Thank you for what you do, you and other channels don't exactly understand the levels of discussion and inspirations between people, talking about the places we actually live in. I've been inspired for my own personal projects even
If you run out of ideas.. Prescott az and Prescott valley az bought a hill called Glassford hill to turn it into a City park! The park stretches' from AZ route 89 to Prescott valley
The waterfront has so many interconnected paths and bridges that really make it a breeze to get around as a local or tourist. See the fountain, the lakefront, the museum, a concert. All connected.
I wouldn't use Chicago as a positive example of municipal fiscal responsibility. My family had to move away from Chicago when I was a teenager because the taxes were so high we couldn't afford to live there anymore. And honestly, some parts of Chicago are nice but most of it is pretty mediocre. It's cold, grey, ugly, dangerous, and just has very few opportunities. A few years back I asked my parents if moving from Chicago to Tennessee had been financially worth it. They responded that with the amount of money they saved in city and state taxes alone, they could have an extra free house with quite a bit extra by now. Tennessee has no capital gains or income tax and extremely low property tax. About the only tax you're paying in any noteable amount is sales tax, it's 7% at the state level although some cities tack on an additional 1 or 2%. The infrastructure is more reasonably sized and less ugly and better maintained, the people are more kind, the culture is much less stressful. My depression was cured within a year after we moved, although that's just my personal experience. Long story short, the people of Chicago have been suffering from over spending on non financially viable projects for decades now. Terrible example.
Went down to aquarium over the Xmas weekend. This bridge fully shows how much better the water front is without the eyesore of the viaduct years ago. I'd argue making Alaskan way a pedestrian only would still be ideal eventual bridge could still be a good connection option with how hilly that part of Seattle is.
I lived in Seattle and remember how many cried over the “tragic” loss of the viaduct. People would grow attached to a highway running through their living room if they grew up with it.
This is SUCH an improvement over the old viaduct! It takes the Seattle waterfront from a 2 to a 9. This area has been packed with pedestrians every time i have been there.
I just discovered this on a random trip to the market. I had no idea it was completed, but could not believe how much easier it was to get to the waterfront. And the bridge itself is quite pleasant to walk. Glad you are highlighting it!
Living in Seattle I can say that for me the overlook walk has had me show up to the waterfront more frequently since it opened than in the last five years combined. It’s been great to bike there, lock up, enjoy the view and grab a coffee or a bite and then head out all without much car interaction once I’m there
It’s so nice to see Seattle invest in good design. The old way of connecting the Market with the waterfront was dreadful. San Francisco’s removal of the Embarcadero Fwy was tranformative - this is, too. I’m not a planner but work for my county’s planning commission as their director of historic preservation. I LOVE your work and channel. Your students are lucky to have you in their program. Looking forward to another year of great content!!
I agree that this is much better but just wanted to say I hope you don't use historic preservation as a way to block new housing from being built. Historic preservation can get in the way of change especially if a city really needs new housing
I've grown up here in Seattle. And ever since I was a kid, I've said that walking is the best way to view the city. I know the city better than I ever could have driving, just because I've been walking
Having just moved to Seattle earlier this year, I feel so fortunate to live in a city that's prioritizing pedestrian experiences. Still so much to do to across the city, but the waterfront is a genuine joy to walk along. Now if only they'd close Pike Place Market to cars...
@@goinginzane Don't worry. They will eventually close the street to all but vehicles for merchants. Sometimes, it just takes Seattle a long time to do something that will seem so obvious.
I’ve been on the bridge. It’s really cool. But having been through Pike Place Market to find parking that same day, I was surprised that I could drive near it. It definitely could be closed to cars.
@@randalllewis4485 Pretty sure the merchants there are against that. Why it has never been implemented. As a disabled user who visits the market weekly, I would LOVE to ban most vehicles from the market (allow deliveries at certain times, disabled parking/drop-off).
