Monthly Archives: February 2014

Seattle readies new ridesharing regulations

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From tool libraries to 12th Ave cohousing, CHS has been pretty much unabashed cheerleaders of the sharing economy. The philosophy fits so well into what a growing neighborhood in an urban core needs as residents wrestle with issues of affordability and simple things like elbow room. We’ve also noted the growing fleet of car services plying the neighborhood’s streets. New things like Car2Go, Lyft and old-timer Zipcar fit in here nicely, thank you very much.

While the City Council’s desire to further regulate the services isn’t quite as dire a situation as the companies might have you believe, it would mean crimping off some of the most interesting aspects of the new ways to get around a city. Here is what the Seattle tech-loving Geekwire has to say about the proposals:

The first draft limited the “transportation network companies” — Sidecar, Lyft, UberX — to no more than 100 vehicles each. Now, the updated draft states that the city will issue 300 total TNC driver permits by lottery.

So, instead of capping the number of drivers each company may have, the city wants to cap the overall number of TNC drivers. That means, for example, Seattle could end up with just 300 Lyft drivers, which would exclude Sidecar and UberX from having any drivers. In the original ordinance, each company was allowed up to 100 drivers each — now, however, one company could have more or less than 100 drivers depending on the lottery winners.

The regulations to be voted on considered by a Council committee Friday would also attempt to eliminate working with the services as a full-time pro by capping drivers to 16 hours per week.

Possibly more important from a public safety standpoint, the proposed regulation also requires the services to disclose to drivers that their personal insurance policies may not be adequate in the event of a serious injury incident and also puts the companies on the hook if a driver’s insurance claim is denied. In essence, city officials say the new rules will level the playing field for the new services and the existing taxi regulations in the city.

At the core of all this is the question of whether these new, technology-based services should also be allowed to innovate in the way they staff and run their services. When it comes to cars, at least, the Seattle City Council appears poised to say no.

CHS Community Post | Seattle University Students Pledge to Raise $50K for Seattle Children’s

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IMG_7148Seattle University Dance Marathon (SUDM) has pledged to raise $50,000 for uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, a fund that provides medical care for children, regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

SUDM is a fundraising guild for Seattle Children’s Hospital and a branch of nationwide youth-led philanthropy through Children’s Miracle Network. The organization, led by 12 students, has raised more than $125,000 for Children’s uncompensated care since its establishment. Begun 7 years ago, SUDM has grown from a small student organization to a campus-wide movement raising tens of thousands to support kids and their families.  It is the third largest Dance Marathon of its kind on the West Coast, and the largest in the Seattle area. In addition, it is Seattle University’s largest student philanthropy.

Many are taking note of the organization’s success and its embodiment of Seattle University’s social justice mission. Last year the Seattle Children’s Hospital Guild Association selected SUDM from more than 450 guilds as the recipient of its highest honor, the Chairman’s Award for Excellence.

The organization’s annual signature event occurs on February 22, 2014. More than 325 student fundraisers are expected to attend, each of whom will pledge to remain standing or otherwise actively participating for 16 hours straight, 10am-2am, to honor patients at Seattle Children’s who cannot take a break from their illnesses. “We imagine a world of wellness, inspire a community of hope, and we impact children and families through uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital” says the group’s mission statement. “We believe that no family should feel alone in their fight against a pediatric illness, and no child should be kept from the medical care they need to live a fulfilled life because of money.”SUDM-Patients62351_533421970089913_773741791_n

Blotter | 11th Ave e ransack burglary suspect in jail

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See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959. You can view recent CHS Crime coverage here.

  • 11th Ave E burglary suspect jailed: Burglary suspect Kaci Shields was booked into King County Jail Tuesday. CHS recently posted about the search for the suspect in a 2013 11th Ave E burglary that left the residence trashed. Shields is held on $25,000 bail for investigation of residential burglary. She has not yet been charged.
  • E Denny Way phone fight: A victim said he didn’t want police to arrest the assailant who ripped the victim’s phone to pieces before punching him in the head late last Thursday night in the 400 block of E Denny Way:Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 1.50.28 PM Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 1.50.16 PMThe victim told police the suspect eventually told him to stop following him and then stole the victim’s hat when he wouldn’t comply: Continue reading →

‘Pike-Pine Renaissance’ below, upzoning Capitol Hill ‘single-family’ neighborhoods up top

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Screen Shot 2014-02-12 at 10.43.21 AMUp here, we call it Pike/Pine. But Wednesday morning in downtown Seattle, they were calling the lower reaches of the two critically important connective streets a golden opportunity for reinventing — and redesigning — the city’s central core.

The Downtown Seattle Association hosted business and community leaders at the unveiling of its Pike-Pine Renaissance initiative to rethink and better structure the public spaces and infrastructure of downtown. Many of the concepts would find a welcome home up the Hill, too. Clean, safe-to-walk through alleyways, anyone?

