Change has arrived in Maple Leaf — $1.3 million houses, traffic gridlock on arterials (Roosevelt Way Northeast, 15th Avenue Northeast, Fifth Avenue Northeast), our new park! — and the city wants to know what we and other neighborhoods think about these changes.

Examining population or job growth is one way to measure change but what about lesser-known measures like transit ridership, tree canopy cover, or academic performance?

We want to hear from you! Tell us what you think tells us the most about how your neighborhood is changing by taking our quick poll to indicate which five topics are most important to you. It’s impossible to measure how a city neighborhood changes with just one measure.

The survey suggests 21 different topics, from crime to farmers’ markets, and also has the option to write in a different topic. The link to the poll is:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SEA2035

The poll, by the city’s Department of Planning Urban Development, is tied to Seattle’s Urban Village Strategy and the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

As as it happens, our news partner The Seattle Times has an updated interactive tool: Mapping King County’s Disappearing Middle Class.

Keying off newly released data — “since 2000, 95 percent of new households in King County have been either rich or poor. A mere 5 percent could be considered middle income” – The Times has broken down new growth by census tract.

Of interest, in southwest Maple Leaf (census tract 20) 57 percent of new growth has been in high-income households. By contrast, just across Interstate 5 from Northgate (census tract 210) 100 percent of growth has been low income.

Change has arrived in Maple Leaf — $1.3 million houses, traffic gridlock on arterials (Roosevelt Way Northeast, 15th Avenue Northeast, Fifth Avenue Northeast), our new park! — and the city wants to know what we and other neighborhoods think about these changes.

Examining population or job growth is one way to measure change but what about lesser-known measures like transit ridership, tree canopy cover, or academic performance?

We want to hear from you! Tell us what you think tells us the most about how your neighborhood is changing by taking our quick poll to indicate which five topics are most important to you. It’s impossible to measure how a city neighborhood changes with just one measure.

The survey suggests 21 different topics, from crime to farmers’ markets, and also has the option to write in a different topic. The link to the poll is:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SEA2035

The poll, by the city’s Department of Planning Urban Development, is tied to Seattle’s Urban Village Strategy and the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

As as it happens, our news partner The Seattle Times has an updated interactive tool: Mapping King County’s Disappearing Middle Class.

Keying off newly released data — “since 2000, 95 percent of new households in King County have been either rich or poor. A mere 5 percent could be considered middle income” – The Times has broken down new growth by census tract.

Of interest, in southwest Maple Leaf (census tract 20) 57 percent of new growth has been in high-income households. By contrast, just across Interstate 5 from Northgate (census tract 210) 100 percent of growth has been low income.

The arrival of light rail isn’t the only thing that’s coming to Northgate in the next eight years.

The city is also in the process of developing the appropriate urban framework to support a new and improved transit center in the area, which means the chances it will affect Maple Leaf are about 100 percent.

Luckily, your opinion is sought on the draft of the so-called Northgate Urban Design Framework, but you only have until tomorrow, Sept. 30, to submit feedback. The draft plan:

• Identifies key design concepts for Northgate’s Urban Center to create a healthier, more livable, and denser mixed-use community with more houses and shopping opportunities
• Illustrates recommended street improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and transit users
• Identifies design advice for the area closest to the light rail station, where future development will add to the growing area

Goals of the plan are to: [Read more →]