I absolutely love the Overlook Walk. I've been many times, and it's my favorite people-watching spot in the city. You visited after cruise ship season, too. It opened near the end of summer, and the place was always jam-packed with locals and tourists. Crowds are a bit sparser now we're into Seattle's gloomy and short winter days, but any time the sun breaks out the number of people multiply.
Re: Why walk? - I would also argue that walking and pedestrian spaces promote active community and reduce the sense of isolation that American cities tend to otherwise promote. It starts to communicate something when you see families and people, young and old, out and about. You start to see people and people regularly. 'The coffee shop at X' starts to turn into 'my coffee shop on X'. Not only that, but with the kind of well designed and welcoming and lit spaces, these places also start to feel (and become) safer. After all, it's harder to mug someone if there's no dark spaces to isolate someone in away from other people. And all this, over time, also starts to promote communal involvement in the spaces as well - people and organizations start to want to actively do things at these places - instead of a food court serving mostly tourists and hungry lunchers, now that food court (and the businesses within it) might be rented out by an organization for a company party. While none of these things couldn't technically be done with car-based infrastructure, the challenge is that to support that physical proximity as well as headcount, you'd have to also build TONS of parking and TONS of parking related infrastructure. It becomes impractical as well as just unpleasant - why would you drive even 5 minutes, spend another 10 looking for parking, and then walk another 15 to do something like go to a park. It turns it into a chore and an 'event' and limits how spontaneous people can be.
It’s frankly one of the most beautiful sites in Seattle now and a must see place for tourists who visit Pike Place Market. Overall, I am very impressed with the waterfront which is now a beautiful place to visit.
i love linear parks that are basically designed for people to go on walks in. walking isn't just a wayt to get from point a to point b. it's also a fun activity and as nice as it is to walk along nice streets (when available, obviously) it's also really nice to have a nice long park with some greenery to have a walk in. i can never be against more pedestrian spaces.
There has been a lot of talk about "reconnecting" communities to the water with this project. That sounds (and is) great, but I think it really misses the history. These are connections to the water that never existed before. When you look at the history of Seattle the shoreline went from rocky cliffs right to industrial and commercial use before they slapped a highway down too. This whole thing isn't a reconnection, but a whole new waterfront like it never was before. I think that's pretty cool and should be pointed out. Edit: By the way, I'm pretty sure your Alaskan Way video was the first of yours I saw. We've come full circle. Nice job explaining the topography involved.
@@cmdrls212 A lot of them went to Alaska and never came back. Besides that, the logging and industrial stuff was all mostly where it still is now, from the ferry terminal and south. This area by the market and Overlook Walk is connected like it was never before.
Fellow Cal Poly Alum though I am a Civil Engineer. I want to encourage you to further pursue the topic of building extraordinary pedestrian facilities as their costs may be justified by resulting increase in activity. When I worked for the City of Santa Cruz I had a dialogue with Redding concerning the Sundial Bridge. The engineer in me thought they spent twice as much as needed just to build a Calatrava. But they told me the increased economic activity - such as increase in hotel taxes - easily justified the large cost. It was an excellent lesson though I still could not fund a signature span. Keep it up, nice work!
Congrats on your channel's anniversary! Also, good to see there are cities in the U.S. that places pedestrians as priority. My first introduction to your YT channel was about the initial plans to remove the freeway and turn it into this amazing parkway. Great job covering this over the past 8 years!
Thank you for this great story about the Overlook Walk. My son was working for Hoffman Construction, which which managed this project and was on site almost every day until his accidental death (that was not work related). It was amazing to watch this project unfold and how it was coordinated with the aquarium and other major projects occurring at the same time. It is hard to describe what the structure is like until you walk on it and sit on the amphitheater that overlooks the Puget Sound and Olympic Theater.
Yeah, this is so much better than the veeeeery basic pedestrian bridge that was there before. Removing that viaduct really did wonders for the city, it's views, and general enjoyability.