The initiative vision is described in surprisingly urbanist language: “To move Downtown incrementally toward higher quality, more consistent pedestrian space through upgraded standards for sidewalks and intersections.”

The Seattle Times notes that the area’s recent attempts at reinvention haven’t met with much success:

The area’s last major transformation was in the 1990s, when developer Matt Griffin and a group of investors raised $175 million to create Pacific Place at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street. Griffin and his partners also struck a deal to have Nordstrom open its flagship store in the historic Frederick & Nelson building next door.

Since then, despite numerous studies and piecemeal efforts, the Pike-Pine area’s streets and buildings have yet to blossom into a coherent, harmonious whole. There are blocks of prominent retail space such as Pacific Place and the renovated Westlake Center followed by blocks of mediocrity.

While the design initiative may inspire projects off the Hill, some see a growing connection between the opportunities and problems in the downtown core and Capitol Hill. East Precinct officials have publicly acknowledged that crime issues around Cal Anderson, for example, increasingly mirror those found downtown. It follows, then, that some of the public infrastructure discussions and initiatives could drift up the Hill.

Meanwhile, with less fanfare than Wednesday’s focus on the most urban of Seattle’s spaces, another “urbanist vision” unveiled on the day presents a look at possible change for Capitol Hill’s single-family home dominated areas:

The real meat of the report, though, is an overall recommendation to up-zone Seattle’s single-family neighborhoods.  This is controversial, but important.  Discussions of where new development should go tend to be narrowly constrained to a few urban villages, while the vast majority of Seattle – something like 2/3 of the land – is considered off-limits (the yellow stuff in the map at right). So we argue about whether to allow 5 stories or 6 in a narrow sliver of Capitol Hill, meanwhile acres and acres of the city’s neighborhoods remain locked at absurdly low density levels.

To add insult to injury, as single family houses get more expensive, they become even more out of reach to larger families, resulting in a spiral whereby only small, wealthy families can afford them, thereby decreasing density even further.

The City of Seattle hosts its affordable housing public forum on Thursday.

The full Pike-Pine Renaissance design report is below.  Continue reading →

Seahawks Hipster Fan Song

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This song idea came to me the day before the Super Bowl. I had jumped on board the Seahawks bandwagon along with many other non-TV-owning, utilitarian cyclist folks who hang out a lot on the Hill. I had some fun with the idea. Enjoy and share!

 Seahawks Hipster Game Day Song

[vimeo 86484599 w=500 h=281]

Seahawks Hipster Game Day Song from Bridget Quigg on Vimeo.

12th Ave Cohousing to break ground in April

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There's one more unit up for grabs in the future 12th Ave cohousing community (Image: Schemata Workshop)

There’s one more unit up for grabs in the future 12th Ave cohousing community (Image: Schemata Workshop)

The “share economy” is cropping up everywhere in Seattle, making the organized sharing and lending of tools, cars, and office space increasingly a part of ordinary life on Capitol Hill. But what about shared housing?

Communal homes have existed for decades on Capitol Hill and beyond but few if any have actually managed to be truly co-owned, co-managed, and co-constructed. Capitol Hill architects Mike Mariano and Grace Kim are months away from making the dream a reality. The couple, who run architectural firm Schemata Workshop, are behind Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing on 12th Avenue, slated to break ground in April.

“We’re going to live here for the rest of our lives,” Mariano said. “We want this building to last forever.” Continue reading →

Moratorium on executions in Washington

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The 2009 memorial for East Precinct officer Timothy Brenton (Image: CHS)

The 2009 memorial procession for East Precinct officer Timothy Brenton (Image: CHS)

Washington’s governor has halted the use of the death penalty in the state:

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced that he is imposing a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in Washington state.

Inslee’s decision comes after months of careful review of the status of capital punishment in Washington state including research on current cases, discussions with prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and family members of homicide victims, and a tour of death row and the execution chambers at Walla Walla State Penitentiary.

Inslee said it is clear to him that use of capital punishment is inconsistent and unequal, and it’s time to have a conversation about ensuring equal justice under the law.

“Equal justice under the law is the state’s primary responsibility. And in death penalty cases, I’m not convinced equal justice is being served,” Inslee said Tuesday. “The use of the death penalty in this state is unequally applied, sometimes dependent on the budget of the county where the crime occurred.”

In addition the unequal application of the penalty, the governor cited the expense of pursuing the cases and the lack of evidence that execution is a crime deterrent as additional drivers for his decision. The NAACP called the move “a victory for the African American community.”

Inslee’s moratorium ensures none of the inmates currently on Washington’s death row will be executed while the governor remains in office. Inslee did not commute the sentences, however, leaving the door open for future governors to reinstate the penalty. 18 states have moved to outlaw executions. Six have done so in the last six years.

