Jason
@jrock08.bsky.social
He/him. Seattle. People should be able to walk and roll without dying.
If you are on bsky hit me up. We should get coffee some time and chat about how to get more traffic on the I90 trail!
February 3, 2026 at 1:43 AM
If you are on bsky hit me up. We should get coffee some time and chat about how to get more traffic on the I90 trail!
"I love seeing traffic!"
--Dad on a Rad with his kid on the I90 trail when we both stopped at the 23rd ave crossing.
--Dad on a Rad with his kid on the I90 trail when we both stopped at the 23rd ave crossing.
February 3, 2026 at 1:42 AM
"I love seeing traffic!"
--Dad on a Rad with his kid on the I90 trail when we both stopped at the 23rd ave crossing.
--Dad on a Rad with his kid on the I90 trail when we both stopped at the 23rd ave crossing.
Yeah I think this gets at this too. The flexibility of small spaces means a ground floor retail could become ground floor housing.
bsky.app/profile/jroc...
bsky.app/profile/jroc...
I'm not sure what policy I'd want to support instead of this bill. But I think the general push towards smaller footprint single stair buildings essentially makes this a non-issue. 1200 sqft ground floor retail leases way easier than the cavernous spaces under 5/1s.
February 3, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Yeah I think this gets at this too. The flexibility of small spaces means a ground floor retail could become ground floor housing.
bsky.app/profile/jroc...
bsky.app/profile/jroc...
I'm not sure what policy I'd want to support instead of this bill. But I think the general push towards smaller footprint single stair buildings essentially makes this a non-issue. 1200 sqft ground floor retail leases way easier than the cavernous spaces under 5/1s.
February 2, 2026 at 11:55 PM
I'm not sure what policy I'd want to support instead of this bill. But I think the general push towards smaller footprint single stair buildings essentially makes this a non-issue. 1200 sqft ground floor retail leases way easier than the cavernous spaces under 5/1s.
I think Urbanist aligned voices supporting this bill aren't wrong, per se, but they are conflating two things. Ground floor retail, which is generally good and large footprint unpartitioned ground floor retail, which is too big to lease easily.
NEW STORY // Bill Curbing Mandates for Ground-Floor Retail Spaces Advances at Legislature
Story by Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2026/02/02/b...
Story by Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2026/02/02/b...
Bill Curbing Mandates for Ground-Floor Retail Spaces Advances at Legislature » The Urbanist
# Intended to reduce barriers that are preventing lower-density commercial buildings from getting redeveloped into housing, Senate Bill 6026 would target mandates for storefronts in new housing projec...
www.theurbanist.org
February 2, 2026 at 11:53 PM
I think Urbanist aligned voices supporting this bill aren't wrong, per se, but they are conflating two things. Ground floor retail, which is generally good and large footprint unpartitioned ground floor retail, which is too big to lease easily.
Reposted by Jason
Beyond being bad for affordability, I think discretionary approvals process are socially/morally destructive for this reason—they turn seemingly normal, well-adjusted people into monsters.
February 2, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Beyond being bad for affordability, I think discretionary approvals process are socially/morally destructive for this reason—they turn seemingly normal, well-adjusted people into monsters.
Reposted by Jason
SEPA also does nothing to require us to revisit mistakes of the past even if they are causing enormous ongoing environmental impacts.
To the contrary, SEPA is a serious impediment to changing course, even if that course is heading to climate catastrophe.
To the contrary, SEPA is a serious impediment to changing course, even if that course is heading to climate catastrophe.
February 2, 2026 at 2:38 AM
SEPA also does nothing to require us to revisit mistakes of the past even if they are causing enormous ongoing environmental impacts.
To the contrary, SEPA is a serious impediment to changing course, even if that course is heading to climate catastrophe.
To the contrary, SEPA is a serious impediment to changing course, even if that course is heading to climate catastrophe.
If we'd done this to LWB in 2022 like we should have the backlash would already be long over by now.
It's hard not to leave Sunset Dunes Park / the former Upper Great Highway without being inspired to think about what's actually possible when it comes to how we use our legacy vehicle infrastructure into the future.
February 2, 2026 at 6:02 AM
If we'd done this to LWB in 2022 like we should have the backlash would already be long over by now.
A normie couldn't tell you what the "Tea Party" was in 2007. Effective political movements don't try to come up with the perfect name that everyone knows already, they turn their name into a brand.
See "greenway" which outside Seattle and Portland doesn't exist.
See "greenway" which outside Seattle and Portland doesn't exist.
February 2, 2026 at 3:33 AM
A normie couldn't tell you what the "Tea Party" was in 2007. Effective political movements don't try to come up with the perfect name that everyone knows already, they turn their name into a brand.
See "greenway" which outside Seattle and Portland doesn't exist.
See "greenway" which outside Seattle and Portland doesn't exist.
15 minute city is pretty self explanatory though. It's failing because the right wing decided to refuse to understand it
February 2, 2026 at 3:28 AM
15 minute city is pretty self explanatory though. It's failing because the right wing decided to refuse to understand it
Reposted by Jason
"[T]he city continues to push a high-density project where rushed decision‑making increases the risk of expensive mistakes that taxpayers may ultimately bear."
Incredible to write this about a project that has been in the works since 2023.
www.bainbridgereview.com/letters/lett...
Incredible to write this about a project that has been in the works since 2023.
www.bainbridgereview.com/letters/lett...
Letter to the editor | Bainbridge Island Review
Follow SEPA appeal
www.bainbridgereview.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:55 PM
"[T]he city continues to push a high-density project where rushed decision‑making increases the risk of expensive mistakes that taxpayers may ultimately bear."
