Nov

17

Safer Bike Ped Environments

Filed Under Bicycling, walking | Leave a Comment

From the First Lady’s Let’s Move site here’s information on a program to increase walking and biking.

I grew up in a large city so I walked everywhere – to school, to meet up with friends, and to go to the movie theater.  It rarely made sense to drive anywhere. In Washington, DC, I’m fortunate that I can still walk to many destinations with my children and friends but I use the car more often than I would like.  Usually, I take public transportation to get to work but last week I had to drive because of an afternoon meeting in the suburbs.  It was a real shock to me.  The traffic was heavy and some drivers were impatient.   I arrived at work a little flustered.  I missed my quiet walk to the subway when I can think about my day and admire the changing leaves.

But I know that I’m fortunate.  Many people don’t have a choice in how they commute to work or even have the option to walk to the store or to local entertainment.  Too many children don’t have safe places to walk or bike.  Over the last few decades our ability to walk from place to place, and get much needed exercise at the same time, is dwindling, but that’s changing.

There’s a new program called Walk Friendly Communities that encourages towns and cities to make safer walking environments a high priority by building sidewalks, improving safety, and creating opportunities to bike from place to place.  More…

Jun

3

Open Letter to Seattle City Council

Filed Under Food System, walking, Zoning | 3 Comments

Dear Seattle City Councilmembers,

Great City firmly believes that active, pedestrian-friendly streets are essential to a safe and vital city. To that end, we are excited about the opportunities mobile food vending can bring to Seattle.

We see a multitude of benefits offered by mobile food vending, including:

Enhanced street life: Mobile food vending offers opportunities for people to use streets and sidewalks as public space, not merely as transportation corridors. Activity is created by the draw of economical and nutritious food and the potential for human exchange and interaction. In addition, mobile street vending has the possibility to extend the “normal” hours and season of street use, thereby increasing the sense of safety and comfort of all street users.

Economic opportunities: The economic opportunities provided by mobile food vending are two-fold – not only do they offer a relatively inexpensive entrée to business, particularly for immigrants, but the foot traffic they can bring to a street can increase the economic vitality of the areas and bring opportunity and value to all levels to commerce.

We support the proposed modifications to the existing ordinance which would diversify the types of food that can be sold, expand the permissible locations for food vending, facilitate a streamlined street use permitting process, improve public noticing requirements, and eliminate the 200’ park setback. Aside from theses administrative aspects/issues, we encourage adequate consideration to the logistical issues that will affect the day-to-day operation and functionality of the carts, especially where they are to be placed in more constricted public rights-of-way.

We strongly encourage your support of the proposed ordinance allowing mobile food vending in Seattle, and we look forward to seeing our streets grow more activated and dynamic.

Sincerely,

Joshua Curtis

Executive Director, Great City

Feb

16

I ♥ Copenhagen

Filed Under Cities, Copenhagen, Events, Innovation, Sustainability, Transportation, walking | 2 Comments

Upcoming Event: Seattle’s Public Life – How it Can Become the Most Walkable City in America

Hell_SoholtGreat City is pleased to co-sponsor the following upcoming lecture by Helle Søholt of Gehl Architects in Copenhagen!

Time: 6:00pm

Date: Tuesday, February 23rd

Location: Seattle Art Museum (Enter at First & University Street in Downtown Seattle near the Hammering Man Sculpture (the main entrance will be closed). Click for Map

Cost: Free

RSVP: Please RSVP via email to info@i-sustain.org or PublicLife@downtownseattle.org

Seattle has just completed the most in-depth study of public spaces Downtown ever conducted in a U.S. city. Don’t miss this free forum about how to turn Down­town into a world-class pedestrian-friendly experience.

The forum will feature findings from nearly three years of re­search in Seattle presented by Helle Søholt, managing partner of Gehl Architects. The City of Seattle and the International Sustain­ability Institute retained Gehl to audit Downtown’s streets, alleys and public places with students from UW’s Green Futures Lab.

The Copenhagen-based Gehl firm has worked on every continent and in more than 400 cities around the world. Søholt is a founding partner with Jan Gehl and has extensive experience world-wide in urban design including master planning, public life surveys, urban quality analysis, development of strategy plans, public space plans and the design of public spaces.