It’s not clear yet how the moratorium will impact the prosecution of the most recent capital case involving the Capitol Hill area. Christopher Monfort pleaded not guilty to the 2009 slaying of East Precinct cop Timothy Brenton. Prosecutors have said they planned to seek the death penalty in the case. His trial is currently slated to begin in September.

Fire testing failure hangs up First Hill streetcar — UPDATE

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(Image: SDOT)

(Image: SDOT)

The initial floor designs for the future First Hill Streetcar failed to meet a key fire resistance test that caused delays in manufacturing, city officials revealed Tuesday. The floors had to be re-designed and tested after the manufacturer discovered that the floors would not adequately protect passengers should a fire start underneath the streetcars.

In a briefing in front of a Seattle City Council committee Tuesday morning, Seattle Department of Transportation planners outlined the status of the project to create a streetcar line connecting Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill via First Hill — and the impact of a six week delay caused by a manufacturing failure revealed in testing of the trains that will ply the newly installed tracks. The vehicles are currently planned to be completed between June and October, according to Tuesday’s presentation.

UPDATE (2/12): The streetcars were initially due to arrive from the manufacturer sometime between January and April, now they’re not expected until June through October. The impact on the overall project timeline isn’t clear as SDOT will attempt to make up for the extra manufacturing time. According to a SDOT spokesperson, Rail Transit Manager Ethan Melone is “currently evaluating options for streetcar start-up, which could include ramping up service as vehicles are delivered, or beginning service after all six vehicles have been delivered.”

With the track installation slated to be complete by May, the project does not have an official start of service following the revelation of the “Test sample failure” and required “redesign of flooring” for the trains being purchased for the line. In an email to CHS, Melone said the new floors have passed the flammability test:

Streetcars are required to meet stringent safety standards, including for resistance to flammability. Various parts of the cars have to be tested for flammability resistance. This includes the flooring, to ensure that if there were flame beneath the flooring surface, there would be ample time for passengers to get off the car before the floor could burn through. The initial flooring sample tested by the manufacturer failed this test, which required re-design of the flooring and re-testing. The re-designed flooring passed the test, but the re-design and re-test contributed to about six weeks to the schedule delay that the manufacturer is experiencing.

Czech Republic firm Inekon partnered with Seattle-based Pacifica to build the trams that were to be manufactured in the Czech Republic but assembled, painted, tested, and maintained in Seattle, according to a statement released by the mayor’s office in 2011.

Late last month, CHS posted on speculation about a possible September start of operations. The $132 million project is being built by the City of Seattle but paid for by Sound Transit as part of an agreement forged to mitigate the decision to not build a light rail station in the First Hill area.

Thankfully, it seems the initial testing failure won’t mean any further timeline delays for the rollout of the streetcar. Seattle, it seems, has enough major transportation project delays on its hands.

Connector ‘running as usual’ following attention-grabbing Capitol Hill protest

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Tuesday's SPD presence on Bellevue (Image: @audrey_leigh)

Tuesday’s SPD presence on Bellevue (Image: @audrey_leigh)

After a surprise anti-gentrification protest blocked the buses for a short time to start the work week, Seattle Police cruisers were on hand Tuesday near Microsoft Connector stops on Capitol Hill.

The Connector system is running as usual, a company spokesperson told CHS Tuesday.

The police presence came after two protesters unfurled a banner and handed out flyers Monday morning while blocking the corporate shuttles — and a few public buses — on Bellevue at Pine. “The Microsoft Connector bus is an active agent in the hyper-gentrification of Capitol HIll and other rapidly transforming Seattle neighborhoods,” the flyers read.

The Microsoft Connector includes 22 routes with 74 busses total in the Puget Sound region. Around 250 passengers ride each day from Capitol Hill to Redmond/Bellevue. Those busses average about 70% capacity, according to the company. In total, the Connector serves about 3,000 people per day. According to Microsoft, 65% of those who ride the connector drove to work alone prior to the system’s availability.

In San Francisco, protests against corporate shuttle systems have grown into a significant political issue and occasional public safety threat. So far, Seattle’s incident seems more like a well calculated publicity stunt. The attention it generated has been significant — for example, Monday’s visitor total for CHS was the second highest daily total in the last 12 months and the post was linked to from sites including the Seattle Times, New York Times, Cnet, The Verge and the SF Chronicle, to name a few. “Google bus” protests spread to Seattle, the Chronicle headlined their take on the incident. We shall see.

(Image: Tides of Flame)

(Image: Tides of Flame)

Meanwhile, as the Microsoft transportation system appeared to not miss a beat on Tuesday, another protest action targeted a different tech giant and changing Seattle neighborhood. “Train blockaded at Amazon HQ,” boasted this post at the Tides of Flame site explaining that the latest protest targeted the Seattle-based online retail and services company for its work with the Central Intelligence Agency. “This new data cloud will help the CIA coordinate their massacres, assassinations, and terrorism across the planet,” the unidentified protesters wrote.

Two days of anti-corporate protest activities with similar MOs might have you wondering what’s next.