The Pioneer Square Community-funded Mural was just finished last week by local artist, Jeff Jacobson, who “worked closely with the Seattle preservation board and the PSCA to create a mural that would uplift a disenfranchised community and show a pictorial history and feeling of the local area.” To see his blog post on the work in progress when he started back in 2009, click here.

Back in October, SDOT commissioned ArtWorks to design a mural on the construction fence that has been installed around entrance to King Street station. ArtWorks is a great local nonprofit that provides opportunities for youth to create public art. Check out their work in progress:

Another recent addition to Pioneer Square’s “art” streetscape has been an advertisement in an empty retail space, managed by Ewing & Clark. At first, I was entertained by the ad and thought it added a little spice to an empty retail spot. I was quickly reprimanded, however, and told why it was inappropriate.

The City of Seattle does not allow advertisements or billboards that are located where the services are not being sold. Pioneer Square is even more stringent and the Pioneer Square Historic Preservation board has a process for any type of art that goes up in the neighborhood.

You have to first apply for a permit, which takes a max of 28 days to review, which goes to the Architectural Review Committee who provide advice, and finally to the Pioneer Square Historic Preservation Board to make a final decision.

In the case of the 76 sign, it is both an advertisement, and did not have a permit before it went up. I took a picture of the stop work order that appeared quickly on the building, but it has since been taken down and the advertisement has finished being installed. When I talked to Ewing & Clark, who are leasing the building, an agent said that they would prefer not to have anything in the window because it makes it so their leasing signs can’t be seen.

Pinnacle Management, who are the property managers for the building, said that the last tenant in the building was the Phoenix Underground, and in a tough retail market, when they were approached by an advertising agency (not directly by 76), it was a way to break some of their losses for the space.

Pinnacle also said that the advertising agency was in “negotiations” with the historic preservation board regarding the stop work permit, and that the 76 sign may soon be changed. To another advertisement.

The Chief Seattle Club has also added new art to the outside of their buildings (without a permit, I might add), but according to the Historic Preservation Board, they have so many applications to just get art approved to go up, it will take a while before they get to art/murals that are not approved.

Here’s where I think we’re facing a double standard when it comes to Art going up, Ads going up and Boarded up buildings staying the same.

The Metropole Building – what it used to look like

What it looks like now:

To read more about its history, click here. The short summary is that there was an accidental trash can fire in the building almost 3 years ago, and it has been boarded up ever since. The current owners of the building have been fighting their insurance to see if they’ll pay not only for fire damage, but for the costs to retrofit the building to bring it up to code.

I have two problems with this:

1. This is one of the main entrances to Pioneer Square — it’s extremely negative to see a big, boarded up building as you drive to or through the neighborhood
2. The art that they’ve allowed to be added to the exterior is ridiculous and almost worse than just being boarded up (ridiculous ≠ bad art, by the way)

I’m definitely not saying that the art is bad –  it just doesn’t match very well — not with the atmosphere of Pioneer Square, and not with each other. It’s like wearing stripes with polka dots.

The property manager for the building has said that they will be adding more art soon, but I’m nervous about what’s going to be added next and how it will mix with the others. They had 16 pieces of art to choose from originally, and these were the only 2 they liked. Maybe they should have looked to them sitting next to each other before they made their decision.

But the main problem I have with this whole situation and where I feel there is a double standard is that illegal advertisements are acted on so swiftly (the work permit was up within a week of the ad going up), but this building has sat boarded up and a blight on the neighborhood for almost three years — I think that this should be totally unacceptable.

I understand where the advertisement rule came from (city being overwhelmed by billboards and ads), but I feel like they are just as negative as empty buildings with boards and safety fencing.

The burden of responsibility is on both the city and the owners of the building. The city should be able to add more pressure or offer incentives to move this building renovation along, and while I sympathize with the tough economy, the owners should do their part as a piece of the neighborhood.

NEWS

The curse of the ‘Sinking Ship’ (Seattle Times)
Great article about the sinking ship parking lot — I hate this thing, but it doesn’t look like there will be any changes in the near (or even distant) future.