Sponsored By: AIA Seattle, The City of Seattle, The Downtown Seattle Association, GEHL Architects, Great City, The International Sustainability Institute, The Scan|Design Foundation, and The University of Washington Green Futures Lab

Feb

8

Green Alleys Competition (Submissions Due Feb. 22nd)

Filed Under Design, Innovation, SDOT, Streets For People, Sustainability, walking | 3 Comments

Great City is Pleased to co-sponsor the Green Alleys Competition!

Seattle’s alleys offer intimate, small-scale spaces that, properly staged, invite people to walk and promise a host of sustainability benefits. Introducing greenery to Seattle’s forgotten spaces can create a small ecological system of its own by filtering city runoff before it hits the Puget Sound.

How green is your alley? The City of Seattle, the International Sustainability Institute, People for Puget Sound, and the AIA Seattle is sponsoring a contest on how to green our alleys. An all-star cast of designers, planners, residents and other alley-lovers will judge the entries for their originality, cost-effectiveness and practical implementation.

Join us in a unique design competition to green Seattle’s alleys

For more information send an email to:
green_alleys-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

OR email darby.watson@seattle.gov

Here is a PDF document containing project info, submission requirements and maps of the project area: Green_Alleys_info.pdf (836 KB)

greenAlley

Image by Gehl Architects

Interested parties can get more information by subscribing to (emailing): green_alleys-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Official Press Release Follows:

Guiding Principles

Alleys are a key resource in Seattle. Traditionally restricted to service uses, the Clear Alleys Program has opened up opportunities to use alleys in different ways. This design competition is focused on potential new uses that in combination could add functionality to our transportation and ecological systems as well as improving the aesthetic and community-building elements of our City. Below are some guiding principles to help you in your design of Seattle’s best Green Alley:

Green alleys should:

  • Welcome pedestrians, both as walkways and places to visit
  • Incorporate green stormwater infrastructure in both functional and aesthetic aspects
  • Encourage building design to provide doors, windows, and other elements that support non-service uses
  • Continue to provide access for service vehicles

Judging Criteria

  1. Design innovation and quality: 40%
  2. Thoughtful integration of green stormwater infrastructure: 20%
  3. Response to culture, community, and context: 20%
  4. Transferability of ideas and approach to other alleys: 20%

    5. Submittal Requirements

    Registration fee $10, payable at the time of submission to International Sustainability Institute, (ISI) (cash or check only)

    Up to two (2) 30″x40″ presentation boards (orientation may be landscape or portrait), include a CD with electronic versions of all boards in PDF or JPG format

    Address specifically the Nord alley within the project area (see project area information packet)
    Design on one side only of presentation boards, backsides should list submitters’ name(s), contact information and submission category

    Graphics may be any combination of sections, plans, and sketches that helps to convey your design
    Limit one submission per individual or team
    Submission Categories
    Submit under one category only:

    Student or New Professional: include current quarter enrollment information or proof of graduation from a degree or certificate program within the last three years.

    Non-affiliated designer: include a personal statement that you are not currently employed with a firm or agency where your primary role is design work.
    General: includes individuals, firms, or groups that are currently employed in a design field.

    Assumptions and notes:

    For this exercise assume that soils beneath the alley right-of-way are sufficient for stormwater infiltration (1″/hour permeability)

    The use of the Nord Alley does not preclude designs that may not comport with the Pioneer Square historic guidelines, the judging criteria includes the ability of a design to be transferable to other alleys within the City

    Designs may be proposed for within the right of way of the alley as well as retrofitting the existing buildings as those designs support the Guiding Principles for creating a Green Alley

    All electronic submissions become the property of the City of Seattle

    All submission materials will be available for pick up at ISI offices on March 5 during regular business hours

    Prizes:

    Grand Prize: Open to general submissions
    Best Student/New Professional:
    Best non-affiliated designer:
    People’s Choice: Winner selected at the alley party – see schedule

    We are awaiting confirmation of a cash award for each prize along with a super-cool trophy!
    All submissions will be published on the SDOT blog.

    Schedule

    Week of January 11: Release schedule, regulations, and base information on Yahoo Groups

    February 22: Entries due to ISI offices by 5 pm PST (314 1st Avenue South, 206-381-1630)

    February 24: Judging panel reviews and selects winners

    March 4: First Thursday Alley party, all entries displayed and winners announced in the Nord Alley

    Co-sponsored by:

    Great City, AIA Seattle, Pioneer Square Community Association, People for Puget Sound, City of Seattle, Great City, Downtown Seattle Association, Feet First, and the International Sustainability Institute.