Congratulations on hitting 8 years with the channel. You've helped so many of us realize the errors city planners have made in the past and how we can rectify them today into tomorrow. Keep up the great work and happy holidays! Side note, totally agree about special walking spaces like the high line. When they connect seamlessly with their surrounding area they are wonderful and we need more of them. Though I hesitate saying we should make all abandoned railways into walking/cycling paths like a lot of places in the US have been doing. Some of those lines could be reactivated. But the concept is right!
Absolutely! So many rail lines that could have been eventually been used for transit were torn out for bike and walking trails here in the Seattle area (interurban line in the 90s and East Lake rail line recently) it is such a ridiculous waste of infrastructure!
kind of. A lot of the rails being converted to trails wouldn't go anywhere. They take you from the city to a mine or quarry. Not really usable for transit.
@daveweiss5647 The section of the Milwaukee Road, now the Cedar River trail, would have been a great place for a rail extension out to the Maple Valley area, but instead we got an 11+ mile long paved bike path to Renton. Seriously such a waste of a railbed. Even rebuilding it all the way out to Ellensburg would be great, especially for the skiers and college students at Central, but that will never happen as among other issues, Seattle would have to move its water collection point back from Landsburg all the way up to Chester Morse Lake. If only people realized how amazing it is that there is an already constructed railbed all the way through the busiest mountain pass in Washington State just laying there, even a 2+ mile long tunnel just sitting empty.
The greatest loss to the Seattle Waterfront was the discontinuance of the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar. Though some of the abandoned infrastructure remains, these recent beautification projects have been short sighted on multi modal mobility.
The views are phenomenal but the most underrated part of the bridge is how it connects what was already there. Pike Place and the Aquarium used to be two separate trips for me, but when I was first exploring the bridge I *accidentally* walked into Pike Place. The two places weren’t far apart but it was never worth the effort of crossing the street. Now if I’m going to one side I almost always see the other, and I imagine that’s the case for a lot of people too. Even if the bridge wasn’t as beautiful as it is the effect it has on the activity in the area is huge.
That's looking quite a lot like what Düsseldorf did along the Rhine (they also pushed traffic under the city like this). It's a very popular place, now. There are always people enjoying the space, and sometimes lots of them.
Congrats on 8 years! I've not been a subscriber for a long time, but I have been impacted by your videos in the short time I've been following. Thanks for your work!
I spend most of my work week at Pike Place Market and I am so incredibly proud of this! I mean, I had no hand in it, and I call Tacoma home, but I get so excited when I can direct visitors to this marvel
I went here the week after it opened, in October! I actually watched those older City Beautiful videos on the project to prepare myself for the experience. Overall, I really enjoyed it. There are things I could nitpick, but I just love having a walking bridge that is a destination in of itself, a place where people actually want to spend time.
There was another Seattle pedestrian walk that opened up recently. It looks like a wildlife bridge but for people. It has greenery added to it. But since it's winter it didn't look like much yet. I'd love to see pictures of it after the greenery has had time to grow in
Great video. The Overlook Walk feels like something that should have always been there - which I feel is s testament to the design. Historically, the double-deck Alaskan Way Viaduct had been in the way of creating such a connection. With that gone, the new connection was possible. Its nearly 100 feet of elevation difference between the Overlook Walk and Pike Place Market. The Overlook Walk breaks that journey up into interesting stages - all with great views!
The scale of Overlook Walk makes it feel like the busy street below doesn't even exist, and gives me a sense of pedestrian-first design rare in American cities.
This is the most exciting thing about Seattle for me right now. It is so fun and engaging walking on this path down and up now! It just makes me want to be down there more!
I live in Columbus. There is a developer that is turning a pedestrian bridge that started at a Parking Structure and ended at a building into something like the Highline. There eventually will be stairs down to street level. I am not sure when it will be finished. Another unusual structure that has been open less than a year is what they call the Canopy Walk. It is in Blacklick Metro Park. It allows you to walk in the tree canopy. There are about 100 steps and an elevator to reach it.
