Not surprisingly, lots of election news to end the week.
The Seattle Times, KUOW, Northwest Asian Weekly (here and here), Seattle Bike Blog, and MyNorthwest bring us election news.
The Seattle Times reports that SDOT is trying to push ahead with design work for the First Avenue streetcar.
The Urbanist looks at Mayor Durkan’s newly-announced affordable housing initiative.
Durkan’s newly-announced affordable housing initiative:
Seattle will never come anywhere close to addressing it’s housing problem by spending government dollars. Even progressives know that, so why do they insist on this waste of money? Because they fear the alternative will actually work, thereby shooting down their entire philosophy of government run everything.
. Here’s what needs to happen:
1. massive private housing construction incentive programs in Seattle and king county. Yes, profits for developers will solve the problem.
2. Stop wasting city/county money on gov housing support programs and spend it on the transit that will allow people to commute into the city in a reasonable time. Then people don’t have to live in the city, where space is limited.
3. repeal enough environmental regulations to reduce ST’s enviro review time to < 2 years. Tunnels can wait. ST should be building the fastest possible route.
4. City?/County: stop buying land to protect it from development.
5. Stop enacting new regulations to protect tenants.
6. Stop enacting new regulations for employers that drive up costs up.
Other than the sale of the Mercer Island block, everything in this measure will increase the cost of housing for most people while it gives a very small number of people a very small break.
The proceeds of the sale of the Mercer Island Block should be invested in transit, not more low income subsidies.