Comment from Tyler Morgan
Time November 17, 2009 at 4:07 pm

Transit. It is ridiculous that every single weekday the highway traffic congestion map is entirely red from 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm. I should take a screen shot of it every morning and every evening on every weekday for an entire year and name it “520 reasons not to live in Seattle” (260 weekdays per year, twice a day, minus holidays I suppose).

Give people incentive to use other forms of transit and get their single-occupant cars off the road. Charging $90/month for a bus pass is not a good start. You can lease a parking spot and drive for like 30% more money.

Some reasons I don’t take the bus: driving is not significantly more expensive, driving is significantly more convenient, missing a morning bus that comes every 30 minutes sucks, squishing yourself into a bus that is completely full sucks (especially when you see a half dozen empty or terminal-bound buses during your trip), and most bus stops leave you standing in the rain.

Good luck!

Comment from Alex Brogger
Time November 17, 2009 at 5:12 pm

I’d have to agree with Tyler. Transit is a mess, not just across lake washington, everywhere. More and more people are using it because of the recession, but at the same time Metro is having to make cuts due to budget issues.

But do you know what isn’t a priority? Moving the office over to Macs. What could every posess you to do this? It’s a waste of time (the systems work fine the way they are) and money (Macs easily cost 2-3x that of an equivalent PC). Not to mention that Microsoft is a local company which employs 40,000 in the puget sound area. People that may have voted for you.

Comment from Jeff
Time November 17, 2009 at 5:40 pm

Schools. Seattle has one of the lowest public school participation rates of any major city in the US. Only about 68% of Seattle children attend public schools compared to 80-90% for normal US cities.

This is aggravating most of our other issues with our Seattle Public Schools. High market share is critical to have community support for public schools, to be able to pass taxes that fund the public schools, and to maximize the involvement of parents in helping the schools. Seattle Public School funding from state and federal sources also is directly tied to enrollment. This is a death spiral that has been going on for many years.

Until most parents see Seattle Public Schools as an attractive option, our schools will have little support, fail to improve, and fail to educate the children of Seattle.

Comment from U. Willard
Time November 17, 2009 at 6:09 pm

Agreed with the transit comment, but I’ll add that Seattle needs some cross-town buses that don’t suck, and don’t stop at 6 PM. There are quite a few of those short buses that could be used in a loop-route covering 2 or 3 major cross-town streets per route. If you’d like to drastically reduce drunk driving (and generally reduce auto trips), this plan would help.

I’d make this comment to Metro as well, but they ignore all user comments. Perhaps you could attempt to fix that.

Also, please get sidewalks built in the north end and south end before talking about repairing sidewalks in the central city. We are paying for them, but don’t have them, which is the definition of taxation without representation.

Good luck.

Comment from Simon
Time November 17, 2009 at 6:21 pm

One thing that could help Seattle in a lot of ways, perhaps surprisingly, would be to focus on sidewalk construction. In a recession, expanding sidewalk construction can create a surprising number of jobs, particularly if numerous sidewalk projects are under way at the same time, and there is already a pedestrian master plan in place–it just needs jobs and money devoted to implementing it.

Many Seattleites can’t really even safely walk to school or to bus stops because of hazardous traffic conditions and lack of sidewalks: adding sidewalks makes it easier for people to choose to take transit, to walk to school, to walk to local businesses, all while reducing mileage driven and carbon emissions. With the new school district boundaries, kids walking to and from school *should* become more common–so long as parents feel that there are safe walking routes.

This is to say nothing of the obvious health benefits from walking places that sidewalks promote.

To people in areas with sidewalks already, this may seem like a non-starter, and to people who are devotees of their SUVs it may not make sense, but there are solid job-creating and environmental-policy benefits to ramping up sidewalk construction in areas of Seattle that lack them *now.*

Comment from Andrius Simutis
Time November 17, 2009 at 8:07 pm

Nuisance crime. I don’t think I know a single person in Seattle who has not been a victim of a car prowl, auto theft, or burglary. It’s little wonder when you realize how few police we have, and how we have even fewer out at night. Perhaps something as simple as assigning a few officers to an occasional night shift with a mix of cars and bike patrols to concentrate on some of the areas that are being hit? It seems like a more effective use of their time instead of filing car prowl reports the next day.

Comment from Brent
Time November 17, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Although this is a long-term project, we need to preserve our future transit rights-of-way. That includes being able to build an extension of the light rail tunnel toward the Seattle Center. It includes finding a path for high-speed rail to get through Seattle (perhaps replacing the automobiles in the deep-bore tunnel after light rail has replaced the viaduct’s capacity).

It is far cheaper to keep assets in the public’s hands than to buy them back.

If we don’t plan for high-speed rail now, it may bypass Seattle.

Comment from Kelly
Time November 17, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Transit (via rails and bikes) and schools. Nothing else matters. We are at an inflection point regarding mass transit where, if we do it right, we can give everyone a de facto tax cut because mass transit will be cheaper and faster than getting around town in a car. (It also reduces our carbon output, but many, many people would rather have a cheap, convenient, and reliable way to get around.)

In regards to schools I would sit down with the Super, the Gates, and Allen and come up with some audacious goals equivalent to JFK’s moon shot.

What are the things that we as a community could do that would make Seattle schools a model for the community?
90% grad rate?
Average GPA rising by a point?
Increasing the number of kids who go on to college by 25%?
Funding a legitimate Pre-K education for every kid so they arrive in kindergarten ready to learn?
All of the above?

If all you do is make the trains run on time and elevate the schools then you will be judged a success.

And if it snows I’d get the plows out.

I’d also

Comment from Chris
Time November 18, 2009 at 1:06 am

I’ve been a huge advocate for better internet for Seattle. Comcast is getting worse and Qwest fails to provide anything worth calling an upgrade. I hope you find some time to look at the proposal for the city to play a bigger role in the internet of our city. Many other cities have setup some kind of network where they sell wholesale to companies who provide the internet or just provide the internet to the people like an electric company. I would like to suggest laying the ground work for such a network as soon as possible and determine in the future if it’s feasible to build connections to the individual home or help new startups in the hopes of creating another tech boom in Seattle. We have so much open business space and when your choices for internet, something every new business needs, are bad and worse it’s likely they’ll choose a city to the north, south of east of us in search of a more reasonable price and speed for internet. Seattle has become a deadzone for consumer internet with the duopoly that, about 15 years ago, was one of the greatest booms to hit Seattle.

Comcast and Qwest have spent little to no money since the start of their network to boost the power of our internet, leaving us decades behind countries we consider of the 2rd world. Maybe it’s not as important as transit, but we can walk and chew gum at the same time right?

Comment from Carol
Time November 18, 2009 at 10:18 am

Please immediately address crime in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

NO MORE GUNFIRE IN RAINIER BEACH!!!

Thanks.

