Search Results
-
Weekend Reading 12/24/15
Serena The excellent local blog Seattlish called out a KIRO Radio host for poking fun at folks who use public transit in their dating endeavors (as part of an argument against the city’s smart new restricted parking zones). Seattlish then proceeded to crowdsource a bunch of sweet stories about people who used public transit and car2go and other rad car-free urban modes to find romance. Awesome. And I’m happy to...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 12/18/15
Tarika In Portland on Saturday, a tanker truck of gasoline crashed into a parked train. In photos, such as the one below, the resulting fire can be seen blazing a few hundred feet from a liquid natural gas storage tank. The images are a strong statement on the safeguards we should consider as we experience growth of the oil and gas industry in Cascadia. The nearly 50-year old storage tank,...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 9/11/15
Kristin Lessig raised $1 million and is running as a referendum presidential candidate to Fix Democracy First. His “Citizen Equality Act” mirrors Sightline’s democracy work! It aims to embody the idea that, in a democracy, every citizen is equal, using a three-pronged strategy: (1) every citizen has equal freedom to vote, (2) every citizen should get equal representation in Congress, achieved through multi-member districts and ranked choice voting (sound familiar?),...Read more » -
Photo Essay: A Family’s Vancouver Bicycle Cruise
Riding in a cycle lane in Vancouver, BC. by Alyse Nelson used under CC BY-NC 2.0 (Used with permission.)
When my husband Jason and I planned a trip to Vancouver, BC, we decided to bring our family’s bikes just in case. With our eight-year-old son Orion in tow, I wasn’t sure we’d have the chance to ride unless we sought out an off-street trail. To my surprise, we were able to ride—and not just on trails we had to drive or take a bus to, but through the heart...Read more » -
Portland’s Vision Zero Plan
Editor’s Note 6/23/2015: A SUV driver recently killed a pedestrian in Portland. Eight days earlier, a driver under the influence killed a jogger. A series of fatal bike collisions and pedestrian deaths in Portland concerned citizens and prompted a protest ride to hold the city to its Vision Zero commitment. Portlanders are saying enough is enough. Sightline profiled Portland’s Vision Zero commitment earlier this year, and the urgency of the plan’s goals has only grown greater since....Read more » -
Cascadia’s Car-Sharing Super Bowl
You’ve probably heard that Seattle’s about to launch into a heated contest—one that pits city against city vying for honor, bragging rights, and civic pride. We refer, of course, to the Car-Sharing Super Bowl! OK, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. Still, on just about every playing field there’s a hint of healthy competition among the Pacific Northwest’s three biggest cities—Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland. Car-sharing should be no exception:...Read more » -
A Carbon Pollution Policy with All the Fixin’s
A purely regulatory approach to cutting carbon is like Thanksgiving dinner without the turkey. But just charging polluters without any other policies is like eating turkey by itself with no cranberry sauce or stuffing to make it delicious, no mashed potatoes, green beans and yams to round out the meal, and no pie to sweeten the experience. In Oregon and Washington, we want the full dinner. Here’s how serving up...Read more » -
A Mom Rediscovers Her Bike
Editor’s Note 5/3/16: Does the record-warm spring have you craving to hop back on your bike… but still a bit nervous to navigate busy city streets? In this popular article, former Sightliner Jennifer Langston shows how you can get around on neighborhood greenways, a network of family-friendly roads. Read (and ride) on! I haven’t used a bike to get across town in six years. I know because that’s how long it’s been since...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 10/17/14
Editor’s Note: Recently, we invited board members to contribute to weekend reading when they like. Chris Troth took us up on the offer this week! And our fall communications intern, Keiko Budech, also added a couple pieces to this weeks picks—enjoy! Alan This article, which filled my heart with happy, is about librarians on cargo bikes in Portland who deliver customized reading piles to people who live outdoors. “Street Books...Read more » -
A Fair Share of Streets (Part 1)
One takeaway from my last post on Portland’s courtyard housing competition was that it makes little sense to squander large chunks of scarce urban land by designing them exclusively for cars. Parking spaces, driveways, and even low-volume residential streets that sit empty most of the day are simply a waste of valuable real estate in growing cities. So Portland legalized the shared court—a common area in a residential development where...Read more »