Planners should study past practices

I would like to respond to the June 15 commentary, “Building roads won’t help traffic congestion” by Dave Aldrich. Mr. Aldrich’s call for out of the box thinking is a utopian pipe dream. No government has the power to circumvent human nature. People will always make a decision based on what they individually perceive to be in their individual best interest in any given situation.

Our Puget Sound traffic problems began about 1972. The Everett Herald (Western Sun) of that time boldly touted “a new generation of genius urban planners coming out of the University of Washington.” (Check the archives.) These new planners used as their model Washington’s river systems. The idea was to channel traffic on to ever increasingly larger arterials, eventually leading to I-5 and the rest of America. All business would be zoned along these arterials for the commuters’ convenience.

Traditionally, cities are designed around square blocks with regular arterials. The idea is to disperse traffic and give travelers several alternatives. Also there were neighborhood business and community institutions within walking distance of most of the residences. Now we have five and seven lane arterials bounded by large box stores and strip malls where everyone needs to stop before or after work. Neighborhoods are a tangle of dead end cul-de-sacs and business is not permitted.

It was about this time that the educational professionals decided that high schools had to be mini-universities and required a minimum enrollment of 1,100 students to have adequate course offerings. So instead of students walking to school, we have a campus with a population greater than many small towns.

We have commute congestion because people are willing to exchange pleasant neighborhoods and lower-priced housing for travel time. Any solutions will require major changes in the state’s political climate. In less time than it takes to plan, finance and complete a mega-project, the largest generation in Washington history will retire and no longer be a part of the commute. Without a significant change in the political class, business will expand in other states. It would also be a big help if the planners would recognize that some of the old-timers have developed a lot of wisdom.

Edmonds

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