Comment from Brian
Time November 19, 2009 at 8:36 am

Public Safety is essential. Our youth are killing one another, and the senseless violence is out of control in Seattle. Please create a position within your administration that can effectively advise you on up to date trends and issues regarding our youth, gangs, and policies that need tweaking. Marcus Stubblefield, formerly of Safe Futures Youth Center and currently the KC Systems Integration Coordinator would get my vote. But any qualified person, who’s both in touch with our at-risk youth, but also comfortable dealing with systems and policies would work.

Comment from misha
Time November 19, 2009 at 9:15 am

Stop this needless & rampant “growth” that is destroying neighborhoods. Capitol Hill has been my home for decades and it is becoming unlivable due to huge condos half (or less) filled with rich SUV-driving folks who do not work in the neighborhood and care nothing for its businesses or pedestrians. The City should buy several floundering condo developments and turn them into low income housing as well as taxing All future developemnt in the area to provide cash back to local businesses adversly affected by the wealthy new homeowners who spend their money elsewhere!

Comment from MAP
Time November 19, 2009 at 11:21 am

Return Seattle to the families who made the city what it once was and should be. Parks, schools, safe streets, reduce crime. Do something about these condos that are standing empty and blighting our neighborhoods. Get rid of bus and bike lanes that reduce driving to a crawl for the benefit of very few citizens. Stop parking on the street on major arterials. With street parking, bikes and buses, there is not room for cars. Yet, we pay the taxes, no?

Comment from Alex in Greenwood
Time November 19, 2009 at 12:02 pm

Instead of Carrasco telling everybody how happy he is to keep electricity rates low, City Light should be working on a plan to charge for electricity on a progressive scale with higher average rates, otherwise there’s no incentive to use less energy.

Comment from Marie
Time November 19, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Transit is the top priority but it should not come at a cost of putting the brakes on existing projects such as the Viaduct replacement and Mercer corrider improvements. Those horses have left the barn and although both of those projects that are already in the works have flaws, the only thing worse at this point is to derail them. We have already spent millions. Seattle needs to get out of its own way for once and finish something it starts. Inertia is excruciating. My fear of the McGinn administration going back to the drawing board when time and money is already sunk is why I didn’t vote for you. But now you’re going to be my mayor. Please surprise me and finish what is started and then (or in parallel) pour your soul into wide-spread public transit options like those that exist in other world-class cities. I’m all for it and my family does already ride the bus.

Comment from Stan
Time November 19, 2009 at 2:38 pm

Transit and pedestrian safety are key. The north end needs sidewalks and street repairs. Lake City has been designated as a hub urban village yet there are almost no sidewalks even in areas with a high density of apartment buildings and new condos. Street lighting is poor and often not working. It is a dangerous thing to get from the bus stop to your home in Lake City since you are forced to walk in the street which is often dark and busy with traffic.

Around the city I see many areas with existing sidewalks getting new curb cuts and repairs of existing sidewalks. Many of Lake City’s few existing sidewalks are in bad repair. When we do manage to get a new sidewalk installed it is usually a substandard asphalt sidewalk rather than the nice concrete sidewalks and curbs that I see in other neighborhoods. Please come here and spend some time in the neighborhood and imagine yourself traveling these streets as a pedestrian or in a wheelchair on a dark rainy evening. You will not feel safe!

Comment from Doug
Time November 19, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Seattle City Council needs to take a step back from ongoing business and do an audit of all ongoing programs with the thought of eliminating inefficient programs and expanding those that most effect our community. While every program has value, we can all agree that some are more important than others.

The Seattle school district has just made some very difficult decisions and it’s time for the city of Seattle to to the same.

Comment from Mary
Time November 19, 2009 at 3:30 pm

Agree with comments above that if public transit is going to be successful, it needs to be convenient & cost effective. Currently there are too many stops (or not enough Express routes), and problems are exacerbated by poorly timed traffic signals throughout the city. Seattle needs to make better use of the infrastructure in place by designating “super streets” during rush hours to keep vehicles & bikes moving, as well as continuing to invest in mass transit to all parts of the city.

Our schools also need a complete overhaul. Kudos for redrawing boundaries to keep kids closer to home and stop busing all over town. Now we need to work on time in the classroom. There are too many “early dismissal” days, teacher education days (including the 2nd week of school… hello… couldn’t they have done that during the 2+ months they were off for summer?), 3 days off for parent-teacher conferences (next week at Montlake), etc… — the kids have an early dismissal or day off just about every other week. It’s no wonder we’re falling behind other countries in education. Yes, we need smaller classes & better paid teachers, but the unions aren’t doing our kids any favors. How about working with universties to get school credits for aspiring teachers who get OJT working part time at our public schools helping out during teacher training days, or conferences, or for extended day programs? We need to increase time in the classroom!

Comment from mercy
Time November 19, 2009 at 3:38 pm

Stop the Tunnel.

Comment from Yukonjackman
Time November 19, 2009 at 3:57 pm

PUBLIC SAFETY: Sidewalks and speed bumps … Seattle wants better transit I say go see king County Metro and the guy in charge of Metro. Seattle rents busses from King county and BTY that should stop.
Mr Mike I want safety for the Children and others who use my street to walk on we have no sidewalks and speeding parents 2 times a day picking up the kids from school, Others like to use my street as a by-pass to 35th ave ne so traffic is heavy sometimes, We have a High school and Elementary School in this area …. It is a well established Home area. And really for all schools we should have it safe for the kids to get there school ….OK people live in the area and if the streets are plugged up how will a fire truck pass with parents blocking the streets …….
My 2 cents worth, Beer Summit or coffee and I will be happy to show you, I suck at this writing thing. This is like a KOMO web site gripe session. Lets see some neighborhood safety action , Ask the parking police some questions about local traffic The main downtown Seattle has had it all for years , We want it now …

Comment from Javier
Time November 19, 2009 at 4:19 pm

Our number one problem is unemployment perhaps followed by gangs, violence and too many guns in the wrong hands. Sorry NRA!
Our next Mayor needs to spend a lot of time figuring out how to work with the business community and the public sector to create more jobs with livable wages. We need to keep guns away from crowds and other public places. We need to offer young people real alternatives to gangs, like education, training, arts and recreation and hope in their future.

Comment from Regret
Time November 19, 2009 at 9:11 pm

Reduce the influence of public unions in city government. As former mayor Norm Rice once explained to me, the rigid nature of union rules makes it almost impossible to improve the efficiency of Seattle City government. I don’t really expect this to happen, but I do think this is the biggest challenge.

Comment from Austin
Time November 19, 2009 at 10:35 pm

I agree with Simon and Yukonjackman that Sidewalks are a fundamental part of the transit system and public safety.

