Cascadia Report

Category: Cascadia not cities

  • Two striking points from latest viaduct coverage

    Two things stand out about the latest The Seattle Times coverage of the political maneuvering on how to replace Seattle’s viaduct freeway:

    Most surprising, you can almost sense the voice of the reporters in the story. Maybe it’s the influence of David Postman’s blog at the paper, but the tone allowed the reporters to explain some of the motivations at work without citing a source for each. I’d argue allowing the reporters’ expertise to come through the story is exactly what could keep people reading the state’s largest paper.

    The other striking detail is the presumption of City Council President Nick Licata (who insists on a new elevated freeway) that he represents “grumpy Seattle,” which he claims forms a silent majority. If grumpy is defined as opposition to investment in long-term causes, that’s not true (see recent voter approval for higher property taxes). It seems that most of the city’s newcomers and people under the age of 40 are here because of the future. People want a more liveable city — made possible through improvements like an accessible waterfront — not to turn the clock back to the freeway-happy 1960s.

  • Portland is changing in small ways

    Portland is being transformed by thousands of small development projects resulting from an influx of young people to the still relatively affordable city. An article in The Oregonian argues that the small scale of most projects allows residents to collaborate on neighborhood plans and lessens the controversy of the city’s growth.

  • Timber company gets gift of public forest

    British Columbia is giving a troubled timber company a huge swath of forest on Vancouver Island, essentially allowing logging on public property in exchange for the economic benefit of helping keep the company in business.

    Western Forest Products gets 69,000 acres — roughly 75 times the size of Stanley Park — that the company ceded to the government decades ago in exchange for access to other land. The move is expected to allow logging that will provide thousands of jobs along the province’s coast, though the jobs aren’t likely to outlast the trees.

  • Build rail transit to help the environment

    Here’s another reason to invest in rail transit along the I-5 corridor from Vancouver to Portland: the environment.

    Of course it will cost billions, but we should begin the process with the money we have amassed in recent years. If we don’t, we’ll never be able to afford it. Ticket revenue would defray a portion of the cost, and productivity gains will help offset the cost.

    If we add tolls along the corridor based on the amount of car traffic, the economics of a rail alternative would improve even more.

  • B.C. should open India trade office, report says

    British Columbia should open a business development office in India to support industry-led marketing there, according to a group commissioned by Premier Gordon Campbell.

    In order to build ties beyond the export of natural resources, the province needs to boost its profile in India, the report said. B.C. could encouraging Indian movie and TV producers to include stories of the Indian diaspora in Canada, or pay them to showcase the province’s nature. It notes that both Air Canada and Air India are expected to launch service to India from Vancouver.

  • In memoriam of a window on the world

    The great literary journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski died last week, just as coverage of the world by American media seemed to take more steps toward a similar fate.

    Shadow of the SunKapuscinski is best known for decades of reportage about Latin America and Africa, including the classics The Soccer War and The Shadow of the Sun. I re-read him at the end of a week that saw the Boston Globe shutter its last foreign bureaus and even the Los Angeles Times make noises about putting its focus on local coverage.

    One common prescription for troubled newspapers is to save money by relying on newswires for international coverage. But that robs communities of their perspective on the world and means fewer voices covering critical issues. The number of U.S. correspondents abroad fell to 249 last year, down 12 percent over six years. Sending reporters occasionally to cover individual stories, as the Globe’s editor promises, isn’t enough. As someone who reported in Japan for several years, I know you can’t gain perspective — let alone language skills and customs — by parachuting in for a particular story.

    What does this trend mean for Cascadia? That we’re in danger of less understanding just when we need it most. Relying on national East Coast media gives us constant detailed coverage of Israel-Palestine instead of Korea, for example. Even regional papers should should be covering our ties to business in Asia, fundamentalism in Southeast Asia and the impact of political changes in Latin America. Troops from the region are fighting in Afghanistan, but there’s relatively little coverage. The answer isn’t dressing up one-off stories as if they were part of continuing coverage.

    Kapuscinski found the truth about events, in a way that’s only possible because he had the luxury of time. He gave voice to the powerless and brought otherwise obscure events to a global audience. As times — and business models — change, he remains an inspiration.

  • Tolls could be $10 on new 520 bridge

    Tolls on a new 520 bridge could be between $7 and $10 when it opens in 2015, according to a report released Monday. The tolls would be at the low end of that range only if a similar charge were levied on the I-90 bridge.

    Such a hefty flat toll would help defray construction costs and would certainly deter traffic. It would spur use of carpools and transit, though adequate transit options to handle the shifting demand are years away. It’s unclear if a variable pricing plan has been seriously considered.

  • Ferries hit by bias toward roads

    The price for a car and two passengers to go by ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island — less than three miles — yesterday: $10.50. The cost for the 165-mile return trip on highways? Nothing.

    puget sound ferry; photo by psat.wa.govSome Washington lawmakers say this bias toward highways should change. They argue that ferry users are already paying their share, so the state should kick in more to support the ferry network. Surely the gap that makes roads seem essentially free should be narrowed.

    Fares reportedly accounted for about 74 percent of the ferry system’s operating budget last year (up from 60 petcent a few years ago) and plans call for another increase in fares. By comparison, bus fares cover 20 to 25 percent of King County Metro’s costs. Fares continue to rise across Cascadia. Meanwhile, except for a few cents a gallon in gas tax, the cost of maintaining highways isn’t reflected at all.

  • Whistler debates opening of another chain store

    Debate over whether a drug store chain should be allowed to open in Whistler Village has driven a wedge between small retailers worried about being run out of business and residents hungry for bargains. Residents are torn: a recent survey found that they want lower prices for goods but prefer local stores over national chains.

  • Tacoma lacks space for companies downtown

    Tacoma has turned down commercial tenants in its reviving downtown for lack of office space, but no one will build more until the non-existent space is leased.

    By contrast, Seattle reportedly has about 550,000 square feet of office space under construction and Bellevue has more than 1.9 million square feet under construction. Tacoma? Aside from two smallish buildings – zero. The reason, according to a local leasing agent: “Tacoma is not Bellevue. Although were just 35 miles down the road, its completely different demographics. As different as Tacoma is from Centralia.”