I first visited Seattle for the World's Fair in 1964 (I was just a young child at the time). Over the decades Seattle's waterfront has changed, mostly for the better. Glad to see the latest changes (and the departure of the ugly viaduct that was not an asset for the city).
I was born in 1966 and moved to Seattle in 1972, a decade after the Fair. (The Fair was in 1962.) I've never met anybody who'd been to the Fair until your comment, so it's a joy to hear from somebody who experienced it and can compare it to the amenities now.
Congratulations! I’ve been watching your videos of the Seattle waterfront from the start. In some ways your channel and the viaduct transformation have developed in parallel. Keep up the great work!
What a great piece of urbanism! A very similar project is the City to Sea Bridge in Wellington, New Zealand, which connects the city's main square with it's waterfront, spanning over a major road. It was built in the 1990's and is a wonderful pubic space in it's own right, and has become much loved by the local community. Sadly the city now wants to demolish it as it is apparently poses a risk in a major earthquake. There is much debate about whether to replace it at vast expense, or reintroduce a grade-level crossing. If you wanted to do a southern-hemisphere oriented video, looking at this and the development of Wellington's excellent waterfront in general would be really interesting!
I love the Overlook Walk, speaking as a resident within walking distance! Thanks for covering it. PS, the new freeway tunnel isn't underneath Alaskan Way except at the very south end. It slants deep under the northern parts of downtown, Belltown, and South Lake Union.
True. But its also to keep young fish out of the deeper waters. They stay near the shore and under the light. With the old sidewalk without glass tiles, they'd go swim out to the ends of the pier because it was dark under the boardwalk, and they'd be more likely to be eaten by larger predators. Because there is light coming through, they'll stay near the waterfront.
The new seawall has a stair-step design underwater. That allows salmon to swim at the top level near their preferred light, while other species travel at other levels and can't interfere with each other.
Seattle guy here. The drama that accompanied the decision to take down the viaduct was truly next level, even for us. Now that it’s nearly complete (it = new Aquarium, underground highway, the underwater seawall that prevents the city from sliding down to a watery grave at the bottom of the Sound, the new surface streets, ferry terminal, pedestrian bridges, landscaping, buried electrical lines, and more) it’s impressive. It’s like an entirely different city, sunny, people everywhere, no intensely loud highway noise flying above your head, no concrete chunks crashing down from the dilapidated death chamber in the sky that was like a 1.1 magnitude earth- hiccup away from complete structural failure. An incredible transformation.
What's going to be interesting is the slow redevelopment along Alaskan Way over the decades to come. All those buildings were designed to face away from, and block themselves off from, the waterfront because of the viaduct. As those buildings redevelop with the viaduct gone, the waterfront will only get better.
The Vessel is great at adding sheer public space, an overlook spot and an amphitheatre in a tight, not ground level plaza where the buildings loom. It could have been made cheaper, but it is beautifully made. The problems all seem to stem from treating it as an attraction with guards, fares, ACA requirements and, erm, pulling a Golden Gate in attracting the terminally sad.
Visited Seattle on a road trip back in 2018 whne they were breaking down the freeway along the pier and was anticipating what would come of it. Roll now to Nov 2024 on my next Seattle trip, had a chance to visit this new crosswalk just beside Pikes Market,. this thing is absolutely brilliant and provides such a nice way to view Pugest Sound , and so much more room to walk around the pier.
Congrats on 8 years! Great content! I've been a big critic of the Waterfront project since planning stage (surface street, design, etc.) But it is comung together very well considering its baked in faults.
I somehow missed that you have a patreon after being a subscriber for years! I remember the first video on the alaskan way highway. Just subscribed on Patreon. Happy New Year!
I'm planning to visit Seattle for the first time this summer and hopefully make it to the aquarium while I'm there. I'll have to check out the Overlook Walk, too. Looks nice.