Comment from Elle Miller
Time November 20, 2009 at 5:35 am

Crime and vagrancy. The many efforts to “help the homeless” attract vagrants to our neighborhood, witness the Greenwood arsonist. Please focus on crime. Our neighborhoods used to be safe at night and now they no longer are. There are drug deals in plain sight in the middle of the day in Greenwood, and the police won’t respond unless we can tell them that there is anactive crime in progress. Obviously a drug transaction takes place in the blink of an eye, but there is suspicious behavior leading up to it.. There are hookers and pimps strolling up 85th and along the streets of the neighborhood. Emphasis patrols on Aurora only push the criminal behavior up into our neighborhood. We need more undercover and bicycle police deployed to neighborhoods.

Comment from Josef Taylor
Time November 20, 2009 at 8:16 am

Make biking easier than driving. It’s already safer and better for your health and the environment, let’s make it easy: more bike lanes, more road diets, more green paint and sharrows, and seriously, lower the speed limit. keeping cars under 20MPH makes 95% of pedestrian collisions survivable, and narrows the speed gap for cyclists.

Comment from Lisa A. Wood
Time November 20, 2009 at 10:39 am

I feel the greatest challenge is the non-housed and finding SAFE, AFFORDABLE housing for every individual who is living on the streets and in shelters. To quote Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness on “January 30th, 2009 the One Night Count was done and a total of 2, 685 people were counted as homeless. that is up 2% from 2008.” The BIGGEST challenge facing you Mayor McGinnis is not only how to remove that number but where the housing will come from. I believe that housing and the homeless epidemic in the city of Seattle is the new administrations greatest challenge.

Thank you so much for letting me voice my opinions, concerns and thanking you for being willing to hear from the community you serve! Good on ya!!! May you serve well!!!

Comment from Chris Gibbs
Time November 20, 2009 at 1:37 pm

As chair for the Pioneer Square Safety Committee, I strongly feel that Public Safety is the priority. Not only in Pioneer Square, but if Seattle wants to keep the vitality and health of this vital part of our city, Public Safety is far and away the prime problem.
We would consider a meeting with the Mayor a great start in working towards a solution of this critical situation in a struggling neighborhood.

Comment from Guy Godefroy
Time November 20, 2009 at 1:42 pm

Manage the budget shortfall with an emphasis on preserving basic services and not depleting reserves.

Comment from John Sipkens
Time November 20, 2009 at 2:56 pm

Please as you move forward with bike options for mass transit have SDOT remove bike symbols from roads that have expensive unused bike paths running along side that road.. Seaview Ave from the locks to Golden Gardens. Additionally force bikes to obey the traffic laws as they are required to do and direct the new chief of police to have SPD enforce those laws. Such as running red lights, biking across pedistrain crosswalks and using sidewalks and forcing pedistrains to get out of their way, blocking cars from making free right turns. passing on the right..IF I am expected to give a bike 3 feet of clearance I should expect the same from them.. not looking over to my mirror and finding a bike with rider parked along side at the light within 6 inches of the side of my car. Bikes do have a purpose and can be a part of the traffic solution, however, to do so they must follow the law. We have been cussed at, flipped off, slowed down to a crawl of 5-10 mph by groups of bikes riding protest down the street. had bikes swerve in front of us so they can make a turn without the benift of a arm turn signal. Many recreational bike riders bike up golden gardens hill, which is a very steep winding narrow road slowing traffic and causing risking passing of the bike and now we have to give them 3 feet of clearance. Riding a bike in traffic takes more skill than driving a car yet no license is required no road tax is collected no identification of who they are is required. I have a car tab which if I violate the traffic laws an observer has some idea of who I am. I recall 50 years ago here in Washington, the town in which I lived required all bikes to be licensed. No riding on the side walk and if you violated a traffic rule and were observed by a police officer you were pulled over and as 10 year olds we got a stern talking to by the policman about bike safety.. Hopfully as a bike rider and now the New Mayor you will understand the fustration this causes for those of us who can not bike to work because of distrance or the need to use the car for work.

Comment from Dane Hofbauer
Time November 20, 2009 at 3:07 pm

The city’s greatest challenge is public safety, especially in areas such as Pioneer Square. Pioneer Square needs to be returned to the residents and business that live and operate there. The city should not ignore the current issues that are plaguing the area. Pioneer Square could be one of the most beautiful and safest areas of the city, and it can be with your help. A great first step for your administration would be accepting Chris Gibbs’ offer to meet with the Pioneer Square Safety Committee! Thank you.

Comment from Jennifer
Time November 20, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Transportation, schools and small business support. How will we impact gridlock? How can we encourage more families to “opt into” public schools- Seattle has record level private school attendance. How can we support the small businesses that provide stable, flexible employment to countless workers?

Come out with plan for encouraging small business growth immediately. Anything will help!

Comment from Andrew
Time November 20, 2009 at 4:44 pm

Public safety and reduction of nuisance crimes (drug dealing, public drunkenness, etc) needs to be a priority. It’s not appropriate to me that a City such as Seattle puts up with this. Having talked to a lot of police officers about this issue I believe it is largely a matter of effective ways to prosecute (not just police) these issues. I think Tim Burgess is heading in the right direction with this issue. Please talk to him about possible solutions and work together.

Transportation/Housing: These two are really linked together. There are great studies linking housing affordability and transportation. Work with developers and transportation wonks together to figure out this issue as a combined solution(s). Make it easier to build in Seattle’s urban cores.

Schools: When the baby boomers babies’ start having babies it would be nice for the environment (except for the screaming kids) if they chose to live in Seattle or another dense urban/traditional suburban core with good transportation hubs. But a lot of parents can’t afford to send their kids to private school and they don’t trust Seattle public schools to adequately educate their children. So, it must be looked at.

Business: I think removing obstacles to physical growth (buildings, etc.) and making it easier to do business in Seattle must be looked at. Our pretty mountains and water only count for so much when businesses are thinking about where they want to grow and hire new people.

Comment from Dan Fisher
Time November 20, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Good luck with the work ahead! I want to share some ideas about Seattle neighborhoods. I’m not an expert and I have not researched this in great detail, but here’s my impression of at least part of the problem. There was a time when Seattle was as a whole the size of say North East Seattle in terms of population. If a neighborhood, or citizen, had a problem, there was at least a chance that the mayor or a city council person could be approached in person and the problem discussed. I don’t think that can happen enough now to make a difference there being so many more people and the issues being so intense. But that real possibility of direct contact and discussion which is really only available to the most aggressive of us now, that loss has not been replaced by any other mechanism. This is a problem.

The big money interests downtown and the very vocal special interests get over represented while the average neighbor is invisible to city government. I was surprised to learn that our neighborhoods do not seem to have any true legal or political status. I have been told that many of the names such as Wedgwood and Madison Park were simply made up by developers to make the sale of lots more appealing. Alternatively, they can refer to the houses surrounding a public elementary school. The organizing of a neighborhood seems to be the result of a few dedicated people, but it is apparently entirely informal.

