The city of Seattle is making more room for alternative transportation modes in its level of service calculations.
The last meeting of the year for the Seattle City Council's Planning, Land Use, and Zoning Committee was a significant one, reports Stephen Fesler, with new regulatory requirements for transportation level-of-service standards (LOS) moving out of committee.
Fesler provides details on the LOS reform approved by the committee:
The proposed changes are designed to better implement recent LOS policy changes that were made through the city’s comprehensive plan update in 2016. One of the key paradigm shifts that took place in the update was to set specific target rates of transportation modes (e.g., walking, biking, transit, and driving) across eight geographic areas (sectors) of the city, which would be achieved by 2035. Within each geographic sector, the comprehensive plan identifies the single-occupant vehicle (SOV) rate as a percentage of total trips in 2016 and a target rate for 2035, which is generally lower than than [sic] the 2016 number. Previously, the comprehensive plan had measured LOS based upon the ratio of traffic volume to arterial capacity on key corridors.
Fesler provides a lot more detail on the potential and desired consequences of the LOS changes.
Also on the agenda at the final committee hearing of the year was new design guidelines for the neighborhoods of Uptown and the University District.
FULL STORY: City Council Poised to Reform Implementation of LOS Standards and New U District, Uptown Design Guidelines
Level of Service Reform Bill Approved by Seattle City Council
A major change to planning paradigms in the city of Seattle.
Opinion: Lower Rents Will Give Downtown Spaces Back to the ‘Weirdos’
Introducing the “CBGB theory of city planning.”
Seattle Ponders a New Approach to Zoning for its Comprehensive Plan Update
The city of Seattle will have an updated comprehensive plan by the end of 2024, with zoning changes to follow by 2025.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.
California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.
HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland