Germany: A Study in Sustainable Transportation
Here’s an oldie but a goody: a 2009 Brookings report on sustainable transportation in Germany. The upshot is that Germans enjoy a safer, more energy efficient, and more affordable transportation ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Six Tips for Selling Green Stormwater Solutions
Congratulations! You’ve come up with a great idea for an affordable, attractive, environmentally sound solution for the polluted runoff that’s fouling Northwest rivers, lakes, and inland seas. But before you ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Shifting Bike-and-Ride into Higher Gear
Most of us are familiar with park-and-ride facilities: large parking lots surrounding transit stops. They generally expand the effective “reach” of a transit stop by allowing people to combine automobiles and transit in a single trip. Yet they also have several disadvantages, including negative visual impacts, forgone revenue from other uses of the space, and the cost of the facilities themselves. There is a better way. In contrast to park-and-rides, “bike-and-ride” facilities are much more cost effective and have fewer negative impacts. For example, a structured park-and-ride facility planned for Northgate in Seattle for example is estimated to cost $30,000 per parking stall. Compare that with a recent federal grant for secure bicycle parking in the Seattle area at a cost of roughly $4,400 per bike stall. And of course, park-and-rides encourage people to drive, which results in a variety of negative health, safety, and environmental consequences.
Author: SwatchJunkies
Weekend Reading 8/24/12
Clark: From Oregon Public Broadcasting, news of a new trend in Portland: housing without parking. It’s a major boon for affordability: according to one developer, the cost of providing parking ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
SeaTac’s Foreign-Born Boom
Last week, I wrote about the explosion in foreign-born residents in the Northwest. Next I thought it would be interesting to dig a little deeper into the demographics of one ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
A New Era for Stormwater Management
One of the best policy opportunities to restore Puget Sound will be unveiled this week. It’s incredibly important but, unfortunately, it also sounds incredibly boring. And that means it’s likely to be overlooked by a whole boatload of people who should care. Here’s the scoop: on August 1, the Washington Department of Ecology is scheduled to issue its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) final Phase I Municipal Stormwater General Permit. We’ll also get to see the new SWMMWW, whatever that is. Are you still with me?
Author: SwatchJunkies
Seattle Reforms Outdated and Unhelpful Regulations
It’s been almost a year since the idea took shape, but yesterday the Seattle city council unanimously approved a smart package of regulatory reforms that Sightline has been supporting. The ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
Promise of Permeable Pavement
Editor’s note: This post is also available as a pdf. Permeable pavement is one of the most promising green solutions that can help reduce and clean up polluted stormwater runoff. ...
Author: SwatchJunkies
The Promise of Permeable Pavement
Permeable pavement is one of the most promising green solutions that can help reduce and clean up polluted stormwater runoff. Like conventional pavement, it can be made of asphalt or concrete that’s either poured in place or sold as pavers, and it can be used in a variety of settings, including on parking lots, low-traffic roadways, driveways, and sidewalks.
Author: Lisa Stiffler
Weekend Reading 6/15/12
Eric dP: I’ve got a pair of good suggestions this week. In the Vancouver Observer, Barry Saxifrage looks at national emissions trends and reveals that the world leader is—it’s hard ...