My idea is that neighborhoods be given some actual political status: a small budget for publicity, a meeting space, a schedule for quarterly meetings, and some kind of neighborhood council with a manager. Imput from these meetings could be taken in an orderly way from the neighborhood councils to the city council or the mayor and information could flow in a more efficient way between the neighborhoods and city government. Perhaps once a year neighborhood councils that are proximate such as West Seattle, North East Seattle, South Seattle, etc., could meet together to compare notes.

Something needs to be done to give average Seattle citizens more focused voice in city government. Businesses are not citizens, tourists are not citizens, automobiles are not citizens, etc., yet often it seems that there is no reasonable way to direct one’s questions and concerns and really get action or at least answers as a mere voting citizen of Seattle.

Comment from Gene Hoglund
Time November 21, 2009 at 11:20 am

The BAT lanes on 15th Ave West should only have Buses and Carpools at rushhour. We need to have a path going north and South just for the Bikes and not putting them in the same lanes as high speed transit.
This is a safety issue!

We need more SPD patrolling in the communities.

Comment from Mary
Time November 21, 2009 at 11:46 am

Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and our downtown is vibrant day & night. Right now, we have the perfect opportunity to remove the above ground freeway that separates our downtown from our most under-utilized asset … the waterfront.

Developing the waterfront into an equally, if not more, vibrant extension of downtown would create limitless potential. Restaurants, retail, parks, galleries and the views would be worth millions to Seattle.

Replacing the waterfront freeway with another above ground freeway may be cost effective, but it’s short sighted and costly in the long run.

Comment from Anne
Time November 21, 2009 at 2:56 pm

The incoming admin. and the City’s greatest challenge is lack of money. First out of the gate you need to find out how things are run before you make changes and cuts. I wouldn’t come in with big changes right off the bat, without knowing what works and what doesn’t.

Comment from Ann
Time November 21, 2009 at 5:49 pm

Law Enforcement. Crime in the downtown and Pioneer Square areas is out of control. The drug dealers and users know that the police won’t bother them, because it takes to much time to process them, and with the new filing standards, there’s no reason to book them since they won’t be prosecuted. Crack is dealt in the open, tourists and citizens are being physically and verbally harassed, and cars are broken into constantly. People know that there are no longer any consequences to drug dealing, petty theft, and assault and have become very aggressive and empowered.

If Seattle wants to encourage people to live and work in the city limits (which will address a lot of the transit and environmental issues), and wants to remain a viable tourist destination, it needs to focus on effective law enforcement.

Please reach out to the community and neighborhood leaders and the police to come up with a proactive and effective strategy to reduce crime and improve our safety.

Comment from jane couchman
Time November 21, 2009 at 6:41 pm

Every government’s first responsibility is the safety and well-being of its citizenry. Emergency preparedness (medical teams, ham radio operators, and police and fire crews for all parts of Seattle — even if they have to be imported, as we do when fire fighters come in from out of state) is Job 1. Open, staffed, and funded health offices and information follow that, and finally, a well-paid and adequate police force. Of course I have my personal wish list, but every other budget consideration should come after people are safe from disasters and widespread health threats.

Comment from Andrew Cencini
Time November 22, 2009 at 1:56 pm

In-City Transit:

-Light rail – begin working immediately on ballot measure, engineering, siting for West Seattle-Ballard light rail line.

-Point-to-point express buses – develop a network of 3-4 initial bus routes with 15-minute headways that connect the centers of distant neighborhoods/urban villages – e.g. Capitol Hill – Fremont – Wallingford – Green Lake. The goal being that intra-city, neighborhood-to-neighborhood trips should not exceed 30 minutes one-way (it takes ~45 minutes to travel 3 miles by bus just from Capitol Hill to Fremont). Funding for this would come from reducing service on some lesser-used in-city routes, transit now, and efficiencies gained in improving transit conditions in-city.

-Speed & reliability – use city resources to speed buses by providing network of transit-only lanes (including those to mitigate viaduct & 520 construction). This would be tied into an overhaul of the Seattle Transit Plan (which the Transit Riders Union would like to be involved with). Additionally, implement additional transit signal priority in key corridors / where obvious efficiency gains could be gleaned. Stop consolidation – work with Metro to eliminate unproductive / redundant stops on in-city routes; if a more optimal stop location is found, fast-track permitting and implementation (e.g. relocating parking, etc.). Finally, use SPD / SDOT resources to more proactively and aggressively enforce parking and traffic regulations that impact transit; use fines from those regulations to pay for enforcement, service improvements.

-Safety – pilot program to turn ride-free area into off-board pre-payment zone; utilize fare inspectors like those on Link Light Rail. Fare inspectors will have a visible presence on in-city buses (including outside of the ride-free area), helping with security while also simplifying fare payment (no more pay as you leave/enter confusion). Fines, savings from RFA costs, and improved efficiency should not only pay for program but also potentially serve as revenue generator. Transit Riders Union also has a program called “Bus Buddies” that will be activated soon – work with TRU on transit safety programs and initiatives. Push Metro to have uniformed police, in addition to fare control inspectors, board and ride in-city buses as opposed to sit in police cars. The “de-policing” of transit facilities must be reversed and the City can help push this (even if it means putting some SPD police on buses).

-Amenities – update city sign code to allow advertising at bus shelters in order to provide additional revenue for transit service; partner with JC Decaux or similar organization to get vastly improved bus shelters, signage, real-time arrival info, benches, trash and maps in-city (this has been done in virtually every other major city).

Youth jobs:

-Do “a million little things” to improve transit, park & cyclist/pedestrian facilities (e.g. tagging every bus stop pole with Stop ID; install maps/schedules at every single in-city bus stop; clean/improve bus stop facilities, remove graffiti & take inventory of bus stop surroundings for pedestrian, cyclist, transit rider improvements).

-Reduces crime, gets youth invested in their community, and gets visible work done quickly.

-Faster than hiring more cops to “prevent crime” which don’t always help anyway.

-Puts eyes and ears on the street; proven to work in other cities.

Comment from Kim
Time November 22, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Transportation/Housing. I’m not concerned only about affordability of housing in the city, but also the quality of the housing and what new housing developments bring to a neighborhood. Portland and Vancouver are far ahead of us in terms of developing attractive urban density that enhances public space, encourages walking, and supports community growth.

I’ve been an on/off bus and bicycle commuter for many years, and the lack of east-west bus options and limited evening bus service still surprises me. My car was stolen from a Metro park and ride a couple of years ago, and I was stunned by the minimal security there and lack of support for investigating the crime. This year I started cycling again, and was surprised by the poor riding conditions I’ve found in North Seattle – no shoulders, few bike lanes, potholes, and rude drivers. In order to encourage cycling and make both driving and cycling safer, these issues should be addressed. I also agree that adding sidewalks and fixing street lighting should be addressed to make more of Seattle’s neighborhoods pedestrian-friendly.

