PLANNERS GUIDE TO SEATTLE CONTENTS Welcome to Seattle 4 West Seattle 38 Getting Around 6 Columbia City 42 Near the Conference 10 Ballard 48 Seattle Planning History 18 Green Lake 54 Neighborhood Tours Bainbridge Island 58 Lake Union 20 Other Neighborhoods 62 Pioneer Square 22 Beyond Seattle 64 Chinatown/ID 28 Thank You to Our Local 66 Host Sponsors Capitol Hill 34 Cover Photography Graphic Design Kevin Gifford Julie Jacobson Design Opposite Page Photography End Page Photography Top Row: Ivan Miller Top Row: Howard Frisk Middle Row: Ivan Miller Second Row, Left: Gary Mabley Bottom Row, Left: Ferdouse Oneza Second Row, Right: Kevin Gifford Bottom Row, Right: Ivan Miller Third Row, Left: Gary Mabley Third Row, Right: Tim Thompson Bottom Row, Left: Tim Thompson Bottom Row, Right: Ferdouse Oneza WELCOME TO Seattle Welcome! The Washington Chapter Local Host Committee is proud to host this year’s National Planning Conference, and we are delighted to welcome our colleagues to the Emerald City. Seattle is a wonderful city, full of history, beauty, and fun. We hope all of you will have an opportunity to explore some of its many charms. This guidebook is Ivan Miller, AICP designed to help you make the most of your Chapter President time in Seattle, whether you want to learn about Seattle’s history, explore our parks and museums, or just visit a neighborhood and sample some of Seattle’s ethnic and Northwest cuisine. Thank you for coming, and enjoy your stay. Kevin Gifford, AICP Marty Curry, AICP Deborah Paul Inghram, AICP Munkberg, AICP Conference Co-Chair 2015 Planners Guide Subcommittee Co-Chairs Conference Co-Chair 2015 Planners Guide Subcommittee Members Carmen Bendixen —WA Dept. of Natural Resources Izzy Cannell—BERK Consulting Marty Curry, AICP—University of Washington Kevin Gifford, AICP—BERK Consulting Aaron Raymond—BERK Consulting Michael Schuler, AICP—AECOM Kevin Gifford, AICP Marty Curry, AICP Jennifer Tippins—BERK Consulting Planners Guide Planners Guide Subcommittee Subcommittee Co-Chair Co-Chair PAGE 4 WELCOME TO Seattle 2015 APA NATIONAL PLANNING CONFERENCE LOCAL HOST SPONSOR WELCOME TO Seattle The Bullitt Foundation believes that urban sustainability begins with innovation and partnership. With grant making focused in the Pacific Northwest, the Foundation’s programs include Ecosystem Services; Energy, Industry & Technology; Urban Ecology; Leadership and Civic Engagement, and www.bullitt.org www.bullittcenter.org Deep Green Buildings. PAGE 5 GETTING AROUND TAXIS AND CAR SERVICES are also available at Seattle offers a wealth of travel the airport. Taxi rates are set by King County, options, and the number of providers so prices should not vary from company to company. Rides from the airport to downtown can sometimes be confusing for first- are charged at the meter rate, but rides from time visitors. Don’t worry—we’ve got downtown to the airport are a flat rate of $40. you covered! The airport’s website provides additional A great resource for conference information on town car services and car rentals. attendees is provided by the http://www.portseattle.org/Sea-Tac/Parking-and- Downtown Seattle Association. Visit Transportation/Ground-Transportation/Pages/ www.downtownseattle.com/maps for default.aspx useful maps of the downtown area, KING COUNTY METRO transit systems, and bike routes. KING COUNTY METRO is the primary transit operator in Seattle, providing local bus service FROM THE AIRPORT and a water taxi across Elliott Bay to West Seattle. By visiting their site online, you can use SOUND TRANSIT LINK LIGHT RAIL provides the “Plan a Trip” function to find the best route convenient service from Sea-Tac International to get you where you need to go. Airport to downtown Seattle. The airport light rail http://metro.kingcounty.gov station can be reached by following the signs across the skybridge and through the terminal The schedules and maps page of the King parking garage. County Metro site provides a list of bus routes, a system map, and a useful set of maps on the Trains run every 7.5 minutes during peak hours “Getting Around Seattle” tab. Go directly to this and every 10–15 minutes during off-peak times. set of maps by following Trains operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday http://metro.kingcounty.gov/maps/seattle through Saturday, and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. The downtown terminus of the A trip on a Metro bus will cost $2.50 during line is at Westlake Station (5th Avenue and off-peak times and $2.75 during peak hours. Pine Street), located about two blocks from the Peak hours are 6–9 a.m. and 3–6 p.m., Monday Convention Center, and the ride from the airport through Friday. The entire city of Seattle counts takes about 30 minutes. as one zone, but if you are traveling outside the city boundaries, be aware that fares may A detailed schedule and route map