Elliott Bay Book Co. plans its move, plus other bookish news (Seattle Times)
EBBC’s last day in the Square is March 31st and it will reopen in Capitol Hill on April 12th. Don’t forget that Elliott Bay Cafe is staying in the neighborhood! Help support the businesses that stay and stop there for lunch often.

Courtyard in Seattle to open in historic Building (Hotel World)
Courtyard by Marriott coming to the historic 1904 Alaska Building (2nd & James), and is planned to open May 2010. Here is a link to their new website.

Luigi says “ciao” for now to DeNunzio’s in Pioneer Square (Seattle Times)
DeNunzio’s is “temporarily closing” (due to landlord disputes) while they look for a new location.

Galleries and artist lofts reinvent historic spaces in Pioneer Square (SU Spectator)
What? We have art galleries down here?

PSIDCPDA urges voters to amend and bring 2ESHB 2912 to a floor vote (NW Asian Weekly)
Did you stop reading the title as soon as your eyes got stuck on that ridiculously long acronym? (I know mine did). Try clicking on it anyways and see if you’re willing to email/call to help Pioneer Square + the International District.

Apple files suit against HTC as Android takes off (Seattle Times)
The most awesome piece of news to pull from this article is that Pioneer Square has a secretive software development lab! And you guys thought Pioneer Square wasn’t that cool. Just one more reason to be jealous of us down here.

That’s Italian! Pizzas are hot and fast at Via Tribunali (Seattle Times)
Via Tribunali coming to Pioneer Square! With 5 other Seattle locations, this is great news for Pioneer Square. They plan to open March 15 and will be located on Prefontaine at the Caffe Vita location (will become Caffe Vita + Via Tribunali)

Watch it: The Future of Pioneer Square (Seattle Channel)
CR Douglas takes a look at current efforts in Pioneer Square to revitalize the neighborhood. Also, there’s a poll on the site and apparently 75% of people who took it feel optimistic about the neighborhood’s future. Do you?

Persian Hip-Hop Tonight at Ibiza in Pioneer Square (Publicola)
I think the title says it all — check it out if you like Persian Hip-Hop.

BLOGS

Wiggs + Dave (Yvonne Wong Photography)
I know it’s from back in January, but I just found the post and had to post it — fantastic photos of a wedding shot in Pioneer Square. I forget the building’s name, but what a great place to have a wedding!

Are Cream Cheese Hot Dogs Really a Seattle Thing? (Seattle Weekly Blog)
A review of (very drunk) businessmen trying out Cream Cheese Hot Dogs from an (illegal) vendor outside of the Last Supper Club.

4Culture needs help (their blog)
4culture seems to be added to many larger bills and organizations when it comes to seeking funding — and they need your help. Click the link to see what you can do.

Planning a Great Neighborhood in SLU (Seattle PI – in SLU)
In addition to the International District, yet another neighborhood that is willing to take the affordable housing units that WE DON’T WANT (and definitely don’t need).

Me, You and Everybody Who Likes Art (Stranger – Line Out)
A review and pics of First Thursday.

Photos from Deli’s B:Scott opening (21arrondissement)

Tat’s Deli is hiring! (Craigslist)

International Women’s Day Rally (twitpic)
Apparently there was a rally in Occidental on Saturday. I could see it from my balcony (but was too lazy to walk down — sorry!). I can’t find anything about it online, but the link is to a pic someone took while they were down there.

Call for Artists for ARTSPARKS 2010 (Blog4culture)
Submissions due this Friday — I hear they’ve gotten some good ones, so make sure to get your entry in on time.

The Nord Alley Party VI — people crammed the alley to look at the Green Alley competition entries, enjoy the food, listen to a jazz band, and to see the spot through one of the alley doors where Washington CASH will be setting up their new retail space next month (check them out, they’re an incredible company).

Sally Clark (City Council) announced the winners of the Green Alley competition: LMN won the grand prize and people’s choice. The only thing I remember about their entry is they had grass and called it an “iAlley.” Sadly, I didn’t take pics of the competition entries, so you’ll have to wait until ISI updates their site.