Comment from Pam
Time November 22, 2009 at 7:32 pm

Emphasize transit, walking, and biking.
– put in sidewalks in all neighborhoods which don’t currently have them;
– expedite the finishing of all bike lanes and trails;
Both of the above would create jobs.
– use smaller, more efficient, smaller buses or vans on bus routes for low volume hours rather than cutting schedules.

Comment from Brennon Staley
Time November 22, 2009 at 8:13 pm

Transit. Expanding the light rail system with connections to west site urban centers and integrating it with high speed and local bus routes. Secondarily, growing and supporting these newly served urban centers to create livable, transit-oriented development.

Comment from Georgetown Cyclist
Time November 22, 2009 at 8:32 pm

Statistically Seattle is a safe place but many people still feel unsafe and there’s a feeling that the city isn’t hearing that concern. The city should lead an even more aggressive public safety campaign.
On a micro level, implement the Nickerson Street road diet. Pedestrian and bicycle safety shouldn’t be held hostage by the Viaduct project.

Comment from Liz
Time November 22, 2009 at 8:33 pm

Crime.

Clean up Pioneer Square.

Comment from Michael
Time November 22, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Crime in the downtown area is intolerable. When my wife and I moved to Pioneer Square three years ago things seemed to be getting better. But over the past couple of years things have really gone down hill. Drug dealing and drug use is out in the open. People are scared to walk the streets in the daytime, much less in the evening. On the way to the airport last Wednesday morning, around 5am, I counted over thirty dealers and their colleagues congregating on First Ave, between Cherry St. and Columbia St.

If nothing is done about the crime in the downtown area it will become a ghost town. More people leaving downtown will mean more people commuting on the roads. More people afraid to move downtown will mean more people commuting on the roads. See a pattern?

Put more police on the streets. Work with your colleagues to make the arrest and sentencing guidelines tougher. Clean up your city and you will bring more buisness, more tourists, and more citizens back downtown. Doesn’t that sound like an idea that you can get behind?

Comment from DanielBretzke
Time November 22, 2009 at 9:24 pm

The City budget deficit will drive most decisions the first year. There is a dual need to reduce the cost of government and to increase public services. Do talk about being more efficient, be more efficient.

There is a need to reduce the number of city departments and their directors, and managers. Increase the span of control by consolidating departments and divisions. Increase the ability for line workers to make independent decisions. Take care not to lose employees with institutional knowledge, and use their knowledge effectively. When Mayor Nickels took office a large number of long term employees left the service of the city. This should be avoided if possible.

There is a real need for more jobs for all type of workers. People need jobs. Increase the ability for small businesses to start. Expand the ability for street vendors , at home businesses, professional services, and import and export businesses to thrive in Seattle.

Assure that Seattle Public Schools will make a successful transition to neighborhood based schools. Economic integration of neighborhoods is needed to keep some neighborhoods becoming exclusive and poorer areas becoming blighted.

Continue the successful programs of the Nickels administration. Evaluate successes and failures. Make these programs the “peoples’ program, not the “Mayors” programs. Ask the departments to compile a list of priorities which would make the city more responsive and efficient.

Be able to listen to the City Council and to City staff. Mayor elect McGinn has made a great start talking to the Council. Let there be constructive dialogue.

Being able to say “No” and explain why you are saying “No”, and being able to convey that “No” doesn’t mean that the person who you are saying “No” to is bad or evil. No and Yes are decisions, and leadership in government needs to make decisions.

Increase the perceived safety of the city. There is no place in the city where I am afraid to walk, but when I leave my house, I don’t know if it will be burglarized while I am out. I don’t think more police in blue cars driving around the neighborhood will help. I think there needs to be more eyes of the neighbors watching the street. Expand community policing and volunteer neighborhood patrols.

Assure there is a good mix of housing types in the city for all ranges of individuals from single occupancy rooms to quality single family detached housing. The ubiquitous two pack an four pack town house is response to the fact that builders can build them and there are buyers. The population of Seattle will continue to attract young people who need inexpensive housing and a growing elderly population who need living accommodations on one floor. All people need houses that are safe, energy efficient and delightful.

Expanding transit and increasing mobility is the key to making Seattle a great city. Both of these require funds. Finding the funds to do these will be difficult, but necessary.

Comment from babs
Time November 22, 2009 at 9:49 pm

fiscal responsibility. initiate a pay freeze across the board and begin to evaluate the performance of city managers.
look for overlap in departmental responsibilities and assign jurisdiction.

Comment from Henry Gales
Time November 23, 2009 at 12:29 am

There are two issues that Mayor Nickels has screwed up immensely, and that must be your top priority after being innagurated. The first is the issue of homelessness. The conditions that our homeless population face are absolutely unacceptable, they have done nothing to deserve their current treatment, where their encampments are treated as criminal operations and chased to and from every corner of the city. It is imperative that the new administration find a permanent home for Nicklesville, and give it the funding it needs so that it will never have to turn anyone away. If any citizen of Seattle is ever forced to sleep outside, they should be able to do so with dignity, and with the protection from the elements and crime that everyone deserves. We must also begin to set up programs that get the homeless out of Nickelsville and into more permanent housing. The second issue is the replacement of the Viaduct. Before any final decisions are made, this city needs to open the conversation, and give the public a chance to make their voices heard. We need town halls and other sources of public input devoted to the Viaduct, where citizens can telll the mayor, the council, and the governer how they feel before the government is allowed to spend billions of dollars in taxpayer money. The current deal was struck only with the consultation of the political and business establishment, and that is a crime unless they plan on paying for it. There are a lot of problems the state and city could solve with $4+ billion dollars, and that money should not be spent until the public says, “Yes, this is how I want you to spend my money.”

Comment from Karen Lebens
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:21 am

I think people are commenting on the basics. One of the basics in Seatte, so basic that it generally gets taken for granted, is Seattle City Light. I think we need a Superintendant who is coming from the same background as JD Ross himself, in electrical engineering and utility management. Then City Light could focus on the core role of producing the cheapest and most reliable electricity in urban America, rather than on sound bites, pr spin, and hiring consultants at the drop of a hat.

Comment from Julie
Time November 23, 2009 at 7:56 am

Environmental concerns: stop roadway and other runoff from dumping toxic water into the Sound and its tributaries, and all our waters. Consider banning or seriously cutting down the use of herbicides and pesticides for everyone. Help remove invasives and plant new trees in our wooded parks and greenbelts, and elsewhere in the city. Encourage schools, businesses and neighborhood groups to become involved.

Transportation: better busses, more lightrail, make walking/bicycling safer and more appealing, we need new and effective ideas for “traffic calming” on arterials in residential areas and more “village” type areas in our neighborhoods with small local businesses.

