Cascadia Report

Category: Business

  • Critics of tall Seattle buildings have it backward

    Critics of plans for taller buildings in Seattle’s South Lake Union area have it exactly backward.

    underdeveloped South Lake Union; djc.comIf anything, the city should encourage more building in the area, creating demand for transit rather than encouraging sprawl. Instead critics want to soak the developer to pay more into a fund to create “affordable” housing.

    Now, zoning in the area requires special permission to build even 12 stories. Why not require that buildings be at least that tall? Set design review standards, sure. But let’s build the workplaces for thousands of employees and new residents.

    What’s wrong with a supposedly sweetheart deal between developers and the mayor, as long as the city gains? Among the benefits: More housing supply in the city should lower overall prices and make transportation options feasible.

    Of course the city should negotiate to get the best terms in this area, but better those rules be streamlined and transparent to encourage more, better building instead of hinder it. Unfortunately the potential benefits are totally lost in today’s story and the reader comments.

  • Missing the Olympics ‘bounty’

    It’s refreshing to see a story in the Seattle Times today about how Washington risks losing out on the economic benefits of the 2010 Olympics.

    Cascadia Report has mentioned this issue many times, including here and here (and don’t forget the Olympics category here).

    There are a few problems with the story:

    — Border hassles are a big factor. But what about the falling value of the U.S. dollar?

    Both sides are noticing a drop in travel. From January to April of this year, same-day visitors from the U.S. to B.C. dropped by almost 13 percent, Periwal said.

    Travel to B.C. is a lot less interesting to Americans when their money buys 20 percent less than it did just months ago. On Sunday night, it took 10-15 minutes to cross the border southbound while northbound waits were over an hour. It was the reverse on Friday evening, at the end of a day of post-Thanksgiving sales.

    — Canada isn’t necessarily more feel-good about the border:

    G. Kathleen Hill, deputy consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver, pointed to a fundamental difference between border priorities: While the U.S. priority is security, Canadians value the free flow of goods and people, she said.

    Try telling that to each driver with Canadian plates entering B.C. ahead of me on Friday. They had to open each car door so the border agent could search their vehicle. (Of course, U.S. agents are no strangers to over-the-top screening.)

    — Roads aren’t the only solution:

    Driving is unlikely to get dramatically more pleasant, especially when you factor in worsening congestion along I-5 and throughout Vancouver. That makes boosting train service an obvious opportunity to boost mobility. Amtrak currently offers a single train and four buses each day between Seattle and Vancouver. Why isn’t B.C. funding improvements north of the border to accommodate more trains?

  • Cascadia as global outsourcing way station

    The Tyee has an interesting article questioning the benefits for the Vancouver area of a new software research center in Richmond, B.C. There are some smart comments too.

    To me, this seems like a trend B.C. should support. Obviously the U.S. and Canada are very different labor markets, especially for skilled technology workers with Asian passports. Even if the new research center doesn’t mean more Canadian hires, every Asian worker will make B.C. more fertile for technology and, over time, pay off by making it a more dynamic business environment.

  • From one dark place to another — nonstop

    A day after the onslaught of standard time, it’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to fly nonstop to Germany. But thanks to Lufthansa at least Seattleites (and anyone doing international business) will have the option.

    The Sea-Tac-to-Franfurt nonstop announced today is the latest increase in air service since the Port of Seattle lowered its fees to attract more routes. That’s the right sort of subsidy — a targeted incentive that mulitplies the economic benefit. Recent new flights include to Mexico City and Paris.

    There were rumors that Sea-Tac was courting a nonstop to Munich (Vancouver and Portland already have Frankfurt flights — Portland, thanks to a package of tourism incentives). Lest anyone misconstrue the addition, note that Lufthansa also announced a host of new flights from Canada today.

    When the flights begin in March, Seattle may enjoy the best connections to Europe it’s ever had. (True, Aeroflot ended its nonstop to Moscow. But Sea-Tac will have daily scheduled service to five business centers: London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.)

  • Sausage-making over farm subsidies

    The Omnivore’s Dilemma is playing out now in Congress over the latest package of farm subsidies.

