It's exciting to see construction cranes popping up across Seattle's skyline. But it will take more than a handful of building projects to transform the city and make it sustainable.
Projects such as housing in the parking lot of Seahawks/Sounders stadium and a new ferry terminal may make Seattle a "resilient city equipped to thrive in a challenging future," according to a local blog that I follow. Unfortunately most of the projects are on extremely long timelines and there's little political will to complete them to their potential.
I'm optimistic about Seattle because the city is growing and attracting new human and economic capital. But we need to think bigger and act with a sense of urgency in order to seize on the opportunity.
Put this in context. Cities around the world are pursuing integrated development to combine housing, jobs and transit. In the last 15 years traffic-clogged Bangkok has built a rail system and a brand new airport. Jakarta is dredging its canals for the first time. Los Angeles is leapfrogging others with a series of transit projects and even San Jose has multiple light rail lines. All of these are examples of big, transformative changes to meet challenges like economic competition and climate change.
In Seattle, we're failing to invest in education and infrastructure required to make this region prosperous over the long term, noted former Chamber CEO Phil Bussey in an interview with Jon Talton. As progress he cites "headway" on the tunnel and 520 — both deeply flawed projects that are happening because of process-fatigue, not because they make sense financially or from a planning perspective.
Consider that Amazon.com plans 3 million square feet of new office space over the next several years on three blocks currently used as parking lots. This is great news. But the project will have 3,000 parking spaces and is directly served only by a 1.2-mile streetcar line — there's no plan or funding to turn it into a streetcar system that would actually be useful. (An ill-conceived proposal to start planning such a system, though not actually fund much of it, was defeated by voters last November.)
Another example is the remodeling of the central waterfront, which could become a fabulous cultural and economic space through planning led by James Corner Field Operations, the folks who created New York's High Line. But that outcome is far from assured: Councilman Richard Conlin has already mused that he's not sure Seattle wants such elaborate planning.
Imagine what Seattle could become with a commitment to create a more urban, dynamic city designed to comfortably accommodate more people and jobs. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see all these new projects. Now let's build on the momentum to tranform the city.