Feb

4

Upcoming Brownbag: Uptown Loop Discussion

Filed Under Brownbag, Transportation, Uptown, walking | 1 Comment

Upcoming Brownbag: Uptown Loop Discussion

Where: GGLO Space at the Steps
1301 First Ave, Level A
Enter through door located about 1/4 of the way down the Harbor Steps (click for map)
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

More than a century ago, the Olmstead brothers developed the “Emerald Necklace” plan – a plan of set paths and vantage points that create a sense of continuity throughout Uptown Seattle. The hidden and overgrown lower Kinnear Park link is a missing gem in this plan. Imagine a looping urban trail that includes a breath of sea air in Myrtle Edwards Park, art in the Sculpture Park, breakfast spots in Belltown, the Seattle Center, coffee spots in Lower Queen Anne, and tennis or picnic in lower Kinnear Park. An entire day of activities, highlighting Seattle’s finest, all in one easy stroll.

The community organization FOLKpark (Friends of Lower Kinnear Park), with the help HBB Landscape Architects and VIA Architecture, is planning to complete this missing link in an urban loop that dissolves the boundaries between the Waterfront, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne. Come discuss ideas about how this Uptown Loop strengthens pedestrian accessibility and secures the relationship between urban forests, walkable city streets, community amenities, residential living, and waterfront vistas.

ALAN HART, Principal, VIA Architecture

Alan’s architectural career has covered a broad spectrum of infrastructure, institutional, commercial and residential projects. His most extensive involvement has been in transit design, as chief architect for Vancouver’s Millennium Rapid Transit line and Seattle’s Monorail, Vancouver’s Streetcar, and as designer of transit stations in Seattle, Vancouver, and Malaysia. As principal of VIA, Alan provides overview for architectural projects and leads the process of design integration from concept to technical details. His skills include finding opportunity for design innovation in unlikely places and in facilitating solutions at all scales of design work. VIA‘s numerous award-winning projects reflect this standard of excellence.

DEAN KOONTZ, Principle, HBB Landscape Architecture

With ten years of experience in urban design, planning, and landscape architecture, Dean’s diverse expertise forms the foundation of an integrated approach to project design and management. With an interest in creating spaces designed for people, his urban design work has focused on waterfronts, parks, and civic open spaces including several downtown Seattle plaza remodels and the Mercer Corridor redesign. In addition, his planning experience in land use code development, design standards, and guidelines provide further diversity and a unique understanding of the regulatory environment within the built environment. Using a broad range of knowledge from sustainable design and site planning to construction detailing, Dean integrates the community-based design process into projects as diverse as marina redesigns, park trails, soil clean-up and remediation projects, and green-roof design for downtown condominiums.

DEBORAH FRAUSTO, Consultant, Chair of Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark)

Debi is a collaborator by nature. Throughout her 20+year career in commercial real estate she has been involved in retail, office and public development projects. Debi finds the most successful projects connect design, marketing and financial goals early in a project’s development and uses a charrette environment to help multi-disciplined teams hone in quickly on core issues. She believes in studying both the details and the whole simultaneously and testing feasibility in measured outcomes. Prior to starting her own consulting company, Debi developed real estate acquisition strategies for the Seattle Monorail Project, served as VP of Commercial for Quadrant Corp. and headed up the leasing effort during the redevelopment of Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellevue. All her skills are being out to use in her volunteer role for FOLKpark.

Fête du Flâneur

Save the Date! We’re having a party!

On Thursday, February 25, Great City presents the Fête du Flâneur, a Fantastic Urban-Themed Party. The Fête, a fundraiser for the organization, will feature a limited-admission private reception with Great City founder and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, City Councilmember Mike O’Brien and Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith. Following the early reception will be a celebration of enlightened, if fanciful, urban living featuring music, open bar, hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, an address by Mayor Mike McGinn, crowning of the Great City–Cascade Land Conservancy Mustache Challenge champion, Flâneur-inspired art, dancing and DIY costumes…

For more event details and to purchase tickets, click here!

Upcoming Brownbags

February 11th – FOLKpark / Uptown Loop
12:00 – 1:30 pm
GGLO Space at the Steps
1301 First Ave, Level A

February 25th – Where’s the Family in Multi-family?
12:00 – 1:30 pm
GGLO Space at the Steps
1301 First Ave, Level A

March 25th – The Eco-Laboratory: Weber Thompson’s Answer to Urban Agriculture and the 2030 Building Challenge
12:00 – 1:30 pm
GGLO Space at the Steps
1301 First Ave, Level A

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