Form Follows Zoning
@russellme.bsky.social
Landscape Architect, Arborist, urbanist & transit nerd, member of Seattle's School Traffic Safety Committee
This would also be a PERFECT car for a teenager in places with bad bike/transit infrastructure. 28 mph is plenty of speed for getting around town but also limits the amount of danger they can put themselves in. And for $12k!
December 11, 2025 at 3:49 PM
This would also be a PERFECT car for a teenager in places with bad bike/transit infrastructure. 28 mph is plenty of speed for getting around town but also limits the amount of danger they can put themselves in. And for $12k!
This is exactly the dream retirement car I've talking about for years. IT IS HAPPENING!
December 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
This is exactly the dream retirement car I've talking about for years. IT IS HAPPENING!
This is the way.
December 10, 2025 at 8:08 PM
This is the way.
And with the residents opposed they can drag the project down, slowing projects to a crawl or stopping them entirely. I agree, it sucks that people frequently oppose sidewalk & sewer installation but until that changes it's a massive uphill battle.
December 10, 2025 at 8:05 PM
And with the residents opposed they can drag the project down, slowing projects to a crawl or stopping them entirely. I agree, it sucks that people frequently oppose sidewalk & sewer installation but until that changes it's a massive uphill battle.
Yes, the stormwater infrastructure is definitely important, but paying for it all with our sidewalks budget doesn't lead to many sidewalks getting built. Plus there are cheaper options for dealing with it (raingardens) than building out a complete sewer infrastructure.
December 10, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Yes, the stormwater infrastructure is definitely important, but paying for it all with our sidewalks budget doesn't lead to many sidewalks getting built. Plus there are cheaper options for dealing with it (raingardens) than building out a complete sewer infrastructure.
It's all formerly unincorporated King County. It's missing both sidewalks and stormwater sewers (just has ditches instead), and the ROW is narrower than most of Seattle. It would cost an insane amount to build sidewalks everywhere and the residents oppose sidewalks because they lose street parking.
December 10, 2025 at 5:15 PM
It's all formerly unincorporated King County. It's missing both sidewalks and stormwater sewers (just has ditches instead), and the ROW is narrower than most of Seattle. It would cost an insane amount to build sidewalks everywhere and the residents oppose sidewalks because they lose street parking.
I've kind of come around on the low cost walkway. It's not the sidewalk that costs a fortune, it's the missing stormwater infrastructure. We can install something like 10 blocks of pathways for every 1 block of sidewalk. I'm all in on the less crap pathways combined w/ speed cushions.
December 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I've kind of come around on the low cost walkway. It's not the sidewalk that costs a fortune, it's the missing stormwater infrastructure. We can install something like 10 blocks of pathways for every 1 block of sidewalk. I'm all in on the less crap pathways combined w/ speed cushions.
MAGA people wouldn't apologize for these failings.
December 9, 2025 at 11:07 PM
MAGA people wouldn't apologize for these failings.
We need science of reading in every K-2 classroom tier 1, not tier 2. SPS has been piloting this at a handful of schools for YEARS now and seeing the results there. WHY aren't we extending a successful reading intervention to all schools?
December 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM
We need science of reading in every K-2 classroom tier 1, not tier 2. SPS has been piloting this at a handful of schools for YEARS now and seeing the results there. WHY aren't we extending a successful reading intervention to all schools?
It doesn't have to be. Let's get a 3 line going.
December 6, 2025 at 9:14 PM
It doesn't have to be. Let's get a 3 line going.
Examples of the policy changes SDOT refused for years but has now implemented totally, 100% because they were going to do it anyway: allowing SPS to install crosswalks at the main entrance for newly built schools before the school opened and allowing stop signs to be located in front of schools.
December 5, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Examples of the policy changes SDOT refused for years but has now implemented totally, 100% because they were going to do it anyway: allowing SPS to install crosswalks at the main entrance for newly built schools before the school opened and allowing stop signs to be located in front of schools.
You definitely can make a difference but it's unbelievably exhausting. Each time that SDOT made a policy change we had advocated for for years SDOT staff made a point of telling us it had NOTHING to do with us, they were definitely going to do it anyway. Every time. That made me laugh.
December 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
You definitely can make a difference but it's unbelievably exhausting. Each time that SDOT made a policy change we had advocated for for years SDOT staff made a point of telling us it had NOTHING to do with us, they were definitely going to do it anyway. Every time. That made me laugh.
My experience on the school traffic safety committee was that we would show up and push sensible improvements for years and the response from SDOT was 'no, no, no, never!' past the point of all sense or reason, and then as I was giving up it would turn around to 'yes, we did that yesterday'.
December 5, 2025 at 5:11 PM
My experience on the school traffic safety committee was that we would show up and push sensible improvements for years and the response from SDOT was 'no, no, no, never!' past the point of all sense or reason, and then as I was giving up it would turn around to 'yes, we did that yesterday'.
A free Honolulu stay (with dog snuggles!) is a sign from the universe that your family can do without you for a week. Ignore it at your peril.
December 5, 2025 at 12:24 AM
A free Honolulu stay (with dog snuggles!) is a sign from the universe that your family can do without you for a week. Ignore it at your peril.
So who is going to challenge Ferguson in the primary is what I want to know. His leadership is Republican lite, it's not what WA voters want.
December 3, 2025 at 8:40 PM
So who is going to challenge Ferguson in the primary is what I want to know. His leadership is Republican lite, it's not what WA voters want.
We can absolutely bring the landmarks board to heel. It's established by City ordinance and can be amended/disbanded the same way. At a minimum council could pass an ordinance saying that the landmarks board dosn't get to veto safety improvements.
November 24, 2025 at 8:55 PM
We can absolutely bring the landmarks board to heel. It's established by City ordinance and can be amended/disbanded the same way. At a minimum council could pass an ordinance saying that the landmarks board dosn't get to veto safety improvements.
We need to remove the landmarks board as a final on what happens in our city. The status quo, where the landmarks board's decision overrules all safety standards and the Parks dept's normal processes makes no sense. We can change it.
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
We need to remove the landmarks board as a final on what happens in our city. The status quo, where the landmarks board's decision overrules all safety standards and the Parks dept's normal processes makes no sense. We can change it.
This is a beautiful thread that gives that 'pastor' far too much credit. His post is a transparent contribution in the ongoing 'Christian' right's push to renormalize policing women's behavior and body shaming them in public. It's an assertion of masculine privilege and nothing more.
November 23, 2025 at 9:44 PM
This is a beautiful thread that gives that 'pastor' far too much credit. His post is a transparent contribution in the ongoing 'Christian' right's push to renormalize policing women's behavior and body shaming them in public. It's an assertion of masculine privilege and nothing more.
A dozen across 4 different cities in two decades: the exceptions that prove the rule.
November 21, 2025 at 9:58 PM
A dozen across 4 different cities in two decades: the exceptions that prove the rule.
True, but planning for cottage housing inside existing cities, even relatively low density cities, is inane. We have SO MANY cottage housing zoning sections lovingly crafted in every municipality in western WA, and yet somehow the actual cottage courts in existance are all 100 years old.
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
True, but planning for cottage housing inside existing cities, even relatively low density cities, is inane. We have SO MANY cottage housing zoning sections lovingly crafted in every municipality in western WA, and yet somehow the actual cottage courts in existance are all 100 years old.