My favorite entry that night wasn’t even an official entry because it was done by the UW Green Futures lab last year. They had 3 months to create submissions for activating alleys in Seattle and had some really great ideas.

Unfortunately, this was only a design competition, and the entries won’t actually be installed in any alleys. That hasn’t stopped Todd Vogel of ISI, however — they have worked tirelessly to find new ways to change how alleys in Pioneer Square are used.

After leaving the alley competition, we walked through Art in the Park to check out the different vendors. I normally take pictures of the art to share, but will instead share photos of these these two gorgeous necklaces that I couldn’t resist.

The first one is by Monika Wysocki, a local artist from Lynnwood who has a booth at First Thursday every month and sells a variety of necklaces and scarves.

The second is from “Jewelry by Joy” and you can find her etsy shop here.

After leaving Occidental, we were on our way to the six19 Western Ave Arts building when I happened to glance over and see that the Delicatus (pronounced del-i-kot-uhs) looked open. I’ve been laughing at their website because it keeps changing from “Coming January 2010!” to “Coming February 2010!” to it’s current: “Coming March 2010!”

After talking with one of the owners (helpfully pointed out below), he said that they are waiting for the overworked health inspector, who should inspect them today. If that happens, they will finally be open mid-week next week.

The even better news is not that they have great seating on their second floor, or that they will have free wifi, or even that if you come in 3 times a day, “it will be a different experience,” but that on Thurs, Fri and Sat, they are planning on staying open until 10pm. Finally! More food options for the residents in the evenings.

We wanted to make it to six19 before the studios started closing, because we didn’t want to miss Jen Vertz’s display of photographs of homeless in Pioneer Square. I also would have taken photos of her event, but it was so incredibly crowded in the building, I don’t think I could have managed to squeeze my camera out of my purse.

Walking around Pioneer Square yesterday helps me forget some of my frustrations about our neighborhood. The square was packed with people who couldn’t wait to explore what our neighborhood has to share. And yet people leave and kind of forget what an incredible experience it was and go back to thinking that it’s unsafe and unpleasant.

I choose to hold on to sights like this image of Occidental Mall that remind me of all of the potential in my neighborhood and to plan for when there are this many people walking around daily, instead of just for special events.

Art in the Park (Occidental Square Park, 11am – 8pm)
As you walk through the many galleries in downtown Seattle and Pioneer Square, don’t forget to stop through Occidental Square Park to find great deals from undiscovered local artists.

First Thursday Art Walk (Pioneer Square, 6pm – 9pm)
More than 50 art venues in the historic district showcase their latest artistic offerings. For more information on the Art Walk, click here.

Nord Alley Party VI (alley south of Grand Central Bakery building, 5pm – 9pm)
Winners of the Green Alleys competition will be announced promptly at 5pm, so make sure you’re there on time. Drawings of all of the entries will also be displayed in the Nord Alley. Here is a link to the last alley party where they unveiled their “waste not” art installation, and a link to the International Sustainability Institute’s website.

North Lot Community Celebration (FX McRory’s, 419 Occidental Ave S, 5pm-7pm)
You are cordially invited to meet the Development Team for the North Lot project to celebrate the issuance of a Master Use Permit for the North Lot project.Appetizers & non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Hosted by Daniels Development.

Save 4Culture “Laptop Rally” (Caffe Vita in the Tashiro Kaplan building, 125 Prefontaine Pl S, 6pm – 8pm)
“4Culture is the arts, culture, and historic preservation arm of King County. It gives grants, it features new local artists in its Pioneer Square gallery every month (the newest lineup here), it commissions public projects, and generally pumps energy in the ecosystem of Washington art and culture. If the bill currently in front of the state legislature doesn’t pass by March 11, then major cuts will start happening in January, and 4Culture will have no sustainable funding source into the future.”