Health, public safety, education: Engage people, especially youth, in caring for our natural resources, including working on remediation projects, gardening, harvesting food and cooking. Support outreach and care for youth and adults in need. Work with the police and other public safety entities to prevent crime via youth intervention (strengthen communities!), more mental health advocacy and services, education and alternatives to drug and alcohol abuse.

Neighborhoods: keep listening to neighborhood groups, help neighborhoods to define themselves and support business and development while controlling traffic, noise and other public safety issues.

I have much hope for this administration, congratulations and best wishes to Mayor McGinn and his team. Thanks for listening to the people!

Comment from Kat
Time November 23, 2009 at 10:48 am

Here are my three call to actions for the city of Seattle:

1) Safety. This past year alone I have seen the incidences of graffiti, vandalism, petty and violent crime skyrocket in several areas, especially in my neighborhood of Greenwood/Greenlake. I feel that there is a trend of ignoring behaviors that beget crime; seemingly small things like littering, tagging, misc graffiti begets larger crimes because the areas are perceived as being under monitored. Perhaps that is the issue, but I would like a serious crack-down these “small potato” trends, much more graffiti removal, much more litter removal, and a lot more involvment on behalf of the city to “clean up” Seattle again.

2) Public Transit. Seattle must move quickly into an era that has full-scale light rail at the VERY least. Every neighborhood should be linked by a commuter rail line, every person should have multiple public transit routes to choose from so they can leave their cars at home.

3) Continued Support for the Arts. One of the things that sets our city apart is our tremendous wealth of the arts, in so many forms. Wonderful performing arts, music, visual arts, dance. This is something that MUST continue to be cultivated, we deserve, as a city, to be kept in the forefront for our nation’s arts scene. We must have full, energetic support from the city, the mayor must be an advocate for our Seattle artistic culture!

Comment from Lisa Quinn
Time November 23, 2009 at 11:25 am

Public space for people. We have fantastic bike and ped plans, and now we need real sustainable funding for active transportation. If we really want to be the Seattle we believe we are, we need to step up and really fund programs that are going to move us in the right direction. We need to create the infrastructure to support better transportation choices such as biking, walking and taking the bus. We can not expect people for people to manage there way around the city. We need to be bold. The administration should create a balanced scorecard, which will assess how each department scores against the overall policy objectives. If policy and programs are not supporting the objectives or undermining others, budgets and programs should be adjusted.

Thank you for providing this opportunity to comment–it’s a great start to a long conversation. There are exciting changes ahead. Best of luck to the McGinn Administration!

Comment from Mike D.
Time November 23, 2009 at 12:45 pm

Public transit and economic/job development. With specific efforts at directing economic/job development into neighborhoods that have seen little to no private sector investment during the last ‘boom’ beyond infill housing.

Comment from Kris
Time November 23, 2009 at 4:28 pm

The intersection of public health and public safety are critical issues for Seattle. For many years Seattle was an innovator when it came to harm reduction programs that focused on pragmatic, low-threshold approaches to public health and safety issues. Under the Nickels administration, however, such approaches were largely jettisoned or ignored (this especially became the case with the departure of Alonzo Plough as Director of Public Health).

I am hoping that your administration will work to bridge the divide between City govt. and the health dept. that the Nickels gang created.

I hope that you will meet with and listen to those who have been advocating for alternative approaches to public health and safety. If for no other reason than budgetary, we need to stop arresting people for drug and prostitution offenses. This is a ridiculous use of scarce resources — resources that can be used to fund alternatives to criminal justice system approaches.

Confront head-on the enormous disproportionality in Seattle drug arrests. It is appalling that virtually no elected official in Seattle seems willing to even acknowledge the gross disparity in Seattle’s enforcement of drug law enforcement. It is long past the time when this issue needs to be acknowledged, analyzed and corrected.

Comment from Charlie Cunniff
Time November 23, 2009 at 7:12 pm

Budgetary issues: We have intense budget pressures right now. Make sure people know that we are doing our best to use their taxes efficiently. One way to do that is through coordination of furlough days. All non-vital City employees should be taking the same 10 furlough days next year, particularly those that work in City Hall or Seattle Muni Tower. The best plan is for us to take the Friday before the Monday national holidays. This will close the major buildings fro 4 days in a row, saving money both in salaries and operations.

Make the committment to carbon neutrality by 2030. Align all departments in that goal. Utilize the existing resources of the OSE and CAN carbon calculators across departments and with residnts and businesses to help people see what they can do in their homes, businesses and neighborhoods to meet this goal.

Address the transportaion issues. Carbon emissions from transportation are 50% of Seattle’s carbon footprint. Work more closely with King County on this and other issues. Meet with Dowe Constantine and make a mutual pledge that Seattle and King County are no longer competitive rivals, but partners in creating a better future for western Washington. In and of itself, this could be a great thing to do and very inspiring.

Pledge to take care of safety and budget. Talk about reorganizing city government to be more efficient. Do not make any overwhelming promises that will take large budget impacts, since you may not be able to keep them.

Strengthen the Department of Neighborhoods, and OED – offices that address the needs of residents and businesses most directly.

(I am out of time, but will be happy to talk more after December 4th, when I return to Seattle)

Comment from Bob Braukus
Time November 24, 2009 at 10:30 am

A great deal of time and effort has gone into planning for broadband to each residence in Seattle. I am part of a team that has been working on this issue for almost two years. Will the new administration actually move from endless planning to implementation?

Comment from Leslie J
Time November 24, 2009 at 11:11 am

Public safety and transit are two important issues that both depend on sidewalks. Let’s get them built already. Of course, public safety doesn’t stop there. We really need more police working with communities to stop crime. I’d say the next on my list would be schools. The new school assignment boundaries wouldn’t be so contentious if a) all seattle schools were excellent and b) transit made it easy for everyone to commute within their boundary.

Comment from Robert Canamar
Time November 24, 2009 at 3:28 pm

There has been for too lo0ng the Nero Effect in this city. Stop entertaining the public over fixing our infrastructure. Our infrastructure is in horrendous shape. That needs to be the first priority.

