, Vancouver | 5 Comments

It’s All About Streets

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

Think of different types of public space and parks, plazas, and piers probably come to mind. Streets are another type that often make up the largest share of publicly-owned land within cities, but they may not be obviously “public” in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cars, Land Use, Policy, Public Space, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged automobile, bike, bus, car, complete street, dense, mall, mixed-use, multi-modal, parklet, pedestrian, right-of-way, road diet, Seattle, small town, sprawl, street tree, streets, suburb, traffic, transit, trees | Leave a comment