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Randito
Snarky Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008
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Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
Snarky Member
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 Wed May 04, 2016 5:43 am |
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| spamfoote wrote: | | Washington's population is going to boom. Good climate, has room to grow, abundant water, food, and jobs. Everyone is sprinting out of N. California, SanFran to Oakland area as fast as possible as well. |
I think the correct term is has been booming and will continue booming.
Western WA has seen steady and sometimes rapid employment/population growth ever since the army air corps started ordering large numbers of B-17s in the early 1940s.
There have been some notable dips -- e.g. the "Boeing Bust" in the early '70s that featured a billboard on Beacon hill reading "will the last person to leave Seattle please turn out the lights" , but for the most part growth has been pretty constant.
There are some downsides to all this growth -- but compared to the challenges facing people living in cities like Detriot -- I think these are managable problems.
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
Joined: 25 Dec 2006
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Location: Don't move here |
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
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Wed May 04, 2016 6:36 am |
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The eastside is growing also. I was shocked to see that there are so many stop lights on Hwy 2 on the Cashmere stretch. There are now THREE traffic lights in Okanogan County! 
Go back all mover inners, go back!! I think it is too late and we are destined to become Far North California. 
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Snowbrushy
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Joined: 23 Jul 2003
Posts: 6670 | TRs | Pics
Location: South Sound |
| RandyHiker wrote: | | I think these are managable problems. |
The bad traffic alone is enough to cancel out any old lifestyle benefits for outdoorsy folks to living in or around the city or any job there. A person who craves wide open spaces feels trapped by the traffic. I'd rather work at the country hardware store for a low wage.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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seattlenativemike
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Joined: 06 Oct 2012
Posts: 524 | TRs | Pics
Location: seattle |
^^ I think DOT said that we need 25 more lanes to get back to normal flow along Interstate 5. And thats not going to happen
off your meds again Slugman? 
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Snowbrushy
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Joined: 23 Jul 2003
Posts: 6670 | TRs | Pics
Location: South Sound |
Slugman, you've previously bitterly complained here about the intolerable fender benders and resulting parking lots on I-5.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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Randito
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Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9513 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
Snarky Member
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Wed May 04, 2016 8:22 am |
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| Snowbrushy wrote: | | RandyHiker wrote: | | I think these are managable problems. |
The bad traffic alone is enough to cancel out any old lifestyle benefits for outdoorsy folks to living in or around the city or any job there. A person who craves wide open spaces feels trapped by the traffic. I'd rather work at the country hardware store for a low wage. |
It's all a matter of perspective -- I had a conversation with a guy that grew up in Boston and now lives in Preston.
"Seattlites get upset when there is traffic and they can't drive 10 over on the freeway. But compared to Boston traffic, you guys have it easy"
I've been living in Harlem for a bit now and getting out of the city to the nearest hiking trail is a major production -- involves at least $12 in bridge tolls and an $8 per day parking fee once you get there.
As LA has shown, its not possible to eliminate traffic by building more freeways. Building/improving mass transit is expensive, but it keeps the city humming when it would grind to a halt otherwise. In Seattle I was last working downtown while living in Bellevue/Redmond -- the 545 and 212 buses made getting across the lake predictable and low stress -- the only challenge was if I needed to go in late -- no spots left at the park&ride after about 9:00AM
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NacMacFeegle
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Joined: 16 Jan 2014
Posts: 2653 | TRs | Pics
Location: United States |
| Slugman wrote: | | Mass influx? If you hate it so much, leave, no one will miss you. Everyone whines about others doing a hike, why not whine while looking in a mirror?
There is zero "irony" in a full parking lot. It is just full. Or maybe you think a Discover pass is a magical parking spot creating device? |
What's your problem? It's never fun to have your favorite stomping grounds overrun. 
| Spamfoote wrote: | | It could be worse. The island of Java, smaller than Washington State, in Indonesia used to have a population of around 5 million in the 1800's. It now has a population of over 145Million. S. Korea with a population of 50+ Million has an area roughly equal to Western Washington. |
Yes, but would you want to live in Java, Indonesia, or any other severely overcrowded region?
Population growth is a significant problem in Washington, but perhaps even more problematic is the way it is resulting in the outward expansion of towns and cities rather than upwards. I think that this and the lack of a more robust public transportation network is largely responsible for the ever increasingly terrible traffic experienced in the Puget Sound region. I'd like to see a moratorium on building new houses outside city boundaries, as well as big push to beef up public transportation and to build a comprehensive network of bike paths.
To deal with the problem of overcrowded trailheads I suggest that the state implement a trailhead shuttle system. Not only would this solve the parking issue, but it would also potentially make for a more secure parking location.
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
Joined: 20 Mar 2012
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Location: Seattle |
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
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Wed May 04, 2016 8:32 am |
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This is one reason I never hike these close in trails. They're boring, over crowded, and it sounds like you have to arrive at 4 am or take public transit to park in a spot that won't get you towed. I'd rather hike somewhere nice.
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Snowbrushy
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Joined: 23 Jul 2003
Posts: 6670 | TRs | Pics
Location: South Sound |
This news story locally appeared in the Seattle Times newspaper. It's about the truck parking problems in North Bend because of new city law which discourages the trucker industry in a time of great port activity.
http://www.landlinemag.com/Story.aspx?StoryID=31021#.VyobRXErIiI
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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joker
seeker
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
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Location: state of confusion |
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joker
seeker
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Wed May 04, 2016 10:25 am |
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THanks for the heads up in the OP!
| Slugman wrote: | | There is zero "irony" in a full parking lot. It is just full. Or maybe you think a Discover pass is a magical parking spot creating device? |
Best response of the thread (followed closely by Randyhiker's sharing of the perspective of a Boston transplant). Yes, we may not want it or like it, but crowds are becoming much more common, as are full parking lots. It's smart to either get going early or have a backup plan if doing a typically crowded hike or one with very limited parking. And work with appropriate agencies to try to get more parking added where it would be possible and appropriate (would Si be that much different a hike with 30% more people en route on a busy day? I don't think so...).
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hikersarenumber1
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Joined: 21 Apr 2015
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This is a major problem. There is literally no where for trucks to park and they are tightly regulated so no where to park forces them to break the law and potentially drive tired
Ellensburg isn't much better.
Truck drivers do spend money, and they are a captive to their truck so they cannot drive to the better restuarant or prices in town...
Hikers can go to a different place to recreate...
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Randito
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Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9513 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
Snarky Member
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Wed May 04, 2016 10:46 am |
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| joker wrote: | | And work with appropriate agencies to try to get more parking added where it would be possible and appropriate (would Si be that much different a hike with 30% more people en route on a busy day? I don't think so...). |
Rattlesnake Ledge is an example of a trail with a good supply of parking and on busy days the trail is so thronged that it might make sense to make separate "up" and "down" tracks.
Of course that doesn't do anything to expand the size of the ledge itself.
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Kim Brown
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Joined: 13 Jul 2009
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I don't see how this article translates to towing cars parked along the road at the Si parking lots.
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area."
Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Snowbrushy
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Joined: 23 Jul 2003
Posts: 6670 | TRs | Pics
Location: South Sound |
| Kim Brown wrote: | | I don't see how this article translates to towing cars parked along the road at the Si parking lots. |
I'm suggesting that the local area in general is getting strict about all parking.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
Oh Pilot of the storm who leaves no trace Like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place Yellow desert stream.
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hikersarenumber1
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Joined: 21 Apr 2015
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| Kim Brown wrote: | |
I don't see how this article translates to towing cars parked along the road at the Si parking lots. |
Perspective.
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