Doug MacDonald is a pedestrian activist who lives in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. He served as the Secretary of Transportation for Washington state from 2001 until his retirement in 2007.
The big bus agency has got two big problems: nowhere near enough money to meet goals, and a political system that sabotages wise allocations of service. A task force is meeting, but so far it's more PowerPoint slides than real debate.
At stake are questions of equity and how to reconfigure the bus system in the light of a financial crisis. Buckle up!
King County is in a fix, with a tunneling machine immobilized 300 feet beneath Lake Forest Park. Executive Constantine has just signed off on a Plan B, switching contractors in mid-tunnel. Hold your breath.
When you look into the oceans of problems plastic bags create, the case for Seattle's well-crafted grocery-bag fee becomes overwhelming. And the opponents' arguments are underwhelming.
A candid look at the efforts to preserve Puget Sound and surrounding lands discovers inconvenient truths. Population growth is not going where planned. Studies replace courageous action on Puget Sound. And land use loopholes invite blockbuster developments in rural areas.
