Seattle's Weirdest Intersections Make a Fetching Design

One artist capitalized on the quirks of Seattle's street grid.

1 minute read

September 2, 2017, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


The poster "[depicts] 20 of the city’s complicated street crossings with minimalistic graphics. They range from Queen Anne’s seven-way stop to the busy meeting of Denny Way, Stewart Street and Yale Avenue near South Lake Union." Every street grid goes a little off-kilter, and Seattle is no exception.

Since Gorman posted them on his Etsy shop, Barely Maps, the posters have picked up a level of Internet fame not common among applications of transportation wonkery. Lee shares some of Gorman's insight about how the idea about the poster came to him, how the poster has sold lately, and the some statistics and reporting on the state of the city's streets.

The description of the map on the Barely Maps Etsy shop puts the joke behind the map pretty well: "When I first moved to Seattle, a friend told me that Seattle's layout is easy to understand. 'It's all a grid,' she said, 'until it's not.'"

Friday, September 1, 2017 in The Seattle Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

View of mountains with large shrubs in foreground in Altadena, California.

Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.

March 9 - Pasadena NOw

Aerial view of single-family homes with swimming pools in San Diego, California.

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule

The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

March 9 - Axios

Close-up of row of electric cars plugged into chargers at outdoor station.

Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives

A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.

March 9 - UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation