Category Archives: Megaprojects

The Social Benefits of Lidding Interstate 5

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Scott Bonjukian

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, equity in a social sense means “freedom from disparities in the way people of different races, genders, etc. are treated”, and often more specifically referring to “freedom from disparities in the way people of different … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Government, Housing, Land Use, Lid I-5, Megaprojects, Parks, Public Participation, Public Space, Transportation | Leave a comment

Checking in on Convention Center Public Benefits

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Scott Bonjukian

It’s been nearly two years since the Seattle Convention Center’s newest building opened at 900 Pine Street and started hosting events. The structure occupies two city blocks in Downtown Seattle and was likely the most expensive single building in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Government, Housing, Land Use, Lid I-5, Megaprojects, Public Participation, Public Space, Transportation, Walking | Tagged addition, biking, coalition, community package, construction, convention center, cycling, news, public benefits, Seattle, summit, transportation | Leave a comment

Seattle Convention Center Hosting Public Benefit Event December 7

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Scott Bonjukian

The next phase of the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) is being planned, and associated with it may be millions of dollars in discretionary public benefit funding. Occupying four city blocks, the WSCC Addition project will transform a long-neglected corner … Continue reading →

Posted in Land Use, Lid I-5, Megaprojects, Public Participation, Public Space, Transportation | Tagged addition, affordable housing, alley, architecture, campaign, Capitol Hill, City Council, City of Seattle, convention center, cost, denny triangle, design, Design Commision, details, event, expansion, First Hill, Freeway Park, funding, funds, GGN, I-5, Interstate 5, lid, lidding, LMN Architects, Melrose Promenade, open house, Pine Street Group, plan, public, public benefits, render, schedule, SDOT, Seattle, section, sidewalk, street, vacation, view, Washington State Convention Center, WSCC | Leave a comment

University Link Opens To Great Fanfare

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Scott Bonjukian

Twenty years ago, when voters first approved Sound Move, the idea of rapid rail transit in Seattle was only a fuzzy concept. It was something that had been declined by 1960s voters and only the oldest residents might have recalled … Continue reading →

Posted in Density, Land Use, Megaprojects, Mixed Use, Public Art, Rail, Transportation | Tagged buses, Capitol Hill, connections, cost, expansion, frequency, King County, light rail, location, map, metro, opening, opening day, schedule, Seattle, service, sound transit, stations, transit, University Link, university of washington, uw | 4 Comments

Let’s Make Olive Way a Better Street for Everyone

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Scott Bonjukian

Capitol Hill is Seattle’s most dense and walkable neighborhood. Despite this there are a number of pedestrian trouble spots which should be fixed to improve the safety and quality of the street environment. A number of them are centered on … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, Land Use, Megaprojects, Roads, Transportation, Walking | Tagged 10, 43, 47, 8, bicycle, bike, bus, Capitol Hill, channelization, convention center, cost, crosswalk, curb, design, downtown, extension, fix, freeway, funding, improvement, intersection, lane, lanes, light rail, Olive Way, package, public benefits, ramps, rechannlization, redesign, road diet, route, sidewalks, signal, station, suggestion, tabletop, transit, unprotected, upgrade, walking, WSCC | 4 Comments

The Case for Lidding I-5 in Downtown Seattle

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

Amid Seattle’s rapidly growing inner neighborhoods remains the urban scar of Interstate 5, a massive concrete and steel ribbon that is the lasting legacy of 20th century transportation engineers. It helps move thousands of people and tons of freight every … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, Cars, Editorial, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Parks, Public Participation, Public Space, Roads, Transportation, Walking | Tagged addition, article, cap, City Council, city planning, cost, Dallas, deck, downtown, e-mail, engineering, estimate, expansion, Facebook, finance, Freeway Park, Friends of Lidding I-5, group, I-5, idea, Interstate 5, Klyde Warren Park, legislature, lid, map, money, picture, plan, post, proposal, rendering, Scott Bonjukian, Seattle, structure, The Northwest Urbanist, thesis, traffic, transportation, update, urban design, urban planning, walking, Washington state, Washington State Convention Center, WSCC, WSDOT | 23 Comments

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

Let’s Bury I-5: Redux

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

Author’s Note: The latest and most detailed proposal is in a third post, “The Case for Lidding I-5 in Downtown Seattle”, dated December 4, 2015. Earlier this year I proposed capping Interstate 5 in downtown Seattle. The original idea was radical, … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Parks, Public Space, Schools, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged Bury I-5, cap, Capitol Hill, construction, convention center, Dallas, deck, downtown, engineering, First Hill, Freeway Park, I-5, Interstate 5, Klyde Warren Park, lid, Mercer Island, neighborhoods, Northwest Urbanist, park, proposal, redux, revision, school, Seattle, update, urban design, water | 27 Comments

Atlanta Conference Recap

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

In April I had the good fortune to attend the 2014 National APA (American Planning Association) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia with 5,000 fellow planners. Session topics ranged from autonomous cars and the Millennials to citizen participation and affordable housing. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Demographics, Editorial, Event Writeup, Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Policy, Public Space, Resources, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged 2014, APA, Atlanta, Boston, cap parks, climate change, complete streets, conference, creative class, cycle tracks, Dallas, downtown, freeways, freight, infrastructure, lid, millenials, mixed use, national, natural disasters, Philadelphia, resiliency, Seattle, sustainability, transit, transit oriented development, transportation, urban design | 1 Comment

The Vision for Seattle’s Waterfront

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

On Tuesday night Friends of Waterfront Seattle hosted an event with landscape architect James Corner, of High Line and Fresh Kills fame, on the continuing redesign of Seattle’s downtown waterfront. With replacement of the viaduct at a standstill and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, Ferries, Government, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Parking, Parks, Public Art, Public Space, Rail, Roads, Sustainability, Transportation, Walking | Tagged Alaskan Way, Bertha, Colman Dock, construction, cycle track, downtown, Elliot Bay, features, Field Operations, Friends of Waterfront Seattle, funding, gondola, High Line, Highway 99, James Corner, landscape, park, pedestrian, Pike Place, Pike-Pine, redesign, replacement, revitalize, Seattle, Seattle Aquarium, seawall, shoreline, streetcar, transit, tunnel, urban, viaduct, waterfront, Waterfront Seattle, Waterfront Streetcar, WSDOT | 6 Comments