Here’s what you can do—stop by the laptop rally, or just write a quick note from this template on your own. (from the Slog)

Location Animation Showcase (Zeitgeist Coffee, 171 S Jackson, 8pm – 9pm)
Seattle animators are bucking the computer animation trend, using lo-fi techniques to create lovely little films. See for yourself at the (free!) Local Animation Showcase, featuring work by the artists profiled in the March issue of Seattle magazine (Stefan Gruber, Tess Martin, Britta Johnson, Webster Crowell and Clyde Petersen) as well as a few fellow animators.

I think if you play your cards right, you could hit one event after the other, which makes for a very fulfilling evening. See you all there!

Pioneer Square Hotel seeks OK for annex (DJC subscription only)
“A long-planned hotel project is back before the Pioneer Square Preservation Board after a two-year hiatus. The project involves adding a four-story annex to the Pioneer Square Hotel on Yesler Way. It would have 30 hotel rooms, 900 square feet of ground-floor retail and 39 parking spaces. The hotel is just north of the annex site.”

Downtown alley leaves dark days behind, welcomes pedestrians (Seattle Times)
Great sketch by the Times’ resident sketcher of Todd Vogel’s Nord Alley. Remember to come to the Nord Alley party at First Thursday this week to hear who won the “Green Alley Competition.”

Galleries and artist lofts reinvent historic spaces in Pioneer Square (Seattle University Spectator)
How art galleries saved many landmark buildings from “being knocked down to extend the downtown business district.”

Pioneer Square stays bookish without Elliott Bay Book Co. (Seattle University Spectator)
“Even in the absence of Elliott Bay, Pioneer Square stands out as Seattle’s most prominent book district; it’s home to a dozen different independent booksellers, and most of them carry used titles that literary lovers can stockpile without breaking their bank.”

Pioneer Square boutiques create unique venue for new and local artists (SUS)
The Seattle U Spectator is really loving them some Pioneer Square. A review of Gems and DELI, two great boutiques in our neighborhood.

Burgess: Put more cops on street, crack down on panhandlers (Seattle PI)
A review of the recommendations from Tim Burgess for how to solve our aggressive panhandling problem

Panhandling Ordinance Raises Questions (NPR)
A further discussion of Burgess’ recommendations.

To read more articles about the panhandling issue and public safety, click here.

Council puts bridge, viaduct work atop priorities (Seattle PI)
The council’s current priorities, including the bridge, viaduct, route for the new First Hill streetcar, social services, etc.

Jazz trumpeter Thomas Marriott charts a successful path in Seattle (Seattle Times)
He started out on the stage at the New Orleans restaurant in Pioneer Square.

BLOGS

Can Seattle Walk the Talk? (VIA Architecture)
A review of Helle Soholt’s “Seattle’s Public Life – Making it the Most Walkable City in America.” To download the presentation or to watch video, click here.

Seattle’s Top 5 Falafels (Seattle Weekly – Voracious)
#1 on the list is Zaina Food, Drink  & Friends, also located in Pioneer Square (1st & Cherry). Go check it out!

DELI Seattle B:Scott pop up store opening (DELI Seattle)
Check out photos from the recent pop up store opening of B:Scott, DELI’s 3 month featured artist.

CRIME

Feb 27th — after being thrown out of a nightclub, one ejected member slapped a female, who had also been thrown out of the club.

Feb 28th — after leaving a nightclub, a man initiated contact with a group of women he had seen in the club. After being told they weren’t interested, he backhanded one woman “for her perceived disrespect” and punched a second woman.

How can you not love reading about these?

UPCOMING EVENTS

3/4: Nord Alley Party — Green Alley winner announced. Click here for more info.

3/4: North Lot Community Celebration – Come and meet the development team for the North Lot project and celebrate the issuance of a MUP for their project.

3/5: City Inside/Out (Seattle Channel) – Future of Pioneer Square (link)

Visit the events calendar for more information on these events.

After talking to the Marketing + Communications Director for the Bread of Life, however, their event is different.