Comment from Theodore Lane
Time November 25, 2009 at 4:39 pm

The greatest challenge facing the city is that we are being overwhelmed with cars. The SR-520 legislative work group has decided to recommend a 520 corridor plan that will gridlock traffic on Montlake Blvd. and have HOT lanes on I-90 as a way to help finance 520’s expansion. At the same time, SDOT keeps pushing more and more automobile traffic onto a limited number of arterials and then tries to avoid congestion by eliminating on-street parking, synchronizing traffic lights and moving cars driving on arterials at faster speeds. This is the way toward urban madness.
Right out of the gate, the new administration should convene an urban design and transportation summit.
Its mission should include looking at all transportation modes in the city (cars, light rail, buses, bicycles, walking) and all transportation agencies that impact the city (WSDOT, SDOT, the Port of Seattle, Metro, Sound Transit). Its charge should be to identify a 21st century, forward looking vision of how people and goods will circulate within the city. In particular, the participants in the summit – which should include national and international experts as well as local stakeholders – should be asked to address the real possibility that we are at a transportation threshold, that the future will not look like the past, and that we need to prepare for a world where automobiles will no longer dominate urban transportation movements.
Bonus Question – What do you see as the top problems in Seattle and what solutions do you recommend?
The number one short term problem facing Seattle is the plan for expanding the SR-520 corridor proposed by the legislative work group. It will bring too many cars into the city, its will congest city streets and arterials. It will generate unacceptable levels of noise, visual and carbon pollution. The new mayor (and city council) should go on record as opposing what the legislative work group has proposed.
Secondly, rising unemployment and a rendering of the federally financed safety net will cause a lot of suffering over the next 2-3 years – particularly for low and moderate income households. Budget shortfalls will prevent any straightforward intervention by the city. The mayor should lead a citizen based volunteer effort to address such hardship. Creating part time jobs, supporting food banks, whatever – they city needs to come together with a purpose and the mayor is the only person who can lead such an effort.
Thirdly, Seattle needs a transportation planning agency that is based on forward looking urban design – not historically rooted traffic engineering paradigms. It’s time the mayor tells WSDOT, the Port, Sound Transit, and all other transportation agencies that they cannot unilaterally decide that they will do in our city. SDOT needs to become more than a traffic planning agency, it needs to become an advocate for a pedestrian and bicycle centered urban vision.

Comment from Elinor A. Graham
Time November 28, 2009 at 9:29 pm

We need better maintence of public services and facilities. For example, I have noticed for several months that the windows are out of the bus shelters on both sides of Rainier Ave at Graham Street and have not been replaced. This morning at 7 AM a cold wind whipped all of us who were waiting without shelter at the bus stop. I also noticed that some or all windows were out at several other shelters along both sides Rainier Ave at Juneau (THS office), Orcus, Genesee, Franklin High School, 25th Ave. I’m sure there were others that I missed and some located south of Graham Street where I boarded the number 7 bus.

As a long time resident of the Rainier Valley and a concerned citizen, I know that Metro needs to replace these windows as soon as possible. Our citizens need warm dry shelters and when city/government facilities become damaged and are not repaired it gives the impression that no one responsible for the services cares about the residents in our part of town. This kind of damaged shelter leads to more general litter and eventually to more crime around the bus stops. This is just one example of how people are made to feel devalued by the city and government not doing “small” things that allow us to take pride in our neighborhoods and enhance our quality of lives.

Comment from Alex
Time November 29, 2009 at 5:57 pm

We need some big goals.

We should make Seattle a city where walking is the easiest, safest form of transportation. That means slowing cars. That means more stoplights. That means more traffic enforcement. That means tougher laws for careless or aggressive drivers.

We need to make the new light rail system work by emphasizing transit-oriented development, investing in sidewalks in the one-mile area around each station, encouraging small business and creating more public facilities for art, community and civic groups.

We need to take climate leadership. We should be the best in the world, by emphasizing alternatives to the car, green building and density.

We need to encourage an economy based on innovation, design, technology and green jobs.

We need to invest more heavily in those areas that have been traditionally neglected like the Rainier Valley neighborhoods, which still lag far behind most of Seattle in sidewalks, police coverage, hospitals, crosswalks, and other public investments. Giving the same amount to Laurelhurst as Rainier Beach in fact means continuing the historical inequality that hurts our city and its people. How about giving the poorer neighborhoods MORE for a change?

Comment from Kelsey
Time November 30, 2009 at 11:48 pm

As reproductive rights continue to be challenged across the country and our US House of Representatives passed a health care bill that limited women’s access to health services, it could be up to cities to help ensure that reproductive health services are available for all families.

Comment from Cherise Oram
Time December 1, 2009 at 12:20 am

I urge the mayor-elect to work to positively influence the school board to better achieve their new strategic plan by redrawing specific school boundaries that do not meet their goals — and to do it now, before flawed boundary lines are implemented and become part of a status quo that has failed before it’s begun.

My family lives in the northernmost end of the Olympic Manor neighborhood. While the board should be commended for adopting an assignment plan that focuses on community-based schools, predictability, and greater family participation, it has utterly failed to achieve those tenets of its plan by drawing the Ballard High School northern boundary at 85th, just 1 mile north of the high school.

Those of us just above that line — particularly in the Olympic Manor and North Beach neighborhoods — consider Ballard our community. Our children will play sports at the high school field and swim in the pool. Indeed, one of the primary reasons we chose to move to the Ballard area was to ensure our children’s public school experience was predictable — that they would know their high school before they ever attended there because it is such a part of our community. In our wildest dreams we never anticipated that the board would deny our children access to our local high school.

I hate the idea of my children, rather than a brisk and healthy walk to school every morning, having to spend hours a day on the metro bus system, including changing buses on Aurora in the wee hours of the morning. What I want is what all of our families deserve – that my children should be able to attend the school that’s been part of their lives since they were young and is, after all, only 1.4 miles away from our home.

To be clear, this is not about disliking Ingraham. This is about living up to the board’s vision — and now its obligation — to have neighborhood-based school assignment plans that foster greater family participation and healthy school communities.

I urge the mayor-elect to ensure that the board implements that vision by moving the BHS boundary north to encompass the entire Olympic Manor and North Beach neighborhoods, both of which identify with Ballard not only because we are so close, but because we’re sufficiently west that primary traffic patterns pull us into Ballard for family events, recreation, entertainment and community events. I do not doubt there are challenges in doing this, but it is the city’s obligation under its new strategic plan to support neighborhood school goals.

Thank you for considering these comments.

Comment from Trina Blake
Time December 1, 2009 at 7:50 am

Walking to schools. Allowing students to walk/ride their bikes to schools. Make a difference in students lives by making safe walking zones for ALL grades (done through the Seattle Transportation Dept., who has refused to do so); and then force the school district to apply them–redrawing their recent boundaries. Anything else increases driving, increases pollution, obesity, carbon output and separates communities.

Comment from Tom
Time December 1, 2009 at 8:37 am

Lack of transportation infrastructure is our #1 issue. Expanded transit and the deep-bore tunnel both need to be aggressively pursued. Please work on expanding environmental stewardship in a way that doesn’t cause business flight, and impoverish our region.

Not all businesses are virtual or intellectual property based. Those that have to move physical objects need better routes through the city. Not replacing the viaduct capacity with reliable lanes will damage the city and lose what is probably the only opportunity we’ll see in our lifetime to use substantial federal dollars to achieve these ends and leave a good legacy of a rebuilt and revitalized watefront.

