311–320 of 398 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> (...) that's not something I would consider a viable walk. Why not? As long as it's truly a 15m walk? The metric should take into account that the speed is going to be reduced when walking on a steep incline, otherwise it's a bad metric...
You might change your mind if you saw how steep Queen Anne Hill is, haha
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Seattle has so many intersections that are completely bonkers. They’re not only poorly walkable, they also make driving extremely stressful.
Do you guys not have red light cameras? Australia has them everywhere so running a red light is almost never seen.
You can read the relevant state law here: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.63.170.
The cameras can't take pictures of the driver or occupants and court time is accrued when anyone other than the registered owner committed the infraction:
(f) Automated traffic safety cameras may only take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate and only while an infraction is occurring. The picture must not reveal the face of the driver or of passengers in the vehicle. The primary purpose of camera placement is to take pictures of the vehicle and vehicle license plate when an infraction is occurring. Cities and counties shall consider installing cameras in a manner that minimizes the impact of camera flash on drivers.
An officer has to actually review the photos:
(g) A notice of infraction must be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle within 14 days of the violation, or to the renter of a vehicle within 14 days of establishing the renter's name and address under subsection (3)(a) of this section. The law enforcement officer issuing the notice of infraction shall include with it a certificate or facsimile thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images produced by an automated traffic safety camera, stating the facts supporting the notice of infraction. This certificate or facsimile is prima facie evidence of the facts contained in it and is admissible in a proceeding charging a violation under this chapter. The photographs, microphotographs, or electronic images evidencing the violation must be available for inspection and admission into evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate the liability for the infraction. A person receiving a notice of infraction based on evidence detected by an automated traffic safety camera may respond to the notice by mail.
So automated cameras don't scale and are only deployed where they are most needed.
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Basically anywhere in District 5, including some of Aurora: https://www.knkx.org/2015-election/2015-10-23/in-seattles-si...
"And are also unsafe to walk on," though? Most of those are residential streets with low traffic. I lived in that area and ran around somewhat regularly for several years. The street I mentioned as the worst one is in that district. :-)
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Stuck in traffic I often wondered why downtown Seattle is in the worst spot possible on the east side of Puget Sound. For a small town it's a fine spot, for a major metropolitan area it's right at the chokepoint of a narrow north-south corridor. That may be one of the reasons. If you're in Kent and you want to sell strawberries to Everett you basically have to go through Seattle. The other is that Seattle originally…
After West Seattle, the city built up around the area where the stadiums are. Capitol Hill was called that because they were going to put the Washington state capitol there, but decided not to because it was too far from "Seattle". That should give some idea of how small the city was. There were single digit thousand white people in the entire area at that time. The width of the isthmus was not a problem at that time…
Incredible analysis! As a Seattleite I can say the conclusions here are very close to accurate, with the key additional note being that distance is not the only thing that defines walkability. Seattle has some of the most confounding civil engineering I’ve ever seen, and I’ve lived in five cities and visited dozens more. Here are some things that make a pedestrian life near impossible in my neighborhood: - two high-t…
It's interesting how variable that is depending where you are. The area I live in Seattle will have people wave you through the stop sign if you're a pedestrian, has side walks on every street, and is grid based except where i5 runs through.
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Seattle has a mix of these. In my neighborhood, the closest supermarket has a gigantic parking lot. I never think of walking there.
But in contrast, the QFC on Broadway in Capital Hill for instance, has no above-ground parking lot. And is very walkable.
This underscores how important small businesses are to the health of a city. I live a in less walkable neighborhood on this map - but about a year ago a small (tiny really, ~700sqft) corner store opened up 2 blocks from me. It sells coffee, pastry, simple sandwiches, but also pantry staples (flour, sugar, milk etc.) and has a really good beer and wine selection. I can't do my normal grocery shopping there, but being…
Incredible analysis! As a Seattleite I can say the conclusions here are very close to accurate, with the key additional note being that distance is not the only thing that defines walkability. Seattle has some of the most confounding civil engineering I’ve ever seen, and I’ve lived in five cities and visited dozens more. Here are some things that make a pedestrian life near impossible in my neighborhood: - two high-t…
And my personal favorite: Street traffic is allowed through Pike Place Market. Every weekend I have a grand old time in the market, watching tourists make the worst mistake of their visit, their rental car crawling at 1mph through probably the largest tourist attraction in the PNW.
How much damage can drivers do at 1 MPH, anyway?
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And my personal favorite: Street traffic is allowed through Pike Place Market. Every weekend I have a grand old time in the market, watching tourists make the worst mistake of their visit, their rental car crawling at 1mph through probably the largest tourist attraction in the PNW.
Right where they throw the fish? I've only been to Pike Place Market a few times, but there's a little road there that looked like an absolute nightmare if you inadvertently turned down it.
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Seattle has so many intersections that are completely bonkers. They’re not only poorly walkable, they also make driving extremely stressful.
Seattle's street plan is so stupid it has its own wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_layout_of_Seattle >These three grid patterns (due north, 32 degrees west of north, and 49 degrees west of north) are the result of a disagreement between David Swinson "Doc" Maynard, whose land claim lay south of Yesler Way, and Arthur A. Denny and Carson D. Boren, whose land claims lay to the north (with Henry Y…