“The Bread of Life’s intent is not to be a band-aid,” she said. “When someone comes here for a meal, they realize that there is a transitional opportunity and there is a program and a way to step out of this cycle of homelessness. When we are in the park, we are also marketing that opportunity to the people on the streets.”

The have done this three times already– usually the third Saturday of the month, and plan to keep up the program. In January, a homeless person talked to someone in BOLM’s Life Change program about how he changed his life. He later came down and signed up for their program. They also see it as a way for the men in their Life Change program to give back.

They send out runners to the train station, occidental park, places they know there are homeless — telling them where the food is, with the goal of spreading the word about getting off the streets and changing their lives.

In that way, they are different than many of the other groups that come to our neighborhood. Plus, they have their own trash receptacles and make sure to clean up after each event.

When: Saturday, February 27th from 1 – 4pm (volunteers meet at 12:45 for a safety/info briefing)

Where: Meet at the Bread of Life Mission (1st + Main)

One group will set up by the courthouse park, and a second team will go out in a van to a few spots in Seattle where homeless usually gather (under an overpass or by the West Seattle Bridge, I-5 and Pike Place Market)

For more information, click here to email our volunteer coordinator or visit their website.

Billed as a contemporary lifestyle clothing boutique, Deli comes to Pioneer Square amongst a wave of new extraordinary retailers.  Located on Yesler at the southern end of Western, Deli sneaks under the radar for travelers taking in the sites or visitors catching the Underground Tour.

Embracing the historic “more than meets the eye” nature of the neighborhood, Deli is a cutting edge men’s clothing store that has been set up to look like a historic deli; along the lines of something one might have seen 60 years ago in the neighborhood. Drawing on his interest in fashion and his experience with his family’s deli business in Sea-Tac, owner Max Heigh has set up what looks like a functional deli–using refrigerator cases and baking racks to display everything in his store from sweaters, to bow ties.

A long time fan of the neighborhood, when asked why he chose this location for his business, Max said “I wanted to be in a place that is Seattle–and that’s Pioneer Square. I wanted to attract people to the area and wanted to offer them something different.”

Deli has been doing just that–since they opened in May, they have thrown a number of launch events to celebrate the introduction of new lines and partnerships with local artists who have designed a line of t-shirts called the DELI Artists Series. Most recently, they have taken this concept to the next level and have opened a pop-up shop in what they are calling the “Freezer“–a hidden space in the back of their store, separated by a plastic curtain and adorned with meat hooks (to hang merchandise of course) and beef/pork wallpaper.

This week they launched a new line for B:Son designer Brandon Scott, exclusively in the “Freezer” (click here to see pictures). In the rest of Deli, you can find local designers, as well as fashions from LA and New York.

Deli and the Freezer are not the only double takes that have come into the neighborhood recently.

Gems is a stylish shoe store on Western that recently decided to try something similar. Last fall the store tucked itself away behind a brightly-colored pop-up candy shop. Newcomers are initially lured in by the confectionery-inspired red w/ white walls and large bins of colorful candy, and for returning customers, it continues to be a fun quirk.

However, it is not until they spend a few moments inside, that they realize there is more to the store than just sweets. A large portion of the back wall moves to reveal the hidden shoe store. Owner John Mooney says he wanted to try something new and engage people’s imagination. He says some people come in and enjoy the experience without ever realizing there is a shoe store component. Now the store has new neighborhood regulars that stop by for only the candy and to chat with John.

Finally, there is Tether Design Gallery, a branding/creative/advertising firm in Pioneer Square that has recently decided to get into the retail game by taking over the gallery space below their offices on Occidental at Jackson.

Tether is the brain child of Stanley Hainsworth, who comes to us after having been the creative director for both Lego and Starbucks, where he worked to overhaul branding and retailing initiatives.

Part vintage items, part locally designed products, part artwork, the Tether Gallery is a fun retail lab for the creative thinkers upstairs, and a great addition to the neighborhood.  They are also a growing staple of the First Thursday Art Walk and continue to act as a growing showcase for local artists.

With the addition of these ‘more than meets the eye’ retailers, we are left to ponder what else is going on in the neighborhood that we might be missing!

