Category: Sustainability

The Greedy Need For Speed

Carl Setzer

Lately I’ve thought a lot about traffic. First there’s the ever increasing volumes on northbound I5 through Marysville to Arlington  My trips to Bellingham have stretched out from 60 minutes to an hour and a half…on good days. Then there’s taking this new position in Bellevue, which has thrown me into heavier traffic then I’ve dealt with for some time, if ever. 

I’ve jokingly told myself many times “welcome to LA”. 

I live in a place that’s attracting new people at an exponential rate. Can’t blame them. Jobs are cool. 

With this, though, I’ve noticed an uptick in aggressive driving. Whether tailgating, cutting people off; there are myriad examples of destructive behaviors. I believe the challenge here is simple: A sense of entitlement for speed. Anything that slows us down challenges us a  to our birthright. This explains why people get homicidal over the bicyclist, a pedestrian, or that car doing 50 in the fast lane. I should be able to go as fast as I want, statistics and public safety be damned!

This, combined with the aforementioned increase in the sheer volume of cars pushes us hard. No wonder people are snapping. 

Our culture needs to calm down, to slow down. This rage kills, but not just on the road. Increased stress causes all kinds of horrible things to our bodies and minds. We need to walk more, get on our bikes and ride, getting out of our cars. And we need to remember that the other drivers out there are people. Doing the best that they can. 

Just like us. 

[Editted because I hit “post” too soon and, thus needed to clean up a bunch of grammar] 

Driving Around Here Nowadays

Carl Setzer

Saturday i had a meeting in south Everett, on 128th to be more specific. Well,traffic on that road was wretched,  but I improvised, taking side streets back to Lynnwood. I ended up driving past the door where the z over Park drive in used to be. Now it’s a medical center and apartment complex. I

Along this street are now many multifamily/higher density housing projects.Several duplexes, apartment and condos, within this area that was semi rural single family homes a generation back. 

This got me thinking about density. That we’re gong to see the greater Seattle area become increasingly densified. I expect in the next dozen to two dozen years this whole region will become mostly multifamily. The economic forces will drive that hard. I’ve long thought that the Growth Management Act’s limits on development will combine with our region’s continued economic expansion to drive this. 

Many will see if as something to lament, and to resist. Me? I see it as a a mixed blessing, so to speak. And as something that good planning can make a great thing. Planning for a transit system that will accommodate this load will be crucial. A predominantly car-centric system will not work. When the majority of commuters take transit, things will be more manageable. 

So, what do you think? 

Watch “VANLIFE as a SOLO FEMALE TRAVELER” on YouTube

Carl Setzer

Alex is from Leavenworth, and worked at REI, so we most likely have some common friends. I adore Penny, her VW Eurovan, and she’s got the coolest dog.

Yeah, I dig vanlife. I don’t really want to LIVE it. I’d like a small van for weekend touring, but I have no desire or plans to drop everything and live solely out of a van. Now, doing something like that in Hawaii would be cool….and maybe I’d could get a trailer for the Lexus.

Anyway, check out Alex’s blog and Instagram pages.

Snow and Sidewalks: Thinking About Accessibility

Carl Setzer

As i eject you’re aware, the Seattle region is recovering from a significant snowfall. It’s been years since we’ve had anything of this magnitude. These are strains on our infrastructure, as this weather is so infrequent it’s not economically rational to invest in the equipment (and associated maintenance). So we suffer through a few days of impassable roads. 

This round noticed we got the roads plowed fairly quickly. However, the plowing moved all the road’s snow into the sidewalks. As an avid walker, this was deeply frustrating. Today, though, it hit me that for many it’s a calamity. Wheel chair users withhold have no choice but to use the roads. If you’re able to walk, but have balance issues, you’re quite trapped. 

We’ve developed into a society that prioritizes the car over all else. I don’t believe this is healthy for myriad reasons (I’ll blog more about that soon). Ensuring our public infrastructure is available to all of us is critical . Sitting back snugly after ONLY clearing the roads is unacceptable. It’s isolates so many. The fix is straightforward: clear the sidewalks. 

The Only Constant Is Change 

Carl Setzer

Watching land prices rise around Puget Sound and western Washington, I think I see the future. Land costs extending beyond the reach of all but institutional investors. 

Our economic engine will continue to bring people here, demand for housing will continue to rise, the Growth Management Act will limit supply, so we will be forced to move vertically. Up will be all that’s left. 

We’re already seeing this in the downtown core. Most housing in the Seattle neighborhoods are multifamily. With exceptions, of course. But I’m sure those will succumb, too.  

I don’t view this negatively. More than its simply the way of things, especially in places that people want/need to live. This city won’t be my grandmother’s Seattle, but it will be Seattle. 

Some thoughts on Seattle’s growth  

Carl Setzer

Lately I’ve been considering growth. Seattle’s been growing in a huge number of ways: jobs, cost of living, rents, population. This growth changes things: traffic, greater economic fragility, more economic stress on nearly everyone. I

I read an article yesterday saying that San Francisco’s poverty line income was a bit above $114k. Seattle is getting close. 

With this growth and pressure on finances, I see this region’s density increasing. I expect the single family home will slowly vanish as land costs continue to climb. Eventually, multi-family will be the only way to earn enough return on land investment for builders. 

I expect well see lots of Seattle neighborhoods becoming predominantly multi-family, actually a region of apartments condos stretching from the center out to the burbs. 

I do wonder if there’s an equilibrium. Will we get to a point where things will stabilize? 

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

A few thoughts on cycling this Saturday morning 

Carl Setzer

Was just reading through a bunch of articles about cycling, all centered in the Pacific NorthWest. Urban cycling, bicycle touring, city planning, healthy living and how cycling fits into a sustainable culture; filling my brain with ideas. A big thing: I need to get out and ride more. Of course, it’s been been quite chilly here around Puget Sound. And such things challenge my desire to ride. 

I’ve become much more of a fair weathered cyclist. At one point, the notion of being such horrified me. I was committed to riding, bike commuting, cycling as urban transport. A few accidents with cars (with broken bones and other fun) and myriad close calls, my tolerance for urban riding waned. Plus, moving back home to Seattle’s suburbs threw me deep into car culture. Riding became a weekend hobby. I hate this. 

The desire to return to deep immersion into bike culture hits me regularly. It rebounds off of the suburban car culture, but bounces back. The overcommitted life, which is only manageable with a car, my 20 mile commute, the geographic spread of suburban life all factor in. 

I’m also weary of the challenge of getting exercise. I need to block time to get to the gym, versus just walking/riding all the time. There’s a community around cycling that’s pretty amazing. So many benefits to the cycle-centric life, and I miss them. 

So much trash, so much waste

Carl Setzer

Wow, I just tossed out a bunch of expired food. Boxes of stuff that’d migrated to the far reaches of my cabinets. I’m bothered by the waste. One thing in particular got me, though: packets.

Those little packets if sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, all that. I put in the trash so many. I never use these, as I always have my own at home and my office.

They’re placed in the bag automatically. Along with forks and napkins, which I also have.

These items are pure waste, given for “convenience sake”. Good customer service, I guess, but not environmentally sustainable. Plus, I expect most folks are like me and have no need.

This is an area I need to give some kudos to McDonald’s. They ask if you want ketchup packets, etc, before dropping them into your bag. It saves the company money along with slowing the rate we fill those land-fills.

I’d like “asking before giving” to become the standard. Until then, I need to start telling the good folks who own my favorite take out shops that I don’t need sauce packets, chopsticks, or forks.