A livable city and a look at Seattle's public transit

"Last week, USA Today reported that the U.S. gas tax has never been lower. Having remained unchanged at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993, American drivers are now paying HALF as much in inflation-adjusted gas taxes, per 1,000 miles driven, than they did in 1975. We can pretty much forget about investing in new and expanded transit systems -- or even just holding up our bridges -- as long as this is the case."  


It's not even a question that the most livable cities in the world have some of the fewest number of parking spaces per capita and more people walking than driving, and cities have found that businesses, thus their local economies, THRIVE (not fail) when pedestrians can actually walk around, wandering in and out of stores and cafes. I watched a short video today about how Melbourne, Australia (a new-world city like most American cities with all the same concerns and problems) has taken some huge steps to revitalize its city ... and they're paying off a hundredfold. Alleyway cafe culture in Melbourne is astounding, sidewalks are wide and walkable, city blocks have been shortened to allow ease of foot traffic flow, cars have been removed from many streets downtown, and parking was turned into extended sidewalks. There's actually life downtown again in Melbourne ... and it can happen in any city.


Check out the short video ... it's fascinating and has some beautiful sights :



The biggest surprise: In Seoul, South Korea (a gigantic megacity of over 10 million people), developers actually removed an entire freeway to ease traffic. You read that correctly - they REMOVED a freeway to EASE traffic ... and it worked. What was an unsightly concrete highway is now miles of beautiful park alongside the Cheongecheong stream. Building new roads does not make traffic go away ... it actually creates more. How about that for a brain twister?


Now for Seattle. I hope Seattle never loses its electric bus system to gas. Riding it at least a couple times a week (but mainly walking everywhere in this beautiful town), the electric buses are so quiet, clean, and smooth that it almost makes me sad when I have to get on a gas-powered bus. Electric buses are much more sure and stable on the very steep hills around cities like Seattle and San Francisco ... electricity provides instant pull that gas engines cannot. From the sidewalk perspective, hearing an electric bus whir by instead of a noisy, obnoxious gas bus is so much more pleasant for the city and neighborhoods. Plus, I don't have to choke on fumes when they go by. I love the fact that all of downtown is a Ride-Free zone meaning you can just hop on and off the buses without paying. Not only does this speed up bus times, but people don't realize it also makes money. Tourists being able to hop around the city easily on buses makes for good local economy. We also have the monorail which runs from Westlake Center to the Space Needle, but that's more for tourists than any kind of public transit. Years ago, there was a plan to build a wonderfully extensive monorail system all throughout Seattle. Unfortunately, voters could not think far enough into the future of their city and shot the idea down. Luckily the light rail is being extended from downtown Seattle all the way through Capitol Hill into University of Washington - currently it's running from SeaTac Airport to downtown Seattle. There's also plans for a streetcar to connect Capitol Hill, the medical centers of First Hill, down to the International District/Chinatown. Maybe in a year or two I can hop on the streetcar to get to dim sum! Finally, I love walking around our neighborhood of Capitol Hill and seeing that traffic roundabouts have been turned into gardens and there's mini pocket parks here and there. It makes my walk to the community market (or anywhere) that much more enjoyable.


 Here's a look at Seattle's public transit:

King County Metro electric trolleybus system on main lines here in Seattle

Sound Transit Link Light Rail system

South Lake Union Streetcar (currently the only streetcar line, but we'll soon have another one in Capitol Hill in a few years)

And of course, our neighbor to the north, Vancouver, B.C., Canada:

Vancouver, British Columbia has its entire bus system on electricity (and newer buses)

Anyhow, it's 85 degrees, sunny, and breezy today so I have the balcony doors to the garden wide open ... who said Seattle was all grey rainy skies (even though I love those days just as much!)