is available increase. Transfers are valid from one Metro bus on the web at http://www.soundtransit.org/ to another and can be collected from your driver Schedules/Central-Link-light-rail. when paying cash. PAGE 6 GETTING AROUND 2015 APA NATIONAL PLANNING CONFERENCE REGIONAL BIKE TRAILS SOUND TRANSIT Two of the most popular ONE BUS AWAY regional bike trails run through This free smartphone app SOUND TRANSIT operates Seattle. If you have some free is a useful tool for getting regional bus routes and the time, be sure to check them around Seattle by bus. light rail. A “Rider Guide” out. The app allows you to find page is available on Sound the bus stop nearest to Burke-Gilman Trail: This GETTING AROUND Transit’s website. The site your current location and paved multiuse trail runs for provides information on service view a list of all buses that 18 miles, from the Ballard changes, safety, and how to get stop at your location, as neighborhood to the city of to popular destinations. well as real-time arrival Bothell on the northeast side http://www.soundtransit.org/ information. Maps and of Lake Washington, where it Rider-Guide schedules for individual connects with the Sammamish bus routes are also River Trail. The Burke-Gilman BICYCLE available. Available for iOS, also goes through the Fremont, Android, and Windows One of the best ways to Wallingford, and University Phone. experience Seattle is by bike. District neighborhoods, and OneBusAway.org Bicycle rentals are available at passes by Gas Works Park, the the following locations: University of Washington, and Magnuson Park (which was PRONTO CYCLE SHARE formerly a US Navy facility). Pronto Cycle Share opened in Seattle in the fall of 2014. Alki Trail: This five-mile The bike share program offers multiuse paved trail provides $8 24-hour passes and $16 scenic views of Elliott Bay and three-day passes. A pass access to Alki Beach and the can be picked up at Pronto West Seattle–Downtown Water kiosks using a credit or debit Taxi. The Alki Trail stretches card. Unlimited trips are from West Marginal Way South, allowed in this time, but each across the swing bridge on trip is limited to 30 minutes, Southwest Spokane Street, past otherwise a usage fee is the industrial Harbor Island, incurred. Helmets are available and on to the northern and for free with Pronto passes. eastern shores of West Seattle. Visit Pronto’s website to The City of Seattle maintains find station maps and bike online maps of all protected availability. bike lanes, multiuse trails, www.prontocycleshare.com neighborhood greenways, and other bike facilities. Check out BIKE RENTALS & TOURS their website for a complete Seattle Bicycle Rentals & Tours list. www.seattlebicyclerentals.com http://www.seattle.gov/ Seattle Cycling Tours transportation/bikemaps.htm www.seattle-cycling-tours.com PAGE 7 GETTING AROUND 2015 APA NATIONAL PLANNING CONFERENCE ORCA CARD TAXIS/CAR SERVICES RAIL Feel free to pay for buses TAXI SERVICE is offered by a SOUND TRANSIT LIGHT RAIL with cash, but ORCA variety of providers. Depending Sound Transit’s Central Link cards (One Regional Card on the time of day, cabs may light rail provides travel to for All) are available at be hard to find on the street, so points between downtown self-service ticket vending reservations are recommended and the airport, including machines and provide if you are on a tight schedule. several of Seattle’s southern quick payment for buses, Ridesharing options are also neighborhoods. trains, and ferries. Just available. Two of the most load the card with money In downtown the light rail popular are UBER and LYFT. at a ticket machine, then can be boarded at the transit Reservations and payment are tap the card reader when tunnel stations marked on the handled through smartphone you board the bus. For downtown map on pages 12 apps available from each Link light rail, tap the and 13. provider’s website. card reader as you enter www.lyft.com and leave the station. SEATTLE STREETCAR www.uber.com The South Lake Union Line Self-service machines are of the Seattle Streetcar runs available at Convention FERRIES 1.3 miles from the rapidly Place, all Sounder rail developing South Lake Union stations, and all Link light WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES neighborhood into Seattle’s rail stations, including If you are looking to travel a downtown core. The downtown the Westlake Transit little further and experience a terminus of the line (at 5th Tunnel Station at 4th ride across Puget Sound, try Avenue and Olive Way) is Avenue and Pine Street one of Washington’s iconic within walking distance of downtown. green and white ferries. Route the Convention Center and www.ORCACard.com and fare information is available provides links to the light rail online at and the monorail, as well as the www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.