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Neighborhood Safe Streets Bill moves forward — Plus, Capitol Hill Ecodistrict bike tour

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(Image: Courtney Hathaway, GGLO)

Municipalities may soon have the option to lower speed limits to 20 mph on non-arterial streets. Plus, Capitol Hill bikers will want to gear up for a community tour ride to learn more about the opportunities and challenges in creating a Capitol Hill Ecodistrict.

The speed limits measure, part of the Neighborhood Safe Streets Bill (SHB 1045), passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee last week, and now has until mid-April to get a full Senate vote before heading to the Governor for a signature, according to Seattle Bike Blog.

This is the point where the bill languished one year ago, but it now has much more time to get a full vote. Obviously, it’s never wise to let up until the job is done, but things are looking much better than one year ago.

 

Most attention is moving to transportation funding, especially for transit as King County Metro faces massive cuts in service without legislative action. Transportation for Washington and many other groups are working hard to get the legislature to allow local transit funding options to avoid what could be a completely unacceptable 17 percent cut in service.

Read more about the bill on Seattle Bike Blog.

Meanwhile, sign up now to learn about the Capitol Hill Ecodistrict effort to create a sustainable neighborhood by joining a bike tour April 4.

CHS has reported on Capitol Hill Housing’s green initiative here:

An “EcoDistrict” refers to a neighborhood committed to sustainability through reinvigorated infrastructure and a focus on various environmental areas like energy, water and transportation. The result could be a zone around Capitol Hill’s light rail station created with incentives for developers to build green, sustainable buildings — similar in ways to the Pike/Pine Conservation District’s incentives for encouraging preservation.

The bike tour beings at Sam’s Tavern at 4 PM and finishes at 5 PM with happy hour. Registration for the bike tour is free here. Here’s more about the event:

Cascadia Green Building Council is partnering with Cascade Bicycle Club and Capitol Hill Housing, celebrating our third ramp-up event to Living Future ’13 with a bike tour of the district. Leaders from the Capitol Hill community will highlight key features designed to address healthy living, walking and biking as part of an integrated environmental performance approach.

 

The bike tour will finish at a happy hour open to all. Dr. Howard Frumkin, dean of the University of Washington School of Public Health, will join the happy hour to lead a discussion about the relationships between design and health.

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Brian
Brian
10 years ago

What the fuck is that 20-story building by what looks like Broadway & John?!?!

That isn’t actually happening is it?

David
David
10 years ago
Reply to  Brian

During the community outreach for the TOD site one of the “other options to consider” was an “iconic tower.” My understanding is that it didn’t make it into the final vision for the site and is not being considered.

Yobie
Yobie
10 years ago
Reply to  Brian

Oh man I laughed to myself when I read your comment. That was the first thing i said when I started reading this post.

Matt E
Matt E
10 years ago

That painting/rendering of Dick’s “Bike-In” is killing me. And to plant pretty trees where there was once spare-changers is such a lovely, utopian ideal

Wes
Wes
10 years ago

I would love it if Capitol Hill and the U-District had 20-40 floor towers.

suburban_war
suburban_war
10 years ago
Reply to  Wes

not even like.. a lot of them, but a few very far-spaced would be interesting. Any of us who have had our rent raised a bunch and have looked at new apartments on the hill lately know there’s a whole lot of demand. With Amazon doubling their SLU office space over the next handful of years there’s going to be a lot more.

Dave
10 years ago
Reply to  suburban_war

I am sooooooo tired of hearing people griping about how horrible Capitol Hill is turning. I am sorry that your rent has increased, but shouldn’t that complaint be taken up with your landlord or property management? The fact is companies like Amazon bring good paying jobs to our area, money that is then pumped back into the local economy by employees going to the restaurants and bars and coffee shops and stores that you work. I work at Amazon, I live on the Hill, have lived here for seven years, I walk to work everyday. Is it so wrong that I want to live in an area that is an easy commute? That other people might also want to do the same? I point you to an article in the Seattle Times about the impact these jobs have had on our economy.

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020614010_biztaltoncol24xml.html

Neighbor
Neighbor
10 years ago

Welcome to downtown Bellevue!

SMAJ
SMAJ
10 years ago

The statement, “The fact is companies like Amazon bring good paying jobs to our area, money that is then pumped back into the local economy by employees going to the restaurants and bars and coffee shops and stores that you work” shows remarkable ignorance of what is happening to this community. Companies like Amazon destroy the small businesses that once populated this city (where I’ve lived for 20 years). What is happening is a uniformity of poorly designed apartments and big box stores and restaurants that is literally stripping the neighborhood of its character. A walk down Broadway is becoming like a walk through a mall, with all of it’s metal and glass storefronts, chain stores and banks. Yes, there are still a few cool places but not for long.

And the fact that Dick’s would be part of an ‘Ecodistrict’ is laughable.

calhoun
calhoun
10 years ago
Reply to  SMAJ

SMAJ: Here’s just one example to counter your lament about Broadway….the half-block which is now the Brix building was previously a very ugly Safeway and a large parking lot. Now it is quite a beautiful apartment/condo with great local businesses at street level. Do you deny that this is a huge improvement?

Not all new developments are this successful, but it’s not all as you think it is. The glass is at least “half-full.”

DD88
DD88
10 years ago
Reply to  SMAJ

So Brix, like many, struggled during the housing crisis. They are NOW successful and the retail space, home to small local business, are doing well. Also a great example of businesses such as Dilettante who moved from an aging space into new mixed use space. Very successful if you ask me. Also, the building is a high quality concrete and steel structure. We need more of its kind.

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[…] Hill Housing, Cascadia Green Building Council, and Cascade Bicycle Club are putting together a bike tour of the district. Leaders from the Capitol Hill community will highlight key features designed to address healthy […]

Wes
Wes
10 years ago

Poorly designed compared to what? Parking lots, useless auto row buildings and other two story buildings? I’ve lived downtown for 10 years, and there are more chains and locally owned businesses on the hill and other neighborhoods. Besides America has an over heightened sense of individualism so a little uniformity could help in my opinion.

DD88
DD88
10 years ago

I would love a few high rise buildings on Broadway. Although I understand many here fear change, which is normal.

Randy
Randy
10 years ago

gahh. Capitol Hill is about to become as generic as possible, according to the photo.

Wes
Wes
10 years ago

Umm it’s not a photo. These renderings always look generic, just look at any design review document.

beef
beef
10 years ago

Rents raise due to the fact that a neighborhood becomes more desirable–see the falling rents in Belltown. And yes, landlords do have the power, but they are reacting to the fact that our community is becoming populated by wealthier young professionals who are wiling to pay 1500 for a studio in a brand new building built by a developer who gives jack shit about the integrity/fiber of the community. It’s not that growth is bad. And raising rents are a reality of a desirable neighborhood. What is annoying is that Seattle is SO SHITTY at making urban density/vibrancy a reality.

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[…] Seattle EcoDistrict Bike Tour starts and ends at Sam’s Tavern at 11th and Pike, 4 – 5p. […]

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[…] kid. Thursday’s bike tour of the sites and opportunities for creating a district measuring and incentivizing green […]