FoS.blog: The Friends of Seattle blog

Car-Free Sunday in Columbia City Appears to Have Been Very Popular

The city's first Car-Free Sunday was not treated well by the weather, but according to the Bus Chick the Car-Free Sunday, Columbia City version, was well-attended on Sunday. Of course, Nicole Brodeur famously whined that "Seattle is so desperate to be green and gracious, it's making some of us red with rage." She complained about the city's plans for turning over city blocks to people, letting happy walking, playing, and bicycling take priority over noisy, dirty automobiling. From the looks of the Bus Chick's photos, the people -- including many families -- who visited Rainier Avenue on Sunday's Car-Free Day didn't seem to be "red with rage." Instead, they were enjoying each the city as it's best enjoyed -- as people, as a community. We love the car-free days; now let's take it to the next level and start our own full-blast Ciclovia street festival.

By the way, here's a great video of how they do car-free days in Milwaukee:

Here's one from New York:

The West Seattle Blog posted a great overview of this coming Saturday's Car-Free Day on Alki.

Using Belgian Blocks to Improve the Urban Environment for Pedestrians

Car-dominated streets are lousy places to walk. To reduce the impacts of traffic, the City of Seattle runs a Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program. "Traffic calming" refers to the tricks that the City uses to make it a pain in the ass to drive through side streets---traffic circles, chicanes, speed humps, and curb bulbs. We like curb bulbs because they make it easier for pedestrians to cross the street, but we confess to being frustrated with the other measures. They turn side streets into little more than glorified parking lots for single-family neighborhoods. A better solution is surely available---a solution that is friendly to pedestrians, and yet does not defeat the purpose of having streets in the first place. Here's an interesting idea: pave streets with Belgian Blocks. It's not a new idea; Belgian Blocks once covered city streets everywhere.

Photo of New York's Greenwich Village by Flickr User wallyg, Used Under a Creative Commons License

Still, it's an idea worth revisiting. Not only are stone-paved streets lovely to look at, but they are longer-lasting than concrete and blacktop. Most important of all, their rougher ride induces drivers to slow to a more reasonable speed. Streets paved with Belgian Blocks could strike the right balance between making the urban environment pedestrian-friendly and keeping our streets usable for vehicles. Of course, stone-paved streets might be bad for bicyclists.