For more information:

Deli
Location: 87 Yesler Way, at Western.
Store Hours: 10a-6p, Monday – Saturday
Phone: (206) 682-2446.
Online: www.ShopDeliSeattle.com
Facebook Link

Gems
Location: 615 Western Avenue, just north of Yesler
Store Hours: 11a-6p Tuesday – Saturday.  John says Sundays and Mondays are for “chillin”
Phone: (206) 624-4367
Online: www.gemssneakershop.com/

Tether Design Gallery
Location: 323 Occidental Avenue South, at Jackson
Store Hours:
Phone: (206) 518-6300
Online: www.tetherinc.com/
Blog Link

Surprise! Many of you probably thought it would be Pioneer Square, but I don’t know how many times I have to keep telling you that we’re just as safe as our other friendly neighborhoods (which, I admit, isn’t perceived as very safe, despite low crime numbers).

Tim Burgess tried to spin that concern around to talk about his issue of aggressive panhandling. In a survey by DSA last year, 66% of the respondents said they felt that aggressive solicitation was out of control and the city wasn’t doing enough.

Those are not the top 2 concerns, however. In a Publicola article yesterday, they report that 75% of the respondents were most concerned about drug dealing and 69% were concerned about dangerous drunken behavior (both ranking higher than panhandling.. although they are all serious problems)

2. We need to add more police officers and police beats to our Seattle neighborhoods.

As part of the aggressive panhandling proposal Burgess is making to City Council, he is suggesting that they fund adding more police officers to the streets (21 in 2011 and 21 in 2012). Click here to see the article in the Seattle Times.

Dan Satterburg, KC Prosecuting Attorney added that a visible police presence is very important – it makes tourists, residents, and the work force feel safe.

3. We need to be proactive regarding open air drug markets

“It’s not just about arresting people – by the time they get to my office or Pete’s office (Seattle City Attorney), the damage has already been done to the city’s reputation of being unsafe,” said Satterburg.

There are some interesting programs that the city is working on right now, including the “drug market initiative.” The pilot neighborhood for this was 23^rd & Union, where residents have felt unsafe for decades. SPD spent months doing undercover buys and videotaping drug deals. They then sent a letter to 18 of these individuals, requesting that they and a guardian (parent, teach, coach, youth leader) come to a meeting.

At the meeting, they were told that they either stop what they’re doing, or they will file the case against them and send them to prison. “The impact wasn’t necessarily on the individual,” Satterburg said. “It was on the neighborhood.”

“If you do it only once, it will dissipate, so it needs to continue as a strategy and to occur in other neighborhoods.”

4.  We need to be proactive regarding the youth in our communities and schools

After Kate Joncas of DSA asked a question about what to do regarding youth issues  (i.e. like Westlake who had one group of youth last summer that intimidated everyone else out), and if creating a community center downtown would help, you could have heard a pin drop.

Burgess did make a good point, however, when he said that “usually the young people that are at Westlake park, for example, or causing problems on the street, are typically not the kids who are going to our community centers or involved in our sports programs.” He continued saying “it’s very complicated. I don’t have a good answer.”

Satterbug added that 3 out of 4 prison inmates in the state dropped out of high school, so it’s a big red flag. They are doing a similar proactive program to the drug issue of inviting students in who miss too many classes (with a guardian) and talk about why they are unable to make it to class and work to make accommodations so that they will attend.

“We’re making an effort because we know how important it is.”

5. Fantastic walking cities don’t combine their “showcase area” with where they provide social services

Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney, made a statement that I applaud whole-heartedly:

“When you go to any great city, fantastic walking cities invite you to get out and just explore on their streets. In none of those cities is the showcase area also the area where we provide social services. In those cities, those services are somewhere else. It doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same complicated problems that we have in Seattle, here, we just tend to overlap the two.”

Thank you for saying out loud what I’ve been trying to write for months (without being jumped all over). And just to be clear: it’s not opposing social/human services. It’s opposing where they’re located and how concentrated they are. Although someone mentioned after the forum that every neighborhood feels like they have too many social services. There just needs to be a balance.

