Cascadia Report

Seattle-area candidate ratings released

There are several mild surprises in the Municipal League's ratings of candidates for 26 races in the Seattle area.

The annual nonpartisan ratings, released Tuesday, are based on four criteria: Knowledge, Involvement, Effectiveness and Character. They assess each candidate's potential to be effective in office and ability to serve the community. They don't consider political affiliations or stands on particular issues.

I'm a trustee of the League so I'll just pass on the news, including a few upsets:

-- At the Port of Seattle, challengers Jack Block Jr. and Gael Tarleton got Outstanding ratings while incumbent Bob Edwards was rated Good. Commissioner Alec Fisken got an Outstanding while challenger William Bryant got a Very Good.

-- For Seattle City Council position 1, incumbent Jean Godden got a Good, the same as challenger Joe Swaja. For position 7, challenger Tim Burgess got an Outstanding while incumbent David Della got a Very Good.

The rest of the results and complete definitions of the ratings are posted here.

This year's ratings are the result of the work of more than 60 citizens who studied the public record, reviewed candidate questionnaires, checked references and conducted live interviews with the candidates. (As a League trustee, I was one of the people who reviewed the ratings.)

Solving Seattle's housing crunch

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wants to give more tax breaks to developers to encourage them to build moderately priced housing. But there are better ways to make housing affordable.

The mayor's plan would expand tax breaks for developers who build homes for people who earn middle-income wages. That's a well-intentioned step to meet a legitimate need.

Instead the city would be better off encouraging significantly larger buildings, especially along transit corridors. Why not allow 25-story condos in places where there's good infrastructure and they don't overwhelm neighbors? How about along I-5 near the UW, on major corners of Capitol Hill and next to the light rail station in the Rainier Valley? On this issue, even Federal Way is ahead of Seattle.

Other critical steps are improving in-city transit to serve those buildings and then making neighbohoods more walkable. Expand the streetcar and bus system (and replace the Viaduct with busways) so people can more easily survive without a car. If a middle-class family of four could survive with one car or no car, suddenly Seattle would be a lot more affordable.

It won't be easy to build support for these changes, even though more housing supply would lower prices for middle-income and poorer residents. The city would need to guarantee good design, which hasn't been the case with cookie-cutter townhomes overtaking some neighborhoods.

What's clear is that cutting property taxes starves the city of resources to provide services like parks, police and transit. Even so it's far from clear that extra tax credits would be enough to lure more development.

Low unemployment means strikes

What happens when a red-hot economy leaves the number of jobs and workers closely balanced?

In British Columbia and Alberta, workers are going on strike. There are a variety of issues behind the disputes but the underlying catalyst is that employees have the upper hand for the first time after years of stagnation.

What Vancouver can learn about rail building

Seattle's nascent light rail line was showered with praise this week -- in Vancouver.

The reason is the $50 million fund set up to help businesses impacted by construction of the light rail line through the Rainier Valley. Apparently there's no such support for business during construction of the Canada Line, which will connect downtown Vancouver, the airport and Richmond.

It's odd to hear praise of Seattle's transit efforts from Vancouver, which has had rail transit for more than two decades and is considering building a fourth line. But a representative of a Vancouver neighborhood suggested B.C.'s free-market loving government might support a Seattle-style fund: "It's a classic American approach," he said. "It's seen as an economic initiative to ensure a tax base, not as a handout. I thought the Campbell government might embrace this approach."

Seattle's Rainier Valley has been showered with support during the rail project, ever since the decision was made years ago to build that section at-grade instead of underground. Just wait until the surge of newcomers and gentrification when the line opens in 2009.

Seattle's latest shot at China flights

An airline that offers only business class seats wants to start flights between Seattle and Shanghai, a surprise entry in the race for more connections to China.

Beginning in 2009, MaxJet would fly to Seattle and on to Los Angeles. The airline faces stiff competition from other U.S. airlines -- at least seven applications have been filed for a handfull of flights allowed under a U.S.-China treaty, according to AviationWeek.

Seattle wants nonstop connections to China to jumpstart business and tourism. Meanwhile Vancouver has daily flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. This month a new airlines started nonstops between Hong Kong and Vancouver, meaning there are now 30 flights a week on that route.

Density coming to the suburbs

Suburban Federal Way picked a Vancouver developer to build a residential, retail and office complex with 22-story towers in its new downtown.

The project will bring more than 900 housing units to an area known for sprawling parking lots. Judging from images in the article above, the development will have character similar to those in British Columbia. If done well, the project could help wear down resistance to the idea of residential towers in the Seattle area.

More housing supply also will help meet growing demand, especially now that Federal Way's single-family neighborhoods are developed, and provide a market for better transit.

Seattle backsliding on bicycle plans

Take a quick spin around north Seattle by bicycle on a Sunday afternoon and you'll find missing links in bike routes, bike paths that abruptly end and almost 100 percent preference for cars along roads and at intersections.

For the clearest example of bicyles taking a lower priority look at Fremont, where the Burke-Gilman bike trail was supposed to reopen this month after a year-long closure.