    In an excellent op-ed in the New York Times, the author of that book makes a clear case against current agricultural policy. And then he turns the tables:

    How could this have happened? For starters, farm bill critics did a far better job demonizing subsidies, and depicting commodity farmers as welfare queens, than they did proposing alternative — and politically appealing — forms of farm support. And then the farm lobby did what it has always done: bought off its critics with “programs.” For that reason “Americans who eat” can expect some nutritious crumbs from the farm bill, just enough to ensure that reform-minded legislators will hold their noses and support it.

    Cascadia Report has found farm subsidies to be an easy target, for example here and here and here. We’re waiting for some good policy to praise.

  • B.C. plan could actually cut gas emissions

    Seattle announced Monday that it managed to cut emissions of greenhouse gases over the last 15 years. Too bad emissions from cars are bound to continue rising.

    Meanwhile in British Columbia there’s serious talk of a policy that could really make a difference: a carbon tax. The proposal would shift taxes to give incentives for lower emissions. It seems a lot more effective than just encouraging everyone to ride bicycles.

    Washington and the Seattle area need to think along the same lines. This report includes a chart of Seattle’s pollution sources and how hard it will be to make more progress. Next steps should be replacing the viaduct with transit and better streets and then nudging the region toward a more sustainable transportation network.

  • The Hamptons, Aspen and … Vancouver

    Think the Seattle condo market is going out of hand? Consider Vancouver.

    “I summer in THE HAMPTONS… I winter in ASPEN. My home, THE RITZ-CARLTON, VANCOUVER.” That’s the seductive tag line in a full-page ad on the back of the A-section of Thursday’s Globe and Mail Ontario edition.

    The condos, which run $2.25 million to $10 million, are part of a skyscraper building boom that will give Vancouver a tall skyline. The Web site address says much: vancouversturn.com.

    They’re also part of a trend that has made Vancouver Canada’s priciest housing market. Meanwhile, Toronto — a big presumed audience for the Ritz-Carlton — is a bargain. Ads on bus shelters in downtown Toronto last week promised two-bedroom luxury condos near the financial district starting at $159,000.

  • Cost of driving makes ferry feasible

    A boat owner wants to start ferrying commuters between Seattle and Gig Harbor for $800 a month.

    The reason the idea isn’t totally laughable is that new tolls, increasing road congestion and higher gas prices are beginning to reflect the actual cost of driving:

    Dividing $800 by 20 workdays a month comes out to $40 a day. He said with the price of gas, the tolls on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and parking in downtown Seattle, the ferry wouldn’t be much more expensive than driving — and a lot less stressful.

  • Loonie = greenback: Who wins and loses

    Longing for the happy days of bargain meals, rooms and ski slopes in British Columbia? Get over it.

    common loon; netstate.comToday the U.S. and Canadian dollars reached parity for the first time since 1976. The greenback has slid more than 60 percent against the loonie in the last five years and there’s every reason to think the trend will continue.

    It’s already clear that the situation is tricky for anyone who is easily confused by U.S. and Canadian coins. I remember using Queen Elizabeth quarters and bills at Safeway in south Seattle as late as the early ’80s. Those days may be back.

    So who wins? Businesses in the U.S. that cater to Canadian customers. With their increased buying power, more Canadians will be traveling around Cascadia. The Victoria Clipper says traffic from Canada is up 25 percent this year. Things are surely looking up for discount shops and Costco stores just south of the U.S. border.

    Potential losers come to mind more easily:

    — Anyone in Canada who depends on U.S. tourists. On Wednesday organizers of the 2010 Olympics unpersuasively insisted they won’t be hurt because they’ve hedged their budget against currency changes. Too bad U.S. tourists haven’t.

    — Anyone who depends on sales of Canadian lumber — a huge slice of the B.C. economy, in other words. The current slump in demand from U.S. housing combined with the strong loonie will do what years of softwood tariffs couldn’t: protect uncompetitive U.S. lumber producers.

  • Who wants to ride these old trains

    Never mind the snazzy drawings of Acela trains below — service in Cascadia is getting a temporary setback while Amtrak deals with equipment problems.

    On Saturday I was driving north on a (very congested) I-5 near Nisqually when one of the Cascades trains passed overhead. But instead of the modern Talgo trains that make traveling between Vancouver and Eugene so comfortable, it was a train of three old Amtrak cars.

    The Talgo cars are out of service until December, reportedly because of cracks in their suspension. Using old equipment is better than having an accident. But it means less capacity and it certainly makes the trip less pleasant, with the elimination of the business-class car option.