6. There needs to be a middle ground between night life businesses that want to stay in business, and residents that want to sleep

Pete Holmes, Seattle City Attorney, said that they are crafting a comprehensive framework for regulating the nightlife industry to make sure that it’s both vibrant and safe. They are also looking at staggering last call, something that will really help the police department.

Satterburg added that “the problem is not what happens inside the club, it’s the closing time, in the parking lot when the bartender says you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here, and that’s where we need a visible police presence – robberies, assaults, gangs that come in to find a drunken, vulnerable person, ridiculous gun fights over insults – all of that will dissipate if there’s a visible police presence.”

The city is also looking at staggering last call, something that will really help the police department. There is evidence in other cities, like Birmingham, Alabama, where they let the market establish when and where bars will close, and that has worked very effectively.

7.  The creation of a 24/7 shelter with onsite services = housing

There are concerns about 24 hour shelters and new day centers to address a lot of the problems the city is facing with homelessness.

“The cost of opening an emergency shelter versus the cost of creating housing… it really makes sense to invest in housing,” Bill Block said. “We have managed to stabilize thousands of lives for people. Recognize that this works and continue those investments.”

After that statement, Burgess added that “it’s increasinbly apparent to me that we need another [day center]. People come out of shelters, and don’t have a place to go, so they go to the library or on to the streets. Most often, not causing problems for us, but they do need a place to go.”

8. The easiest way to stop aggressive panhandling? Just stop giving them money

Block said that he’s met with cities across the nation to talk about how they deal with aggressive panhandling and “the only thing that actually seems to work is to have people stop giving.”

Instead, he said, people should give money to the social service agencies, or to the real change vendors. “All the laws in the world don’t have nearly the effect of giving to social services agencies rather than the person on the street.”

9.  A clean, safe environment is conducive to a vibrant tourist industry and vibrant residential downtown: Remember 3-1-1

Holmes’ parting advice on the one thing you can do to make a difference is to call 3-1-1 to report broken windows, illegal graffiti – any non-emergency situation that will make a different in your neighborhood.

He says that we should insist on a clean, safe environment where you live and work.

10. Stay engaged

Each panel member listed one piece of advice for how individuals can make a difference.

In addition to requesting that we stay engaged, Burgess added another way we can help, which drew laughter from the crowd. “Let the other council members know that you support my initiative.”

Holmes hit the nail on the head, however, when he said that “underlying all of these discussions is a resource question – if you really want to address these problems, address the fundamental funding problem in the state.”

Satterburg finished it off by adding that “there is no substitute for professional law enforcement. We’d all love to build housing rather than hire police officers, but we don’t have to do one or the other, we can do both.”

Go to DSA’s website to add your thoughts/opinions – make your voice heard, and stay engaged.

To watch video of the entire forum, click here.

There was an article in the DJC regarding waterfront plans last Friday that discusses the city’s desire to speed up the process of redesigning the waterfront.

“If all goes as planned [they] could issues an RFQ for design work this spring and hire a team in the fall.”

Seattle Planning Director Marshall Foster said that “the waterfront design needs to happen more quickly because of McGinn’s effort to put a $241 million property tax measure on the May ballot to fund a seawall replacement.”

In regards to the seawall design, the city is asking for three approaches to create a shoreline system that balances public safety and stability, public access, and nearshore ecology. The city would like to see the following:

1. A traditional approach
2. A “soft” approach (like the Olympic Sculpture Park)
3. A combination of traditional + soft

There are four community meetings coming up next month where members of the Committee for Central Waterfront Partnerships, and city staff will talk more about the following:

• What makes Seattle’s waterfront unique?
• What tools will we need to create a great central waterfront?
• How will we keep it active and inviting for generations to come?
• How can public and private partners wisely set the stage for future success?

For more information, here is a link to DPD’s Central Waterfront site.

