Alex (guest) 19 Sep 2009 20:13
How should our neighborhood grow? What kind of neighborhood do we want to be in the future — growth is a given; how that growth happens is still to be decided.
Sound transit still owns a whole bunch of strangely shaped properties on MLK.
Eventually those properties will be developed: if recent history is any guide, probably to the cheapest use for the parcels, like drive-thru Starbucks and strip malls. These add nothing to the neighborhood, and only serve to increase drive-by traffic. The other usual option is "green spaces" that no one will use and that add no actual beauty to the community.
I think there's a huge unrealized opportunity to use those properties in some new, different, visionary way, one that actually makes the neighborhood better.
What would MLK look like if a new path was taken, and those properties were developed in ways that actually improved the neighborhood?
What if we invited some architecture and planning students to come up with a new vision for those parcels and the future of MLK? Something based on the best of what's there now (including the cultural diversity and entrepreneurial spirit), and MLKs future as a transit-oriented street, combined with the best new possibilities for small lot development?
What could Sound Transit help MLK become instead of a strip of parking lots and dying shrubs?
Thoughts?