Comment from Martin Meyer
Time December 2, 2009 at 10:50 am

Please finish the Burke Gilman trail through Ballard. I voted for McGinn because the other fellow seemed to be in league with Salmon Bay Sand and gravel, Ballard Oil and Ballard C ofC. I still have scars from trying to cross dust covered tracks there on my bicycle.

Comment from Bill Abelson
Time December 3, 2009 at 8:56 pm

This part of what Steve Gomez said on 11/17: “Don’t sell the city out to developers who will only build expensive housing… and end up pricing the rest of us into the dingy suburbs. Make sure the average working class Seattlite making $10-12 an hour… can comfortably afford to live here.”

Also, expand light rail as soon as possible, all over the city, with plenty of stops (e.g. Wallingford and Fremont stops on the Ballard line). Look how remarkably quickly New Yorkers can travel by subway to all corners of that sprawling city.

Finally, no handguns in parks, please!

Comment from Mary Ann Kae
Time December 4, 2009 at 11:11 pm

Seattle isn’t the city I moved to 26 years ago. Its phenomenal growth has not been managed well. The city is not as livable as it used to be.

With the economy in the toilet, the city will have to decide, like the rest of us, how to become leaner and learn to prioritize better.

BUDGET: No one knows where the real waste is better than the people who work within the departments. Is it unrealistic to ask for input from the rank and file city employees?

When I worked for the feds it was the standard m.o. for each department to go on a spending spree near the end of the fiscal year because if they didn’t spend all they had, they’d get less in the next budget. It would have been smarter to have a system that rewarded people for spending less and finding ways to improve and be efficient. Maybe the city could come up with an internal incentive program for good ideas and savings that every employee could participate in and benefit from – a percentage of the money saved as a bonus, for example.

BASIC SERVICES: Please, more police. Whatever happened to the “neighborhood policing program” that we used to have under Chief Stamper? I work in the UDistrict and the place is just a sink-hole of trouble. The city’s expensive, cosmetic fix-up of several years ago has done nothing to change the crime quotient and general unattractiveness of “The Ave”. I no longer feel safe walking from where I work to my car.

NEIGHBORHOODS: How old are the city’s zoning and development regs? Were they written during the pre-Microsoft days? Since Mr. Nickels took office it seems the needs of residents and neighborhoods took a back seat to city hall’s priorities for development and revenue. I hate what’s happened to the neighborhoods. It seems city officials and DPD never saw a development they didn’t like. Note this early column from The Stranger:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/mr-nickels-neighborhoods/Content?oid=14107

We need more neighborhood input into the growth/densification process.

TRANSPORTATION: Traffic jams within the neighborhoods, YOW! Densification with no significant change to infrastructure or traffic pattern control/rerouting. I live 3 miles from work but drive because the buses are too slow, too infrequent, too crowded. East-West routes in particular.

GREEN IDEA THAT SAVES $$:

The city might consider implementing a program to gradually change the street lights to ones that are less light polluting. Reference the link below to an article in The New Yorker on light pollution. It mentions a type of lamp that not only keeps the illumination quotient down, but uses less electricity:

“Tucson’s code limits the brightness of exterior fixtures and requires most of them to be of a type usually known as “full cutoff” or “fully shielded,” meaning that they cast no light above the horizontal plane and employ a light source that cannot be seen by someone standing to the side. These are not necessarily more difficult or expensive to manufacture than traditional lights, and they typically cost less to operate. Calgary, Alberta, recently cut its electricity expenditures by more than two million dollars a year, by switching to full-cutoff, reduced-wattage street lights.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_owen?currentPage=1

Thanks for considering my input.

Comment from lauram
Time December 6, 2009 at 3:33 pm

We need more police patrols: http://www.myballard.com/2009/12/04/woman-attacked-by-masked-man/

Our ratio of police to citizens is around 1:450. Most metro areas are between 1:200 and 1:300. Please hire more officers and have more patrols!

Thank you.

Comment from Ben Vos
Time December 6, 2009 at 3:50 pm

Why are homeowners asked to approve special property tax levies to meet city services needs when revenue is increasing from town home and condominium development, on lots which once held single family homes or a neighborhood grocery store?

Comment from RK Hall
Time December 11, 2009 at 10:08 am

Saw your Northgate Town Hall. All those groups,all their wants and needs,all those request for enabling,all that “GIVE ME”. The only concern you should have as Mayor,is to enable economic progress. Use the “KISS” principle. .The touchy feely issues will be taken care of by people who have the foundation of a good economic situation,and low taxation. All you have to do about that is get out of their way. The more boring you seem as Mayor,the better job your probably doing. Take the politics out of politics, and get to work.

Comment from J. Lane Campbell, Jr.
Time December 17, 2009 at 10:08 pm

Figure out how to kill this stupid idea of replacing the Hwy. 99 viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel. Did I say stupid? How about homicidal as well? Let’s see, now… we live in an earthquake-prone region, and we’re facing an energy short future. So why are we building a deep bore tunnel, below mean water line, that will require forced-air ventilation 24/7? What do you think is going to provide the forced air? A bunch of elves waving tree branches? I’ve got a lot more to say, and in a lot more detail — technical and other wise… If you want it, contact me, Lane Campbell, olgreyfox@aol.com

Comment from Pedro H
Time December 24, 2009 at 12:14 am

Fixing the traffic issue in downtown Seattle should be the #1 priority. The problem is not the quantity of cars; it’s the fact that the traffic lights are not synchronized properly, which leads to more stand still traffic (a nuissance for those of us who have to drive to and from work). Also, stand still traffic is worse for the environment, because since the cars remain powered on for longer, more emmissions are released into the air.

So… please keep the traffic lights synchronized; and keep the roads clear of snow, no matter how much the use of salt hurts the Wild Salmon’s feelings.

Oh, and please keep your promise and don’t kill the deep-bore tunnel plan. Although it doesn’t come off as a great deal for Seattle, the alternative would involve dumping Hwy 99 traffic into downtown, something which no intelligent person should ever want.

Comment from Employee
Time December 28, 2009 at 5:58 pm

Myself and many more employees with SDOT Capital Projects Division would like to see the director of this division and the manager under him let go. They have destroyed many within the division and are highly unethical. Favortism, harassment, and discrimination is at an all time high. We thought things would get better after Bill Martin, the past deputy director was demoted, but for some employees things are worse. You are set-up to fail, many lies are told, and the management is not trust worthy. They solict help from the management team under them and I have seen many great workers move, retire, or quit to avoid the negative effects the current management is doing to workers. Check their history, with Grace leaving it is time for a fresh start. Please consider replacing these horrible managers with someone that place a high premiun on Seattle’s greatest resource, the staff and I might add tax payers. Everyone should be vauled and treated like they are human. This current management team is out of control and getting worse.

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