Miller Community Center
330 19th Ave E
Thursday, March 4, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Northgate Community Center
10510 5th Ave NE
Saturday, March 6, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

High Point Community Center
6920 34th Ave SW
Saturday, March 13, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Van Asselt Community Center
2820 South Myrtle Street
Saturday, March 20, 2:30 –4:00 p.m.

[Editor's Note: Pioneer Square was featured in a lot of the presentation, which is great news. A copy of the presentation, which features a streetcar coming down 1st avenue next to J&M Cafe, should be posted here tomorrow -- stay tuned. To read other coverage of the talk, see the International Sustainability Institute's Press link]

Much of our combined city planning energy has been focused on traffic; how to plan for it, how to make space for it, and how to keep people from getting in its way.

However, the methodologies championed by Danish urban expert Jan Gehl and his team at Gehl Architects are finally giving neighborhoods and community advocates the facts they need to compete in a world dominated by traffic demand models, population forecasting, and abstract regulations that do not value public realm.

As of today, Copenhagen is the ONLY city in the world with a Department of Public Life. This is not a Traffic Department, or a Building Department, but a city agency that is consistently engaged with the everyday users of a city, its pedestrians, its residents and its commuters.

For our struggles in Seattle, Gehl Architect’s Founding Partner, Helle Soholt presented last night a first glimpse into our own Public Life Study (due out in full in March). It confirms what many of us who work downtown already know:

• that the office core is lifeless throughout the day
• that one has to walk to the edges, or the Pike Place market to find a nice place to sit and have lunch
• that you don’t linger unless you are waiting for a bus.

They know this because they had 43 graduate students at the University of Washington standing at street corners through out the downtown counting people. They did this in all seasons, days, nights and weekends. Observing and marking down what people are doing; i.e. are they sitting, standing, for how long?, walking, talking, shopping? The Study will also show how these activities rank up versus other cities of our size such as Melbourne and Sydney Australia. (Hint, not so good)

While I could go on to discuss Gehl’s projects and this Study at length, you can instead watch nearly the whole presentation here. (You can also watch the introduction to the presentation by Todd Vogel, Sally Clark and Mayor McGinn by clicking here.)

But overall, my conclusion is simply that the time has arrived! I hope that we can learn to pay attention to the map Gehl Architects has begun to provide. As Helle noted:

• “We need to give something to the city in order to get something from the city.”
• “Every person in the city is a part of the city’s culture.”
• “Most importantly the function of public space is that it is democratic, open and accessible to all.”

In sum, their five recommendations for Seattle:

1. Connect between Pike Place Market, the Waterfront and Westlake Center
These are the areas with the most active life now, how can we pull some of the activity from Pike Place towards the rest of our downtown? What can we do about the parking lots and junky urban design here? What are we saying at eye level invitations to the waterfront?

2. Complete the Bicycle Network
While pictures of Copenhagen’s famous cycle tracks are sure to make any cyclist drool, the recent changes in New York City are a great US precedent. Give us a safe – separated cycle track downtown so that even grannies feel like taking their bikes out. Please, and thank you.

3. Prioritize a First Avenue Pilot Project
Gehl Architect’s study shows First Avenue as the primary connector between languishing Pioneer Square and the Pike Place Market, by far our most vital walking environment downtown. They suggest we treat it that way. While retail owners may be nervous about losing traffic volumes and parking spaces, more hard data continues to show (such as in the recent PLANYC) increased walking traffic can be correlated with more retail sales. And we have a LOT of room for growth on First Avenue if we designed it for better connections and walkability.

4. Green our Alleys
Our streets are broad in Seattle, with one way fast moving traffic. Like Melbourne we have an opportunity to green our narrower and intimate alleys, remove the dumpsters and make new smaller scaled streets and places. These can be the places to stay. They also recommend simply greening the east-west connectors with sitting benches and places, street trees to make the incredible topography less challenging.

5. Make new facades where none exist
Hallelujah. Helle mentioned, first that we have something like 75,000 parking spaces in the downtown; we can sacrifice a few at the street level to make new storefronts and facades. What is the city doing to make this happen?