Downtown Seattle Works to Curb Driving as it Grows

According to the Downtown Seattle Association, Seattle’s residential and commercial construction activity is at its highest level since the group began tracking it ten years ago. And with over 11,000 new rental units expected downtown by 2018, the record pace of growth is expected to continue. 

To accommodate so many new residents and businesses, Josh Cohen reports, the city’s 20-year plan focuses on alternatives to solo driving. "It sets the goal of reducing solo driving for downtown work trips to 25 percent of mode share and reducing it to 10 percent of non-work trips by 2035." This plan includes major infrastructural changes to the transportation system, including extension of the light rail system and removal of the Alaskan Way viaduct. 

The development boom dominates political dialogue, according to Cohen. With the passage of Prop 1 last year, voters approved a plan to improve the reliability of the city’s bus service and add service on busy routes. "Depending on whom you ask, these are either exciting times in a burgeoning city or a harbinger of a city that will soon be a homogenous playground for the rich," Cohen writes.