This years King County Comprehensive Plan admits that congestion isnt an accident, its planned. Its the natural effect of SmartGrowth policies.

T-106 King County shall plan, design and implement a countywide and local net-work of transit services and facilities that offer mobility options for its citizens and support the land use goals of King County. 1. ALLOCATION OF TRANSIT SERVICES King Countys rapid growth and prosperity increases pressure for continued growth and development. King County has directed growth away from the rural area, increasing urban density and infill development. While the Countys policies are designed to protect rural and natural areas, these same policies strain the transportation and utilities infrastructure throughout the county.

http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/orpp/compplan/2000/X_Ch~6.pdf

zowie

-- (zowie@hotmail.com), July 03, 2000

Answers

Why SmartGrowth and TOD* arent working:

* Transit Oriented Development
Table 2 summarizes some current national trends in the size, number, variety and spatial dispersion of stores, and provides selected examples or indicators. Equally important trends are apparent in the service and recreational sectors. TABLE 2. Selected Current US Market Structure Trends with Travel Implications

Trend	Selected Indicator/Example*
Retail activity increasingly polycentric and dispersed.	Atlanta region has more than 70 retail cores, including downtowns and regional malls, with over 1000 retail employees each.a
Planned shopping centers increasing in number and share of retail market.	Number of centers (three or more stores) increased 15 % 1990-96; they accounted for 52 % of all US retail sales in 1996, excluding auto sales. b
Secondary/ancillary malls cluster with major malls, forming major retail concentrations.	Torontos large regional malls are each surrounded by about a dozen smaller malls; c Seattles largest regional malls are surrounded by strip centers containing almost as many stores and as much leasable area as each mall. d
Growing market share of "big-box" retailers (wholesale clubs, home centers, and discount and specialty stores).	Ten leading mass retailers accounted for 15 % of all US retail sales, minus auto sales, in 1996. e
Many national chains prefer freestanding sites for enhanced visibility and customer access.	In 1997, more than half of retail construction starts in US were freestanding.f
Grocery stores are growing in size and decreasing in number.	Grocery stores of all types decreased 7% in number 1990-95; conventional stores decreased 20 % while superstores increased 17 %.g
Dining out continues to be a strong feature of American eating habits.	In 1996 food away from home was 39% of personal food expenditures; in 1984 it was 26%.h
Convenience stores increasingly oriented to drive- to customer.	73 % of convenience stores sold gasoline in 1995, up from 66 % in 1990.i

http://globaltelematics.com/tod99trb.htm Its still the demographics!

the craigster

-- (craigcar@crosswinds.net), July 03, 2000.

It would seem that what you two are really talking about is the demise of the hub city and the growth of a more dispersed (sprawled, if you please) population.

I really don't see any technology coming along that'll reverse that. Telecommuting would seem to support it. It would appear that the only thing still somewhat centralized is the top echelons of medical care. With that exception, you can probably get as much of most of the things that people use in the hinterlands as in downtown Seattle.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), July 06, 2000.