Instead the city suddenly agreed to extend the closure for another year. The reason? The neighborhood's top landowner apparently just started construction on an office building and doesn't want bicyclists nearby.

The change is one sign of backsliding on plans to make bicycling more practical. Evidence is piling up to suggest that Seattle is gutting its new bicycling master plan. For a study in contrasts, consider what Paris is planning.

All commuters should demand Seattle do better. A sudden route closure wouldn't be allowed if it blocked car lanes. Delaying better bicycle infrastructure simply makes it harder for the city to accommodate more people without adding to congestion.

Private investors right about rail corridor

A government plan that would close the door on transit in a rail corridor through Seattle's eastern suburbs is such a bad idea that private investors are reportedly considering a bid for the property.

The corridor -- from Renton to Snohomish -- could serve as a key link in the region's future transportation network as the city grows around it. It should be upgraded and connected to projects like the Sounder commuter rail in Tukwila and the proposed light rail line from Seattle to Redmond. A bike path also could be constructed along much of the route.

This rail-to-trail deal stokes frustration about the Seattle area's too little, too late approach to transportation, for example in this op-ed. What's missing is a plan to make it pay (hint: put tolls on 405 and beef up transit to compensate). What's upsetting is that the public sector isn't taking a lead on this vision.

Spending money to make money

The latest BusinessWeek has a summary of how Google convinced a poor North Carolina county to pay $212 million in exchange for siting a server farm there -- without even getting a guarantee of how long they would be there or how many locals they would employ. Poor suckers.

But wait. A few pages into the article there's a table of recent corporate welfare handouts, topped by Washington's $3.2 billion gift to Boeing in 2003 to site final assembly of the 787 in Everett. That deal surely played a part in improving perceptions of the state's friendliness to business.

Of course you have to spend money to make money, especially in a globalized economy. But how do you walk the fine line between losing to competition and selling out taxpayers? Unfortunately the magazine suggests just a few tentative ways to safeguard the investment.

Tacoma needs a sales job

Tacoma has had it with pr. Now it needs to close a sale.

After years of promotion as a tech-savvy livable city, it's now looking for a team that can actually lure investment and jobs.

Eliminating fares wouldn't help transit

Collecting transit fares costs a lot of money, funds that could be better spent adding service. That's the conclusion of this interesting report at TheTyee.ca.

The report considers Vancouver and several transit systems in the Northwest and around the country. For King County Metro, the costs of fare collection in 2006 were about 10 percent of revenue -- equal to about $8 million or 18 new buses per year, it says.

Yet fares are hardly the biggest problem facing bus service. There must be more efficient ways to collect money (issuing annual passes, rounding the cost to the nearest dollar, etc.). But charging something probably gives people at least some sense of ownership, or a feeling that they should be getting a service in return.

Report: Washington's a better place for business

Forbes magazine ranked Washington the fifth best state in the country to do business and says the situation here is improving:

The biggest mover (tied with Tennessee), rising from 12th to fifth place, Washington is also the only state to finish in the top five in three main categories (labor, regulatory environment and growth). And Washington's numbers are up across the board when you look both backward and at projections into the future.

Ratings like this are problematic by defintion. But this one, coming from a conservative business publication, is likely to come up during campaigns for governor and legislature over the next 18 months.

The rating gives Washington kudos in multiple categories, especially growth prospects, reduced red tape and low energy costs. The magazine says this results in innovation: "Washington has had more businesses open per capita the past three years than any other state in the U.S."

The lowest mark was for quality of life, which includes schools. The state did well despite transportation woes (which would seem to drive up costs but don't seem to have been a factor in the low quality of life score). The state's tax structure wasn't an issue.

The magazine rated Olympia as the 10th best metropolitan area for business. Spokane, Bremerton, Portland and Eugene all finished in the top 50 (out of 200 rated). Oregon moved up three places to 28th.

New container port gets funding

While infrastructure bottlenecks constrain shipping at Cascadia ports, plans are moving ahead for a brand-new container facility -- one big enough to eventually handle as much freight as Tacoma's.

Oregon's legislature recently approved a $60 million package to dredge the harbor at Coos Bay over the next five years. The funding hinges on a major shipping company commiting to operate there. The Oregonian called the prospect "an economic dream come true."

Though hurdles remain, the deal is the latest sign of more competion for ports in Vancouver, Seattle and Tacoma. It should underscore the need for more efficiency at existing ports and for transportation improvements to keep freight moving.

The Coos Bay project reportedly includes a new jetty and $250-$750 million in terminals, rail infrastructure, a container yard, docks and wharves. Eventually it could handle 2 million 20-foot-long containers, roughly the volume at the Port of Tacoma.

Tapping tidal power from Puget Sound

Tide-driven power turbines may be coming to Puget Sound. The Snohomish County energy utility is beginning research into installing generators that could power 60,000 or more homes.

The studies would inform debate over harming the already troubled ecosystem:

The modeling could also show whether the turbines could affect tidal currents in Puget Sound, slowing them. Some observers worry that losing such "kinetic energy" could harm places such as Hood Canal, where water circulation already is poor.