Incredible to write this about a project that has been in the works since 2023.
www.bainbridgereview.com/letters/lett...
Incredible to write this about a project that has been in the works since 2023.
www.bainbridgereview.com/letters/lett...
They might not, but they almost certainly tell their staff to
February 1, 2026 at 5:12 PM
They might not, but they almost certainly tell their staff to
Reposted by Jason
Rainier Beach Mourns After Fatal Shooting of Two Teens
Rainier Beach Mourns After Fatal Shooting of Two Teens
After two teens were fatally shot near Rainier Avenue South, Rainier Beach gathered in grief. Neighbors, students, and families showed up to mourn, heal, and protect their own.
southseattleemerald.org
February 1, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Rainier Beach Mourns After Fatal Shooting of Two Teens
The idea that there's a perfect brand that will avoid having to fight the opposition because everyone will understand it inherently and agree with you is wishful thinking and avoids having necessary fights.
February 1, 2026 at 4:41 PM
The idea that there's a perfect brand that will avoid having to fight the opposition because everyone will understand it inherently and agree with you is wishful thinking and avoids having necessary fights.
I want to understand why the times definition of a "business booster" is a politician willing to raid the general fund to fund a public facilities district that's supposed to be operationally revenue neutral.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
What's behind Seattle’s Convention Center's woes?
In the shaky years during and after the pandemic, the convention's leaders and board spent nearly all the center’s $200 million in reserves. Now, they need help.
www.seattletimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:31 PM
I want to understand why the times definition of a "business booster" is a politician willing to raid the general fund to fund a public facilities district that's supposed to be operationally revenue neutral.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
They'll just switch to calling that stalinism too
February 1, 2026 at 4:04 PM
They'll just switch to calling that stalinism too
Also the compromise position
February 1, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Also the compromise position
Abolish ICE is the compromise position
February 1, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Abolish ICE is the compromise position
Reposted by Jason
The turns onto both Oregon and Charlestown from Rainier are both closed for construction this week. Life goes on. Maybe we just keep it this way? @cmeddielin.bsky.social
February 1, 2026 at 1:04 AM
The turns onto both Oregon and Charlestown from Rainier are both closed for construction this week. Life goes on. Maybe we just keep it this way? @cmeddielin.bsky.social
Reposted by Jason
If our "environmental protection" frameworks can stop an affordable housing project but can't stop a detention center or a highway expansion we really need to start talk about ripping things up root and branch.
January 31, 2026 at 11:28 PM
If our "environmental protection" frameworks can stop an affordable housing project but can't stop a detention center or a highway expansion we really need to start talk about ripping things up root and branch.
"You know how we’ve been told for years that the transportation system is broke? The legislature found some money. Yours."
This lede, which is about a fee that already exists that you are legally required to pay if you own a vehicle, isn't even the most deranged part of this piece.
This lede, which is about a fee that already exists that you are legally required to pay if you own a vehicle, isn't even the most deranged part of this piece.
This is a lot of words to say that you don't want to pay to keep the transportation system running.
mynorthwest.com/kiro-opinion...
mynorthwest.com/kiro-opinion...
Harger: WA's expired car tab crackdown is bigger, and harsher, than you’ve been told - MyNorthwest.com
An estimated 600,000 Washington drivers have expired tabs right now. It's costing the state somewhere between $25 million and $100 million a year.
mynorthwest.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:23 PM
"You know how we’ve been told for years that the transportation system is broke? The legislature found some money. Yours."
This lede, which is about a fee that already exists that you are legally required to pay if you own a vehicle, isn't even the most deranged part of this piece.
This lede, which is about a fee that already exists that you are legally required to pay if you own a vehicle, isn't even the most deranged part of this piece.
I was thinking about how bad riding caboose must have been on Dearborn and Rainier.
January 31, 2026 at 7:01 PM
I was thinking about how bad riding caboose must have been on Dearborn and Rainier.
Due to the design of Rainier Ave (especially here) which means it is a freeway instead of a 25 mph street full of pedestrians.
The difference in driver behavior here in the north Rainier Valley vs Columbia City vs Hillman City vs Rainier Beach is a consequence of design.
The difference in driver behavior here in the north Rainier Valley vs Columbia City vs Hillman City vs Rainier Beach is a consequence of design.
January 31, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Due to the design of Rainier Ave (especially here) which means it is a freeway instead of a 25 mph street full of pedestrians.
The difference in driver behavior here in the north Rainier Valley vs Columbia City vs Hillman City vs Rainier Beach is a consequence of design.
The difference in driver behavior here in the north Rainier Valley vs Columbia City vs Hillman City vs Rainier Beach is a consequence of design.
There's a WSDOT led workgroup looking into what the future of this area could be, but the timelines are unacceptably slow.
bsky.app/profile/nond...
bsky.app/profile/nond...
Two months till the Judkins Park station opens and we still have these deadly unsignalized on-ramps to cross. Project timeline to potentially fix (*if* funding is allocated)...2050.
January 31, 2026 at 6:44 PM
There's a WSDOT led workgroup looking into what the future of this area could be, but the timelines are unacceptably slow.
bsky.app/profile/nond...
bsky.app/profile/nond...
We rode to the future Judkins Park station on Rainier Ave. This area needs changes badly to make it safer for our neighbors, crossing the I90 ramps and the street here is far too dangerous due to the design.
January 31, 2026 at 6:42 PM
We rode to the future Judkins Park station on Rainier Ave. This area needs changes badly to make it safer for our neighbors, crossing the I90 ramps and the street here is far too dangerous due to the design.