Seattle Metro
Last week the Seattle Times published an article identifying Seattle as the fastest growing big city. Seattle added nearly 18,000 new residents (a 2.8% growth from the year before) bringing Seattle's total population up to about 652,000. As the Seattle population grows, so do the cuts to the Seattle Metro transit seem all the more terrible for the city.
Seattle Times article: "Census: Seattle is the fastest-growing big city in the U.S."
The Seattle Metro (Seattle's transit system) faces a 17% cut in service. A proposed measure to stem the cuts was mailed out in April, asking Seattle voters to raise car tabs to $60, and add a tenth of a cent to the sales tax (expiring after 10 years). The measure was rejected by 55%, leaving Seattle Metro little other choice but to cut service, or find another solution. To date the city is trying to find new solutions to solve this deficit.
According to Forbes online Seattle is one the 20 fastest growing cities in the US, and according to a relatively recent study, also has Seattle listed as the 4th worst traffic in the nation. So as Seattle continues to grow, and if transit service continues to be cut, so to will the traffic problems likely worsen.
What does this mean for the working class poor, and lower middle class? To my mind, it means getting priced out of the city, and pushed further away (both geographically and monetarily) from the cultural opportunities that Seattle has to offer. With rent continuing to rise (as brand new apartment buildings demand higher rent, and surrounding rentals adjusting to remain competitive), the problem of keeping Seattle a thriving cultural hub for all will become all the more difficult.
What happens when families are forced to move out of the city, towards cheaper rent, but they can't afford the price of gas to commute into Seattle daily? What good is a city's transit service if its unable to meet the needs of its riders? With reduced transit service, how much longer will daily commutes become? And, what happens when that valuable time is taken away from families?
If I had one argument to make, it would be that every city should be obligated to provide its citizens' with the resources and infrastructure needed to create a standard for "quality of life" that isn't merely just barely surviving. What cultural value is there in a city where only the wealthiest can afford to live?
Friday night I left my Greenlake apartment to a bar called Rookies in Columbia City. I took the 16 bus downtown, and caught the light rail to Columbia City. I was heading to an after party for a local podcast (with national and international recognition) called TBTL. TBTL stands for Too Beautiful to Live, hosted Luke Burbank, and co-hosted by Andrew Walsh. I caught a 7:30ish bus, and arrived at Rookies around 9ish. No one that I would have recognized was there yet when I arrived. I sat down at the bar and nursed a drink. Shortly after, another dude sat down next to me, and chatted me up about the Seahawks and the Mariners. His introduced himself to me as Thumper.
I'm not totally sure what I should and shouldn't say about Thumper's life, but I think I'm comfortable relaying a few of the things he told me. What is to follow is an abridged account of our conversation. Thumper told me he ran away from home when he was 13. He said he attended Stanford, and then enrolled in the military. He served 8 years. He showed me the two scars where he said he was shot, by lifting up his sweatshirt, and the leg of his sweats. He was a fully engaged, and unique spirit. He was someone that I was happy to meet.
Half way through our conversation I had noticed that the hosts of TBTL, Luke Burbank and Andrew Walsh had arrived, but I stayed at the table with Thumper because our conversation wasn't done. It wasn't until I actually had to leave to catch the light rail back to downtown Seattle that I made my way over to the actual podcast after party. I talked to Andrew Walsh for a few minutes, and then also said good by to Luke Burbank.
It's funny to think that I headed to see these two people that I listen to daily, and then spent 98% of my time talking to a stranger.