Others believe turbines won't mix well with endangered salmon and the marine animals and fishermen that depend on them.

The proposal was reported a couple months ago, along with introduction of a bill by U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee to promote development of tidal energy through tax credits. That bill is now sitting in committee.

Losing out on the China travel market

Sea-Tac hosted the signing of the latest U.S.-China air treaty yesterday, but it's unlikely to host flights between the countries anytime soon.

So the question for Seattle is whether courting a Chinese carrier makes more sense than waiting to lure a top-flight international airline. Both Hainan Airlines and Shanghai Airlines reportedly have had talks with Seattle about starting flights, and Hainan has considered linking with Alaska Airlines for connections in the U.S.

Of course Seattle should pursue all comers to expand international service, in order to remain competitive and capitalize on visiblity around the 2010 Olympics. It should seek a Chinese carrier and continue courting major international carriers that would offer this region a premium network, for example a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. Note that Vancouver offers daily nonstops to three Chinese cities on a range of airlines.

Any nonstop would help trade and tourism. Consider the impact on some businesses in Oregon when Delta Airlines ended its Asia flights from Portland (eventually Northwest was recruited to start Tokyo flights). But a second-tier airline won't lure major corporate or frequent fliers who expect mileage plans and extensive networks. Smaller airlines using Seattle as a U.S. toehold would likely shift to bigger city as soon as possible (both Thai and China Eastern left Seattle for California in the 1990s).

Wanted: Someone to make windmills

Driving across the wind-swept expanses of Eastern Washington is enough to make a person wonder: isn't there potential for more wind power in Cascadia. If only legal ambiguity and NIMBYism weren't in the way.

Add this to the list of hurdles: a shortage of windmill makers.

This Wall Street Journal article shows how surging global demand for turbines outstrips supply. Manufacturers are reluctant to make long-term bets since the market in the U.S. isn't stable. Wind power requires major capital investment up front and who knows if tax incentives will continue or if siting the projects will get easier or more difficult.

Oregon is mentioned as encouraging turbine-makers to set up in the state. That's one way Washington could encourage development (instead of simply mandating alternative energy). Consider the possibility:

In the U.S., more wind power was installed last year than in any country in the world -- 2,454 megawatts, or more than the equivalent of two nuclear reactors. Despite the recent action, the U.S. still lags behind other countries that have spent decades nurturing wind power with subsidies and price supports. Germany has fewer wind resources -- breezy, wide-open spaces -- than the state of North Dakota, for instance, but has twice as much wind power as the entire U.S. Spain, with one-seventh the population of the U.S., has the same amount of wind power. Overall, only about 1% of power in the U.S. comes from wind.

Getting representatives who match the region

There's a mismatch between the Seattle area's dependence on global commerce and its political system. Jim Vesely made that point well in his Sunday column in The Seattle Times:

The city is run by representatives of two major and influential cohorts: neighborhoods and highly specialized interest groups. That may fit a less-competitive era, but if this region is going to need every brain and every molecule of stamina, it must have a much higher caliber of contestants for public office.

Those candidates would be knowledgeable on the Shanghai school methods, on the bridging of both space and dollars for transportation, on the depth of connections between here and Chile or China. Only a few are.

That's why whenever council members venture away from the narrow into the broad currents of national or state policies — or even pro sports — they appear woefully parochial, despite representing one of the most-dynamic and exuberant city-states on the planet.

So what's the recipe for change? The fact is that voters select representatives who most clearly speak to their interests -- and in Seattle that's usually neighborhood issues. By definition, candidates speak about those issues to the media. Instead of bemoaning the lack of ideas, I'd like to see The Seattle Times promote wider perspectives.

For starters, the news pages should examine the benefits of Gov. Gregoire's trade-promotion efforts and her groundbreaking meetings with British Columbia's premier. Why not demand that representatives learn from the rest of the world on issues like transportation? At least ask leaders what they learned about transportation from their recent trip to Japan.

Even the opinion pages could help. It would be fascinating to hear the questions that Vesely asked and the candidates' responses. Why not post those online?

Shift freight to rail, cut traffic congestion

Shifting freight traffic to rails would cut congestion and pollution, according to a study by Demographia:

In the Seattle area alone, shifting 25 percent of freight from trucks to trains by 2025 would mean 43 fewer hours in commuting time every year, compared with what is likely to occur otherwise. That same shift also would decrease air-pollutant emissions in the Seattle area by as much as 11,635 tons and save thousands of gallons of fuel.

The trick, of course, is making the change. Improving and expanding the Eastside rail line and also adding rail capacity throughout the Vancouver-to-Portland corridor could handle the traffic. Curbing the subsidy for cars and trucks on freeways would make the shift financially sensible.

Too many want to live in downtown Vancouver

Living in downtown Vancouver is so popular the city needs to keep people away in order to preserve room for offices.

As a remedy, the city may allow still taller office buildings downtown and expand the area where offices have priority over condos.

Taller buildings are already on the way. Yet given Vancouver's shedding of headquarters jobs, the bigger question may be what businesses will fill any additional space.