Rachael L / is on Nostr

I live in Seattle with my family and work in tech. I'm also disabled (mostly deaf & blind on one side). I ride the bus, walk or bike most of the time and I care a lot about our transportation system working for everyone. I spend a lot of my not-work time on local advocacy, family stuff, pottery and our unitarian universalist church. Pronouns: They/them

Note: I am experimenting with multiple accounts and not posting all topics from one account. This one is for Seattle urbanism stuff!

Last Notes

2024-09-25 20:54:05

This is a shortsighted, cynical and immoral budget proposal that steals revenue intended to address homelessness by building homes so the city can pay more cops more to sweep and harass those without homes. For good measure it cuts funding to the city department that does permitting and is already often a bottleneck for construction! Also somehow cuts funding for the department that makes sure folks can WATCH how the city operates.
#Seattle #HarrellHorrorShow https://mstdn.social/@urbanistorg/113200094077315958

2024-09-24 15:23:28

Grumble. I try to move share bikes and scooters that are blocking sidewalks or otherwise left in a hazardous way. There was a Bird ebike half blocking a curb ramp on its side at Yesler and Broadway. They lock both wheels apparently so I couldn't roll it at all and they are so heavy. I bruised my legs trying to move it out of the way. I like the idea of rentable bikes and scooters and it's less car trips, but that any time I walk anywhere there's at least one to move is frustrating. #Seattle

2024-09-07 17:14:49

Google and Apple Maps bike routing instructions are just utterly bananas now in #Seattle. From our house to a spot south of Columbia City:
- Apple Maps suggests ONLY Rainier Ave
- Google Maps for one route has us use the BH greenway for a bit, then Beacon Ave, Columbian Way and then MLK (no bike lane, 40+ mph traffic).
It's possible to do this trip almost entirely on greenways or PBLs but you wouldn't know it from the most commonly used mapping apps.

2024-08-31 16:25:49

I am going to a #Brompton #bike meetup at #Seattle Northgate station to ride the train to the newly opened stations north all the way to Lynnwood. How many folded bikes can we get on a light rail car?

2024-08-25 16:32:37

Hello #Seattle! It's looking like it's going to be a sunny day and Lake Washington Blvd is open for everyone. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is also hosting a family group ride of the new MLK bike lane! Meet is at the Judkins Park Playground around 2pm (ride leaves at 2:30!) and we'll ride to MLK then down to Mt. Baker station area and then east to M. Baker Park playground -- itself very close to LWB! #SeaBikes

2024-08-19 16:39:17

More #SeattleCityCouncil awfulness while I was gone. https://publicola.com/2024/08/13/the-city-council-says-cracking-down-on-sex-workers-will-create-services-stop-sex-trafficking-and-end-gun-violence-dont-believe-them/ #Seattle #HarrellHorrorShow
https://mastodon-usw-cache.b-cdn.net/media_attachments/files/112/989/671/029/568/549/original/8976c06075bd8845.jpeg

2024-07-29 17:42:43

The gaps and complexities of the disconnected bike network in #Seattle are so much more apparent when your 10.5 year old is gloriously enjoying biking and doing well but you have to deal with the weird gaps and figure the safest way to have the kiddo attempt getting through them. Yesterday's example: how does a person get from Lake Washington Blvd to Jefferson Park on low stress or protected paths? You can't without significant sidewalk use or going miles out of the way.

2024-07-26 01:14:24

The city of #Seattle is planning to start arresting and booking more people for misdemeanor crimes and sending them to a jail in south King County. That jail has had six (!) deaths in just a year: "At least six people have died at SCORE in just over a year."
https://publicola.com/2024/07/24/jail-bookings-will-resume-for-drug-use-other-misdemeanors-in-downtown-seattle/ #HarrellHorrorShow

2024-06-22 16:22:06

Yes let's ban bus wrap ads. Not only do they make riding unpleasant from the inside they actually make buses harder to identify if you have low vision as it means every bus looks a little different with a different wash of colors than expected, perhaps causing a person to misidentify the agency of the bus or even that it's a public transit bus.
https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/06/21/op-ed-ban-bus-wraps-ads/ #seattle #KingCounty #Transit