I've only been back in Seattle once since Covid, and that was at a residence. I've driven through numerous times on round trips between Snohomish and Lewis counties.
We were there a couple of weeks ago. I loved driving the viaduct, but walking under there was not pleasant. I worked downtown for 28 years, and walked the route often. The new version is pretty great.
as a resident, its helping to restore Seattle's complete collapse downtown accelerated during the pandemic. Its astonishing how beautiful it is.. its also having an impact on the streets nearby.
My parents came down in November and it was pretty good for a couple seniors. Still might not even be the best pedestrian walkway to open in King County this year (the Redmond Technology Station is also pretty great, but being over a dozen or so highway lanes is a mark against it).
i’m really rocking with the new bridge! it’s insane to see how far the waterfront has come over my short lifetime i remember when it was the three story viaduct monstrosity
Good to see that the construction is finally done. It never entirely finished during the time I lived in Seattle. Haven't been there since earlier this year.
I have walked from the Seattle Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock to various office locations as part of my commute in downtown Seattle for the past 10 years. The transformation of the waterfront in that time has been nothing but astonishing. The noise and visual barrier of the old viaduct has slowly -- painfully slowly -- been transformed into a pleasant urban setting. Since the opening of the Overlook Walk I often walk a few blocks out of my way to take that route rather than more direct routes along 3rd, 4th, or 5th. Downtown still has many challenges due to the interrelated problems of high retail vacancy rates, homelessness, crime, drugs, etc, but the trend seems to be moving in a positive direction.
I used to work on Pier 66 on Seattle's waterfront in the 1990's and now I barely recognize the place. But this pedestrian bridge doesn't surprise me. In years past, Seattle has done some pretty creative freeway caps as park space and included water features in some. And I was always impressed with the little waterfall park that UPS created in the shell of the building where they were founded near Pioneer Square.
This place was full of people the day after it opened. It was a great experience walking through this new piece of pedestrian infrastructure. Great job Seattle!
Have you heard of the 606 in Chicago? Seems like you'd be interested from the mentions in this video. Elevated rail turned park. Best part is it's in the middle of the city. Congrats on your journey
am i crazy or does $70 million seem incredibly cheap for this? Its only been up for two months and I've been there 10 times. I've literally made 4 trips downtown (on light rail from the new Shoreline North station) for the sole purpose of visiting the overlook. The first two just to visit the overlook, once to go to the new aquarium building inside the overlook walk, and once to get drinks at one of the h it? Its only been up for two months and I've been there 10 times. Once the bike lane is finished and Victor Steinbruek park is released from its chainlink prison, everything from Pike Place to the waterfront will be amazing
I live near Alderwood Mall and was thinking about doing this. Doesn’t light rail drop you off east of I5? How did you get to the waterfront from there?
As an urban design student in Seattle, I do appreciate the connection between the PPM and the waterfront via a bridge but my critique is from the use of so much concrete that could be heat reflective in summer and because of the rainy city nature, I thought there would be more overhead protection. Also, looking around the the historic and iconic peers there a lot of wood used in their designs, taking inspo from the history of the city. I would’ve liked to see more of that incorporated.
Seeing as how you love to record your walking adventures in walkable places, you should upload the full videos of you walking! People love to watch walking tours.
First visit to your channel: I’d like to see tree and flower planters to add some green and shade and break up the vast expanse of open concrete. Perhaps some small performance areas for street performers and buskers as well as small designated spots for coffee wagons and street vendors.
@CityBeautiful If I’m understand correctly, construction is still in progress and eventually the Alaskan Way traffic lanes will be reduced to just 2 lanes, one in each directions, to reduce speeding and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. So, people eventually will get closer to the building. 😃
Vessel seems more like a huge art piece that you can walk within rather than what I'd think of as a walking space. From that lens, I'd want to visit and explore it, even if the price tag sounds outlandish. I've marked both the Seattle waterfront area and Vessel on my map for future visits to each location. :)
absolute improvement from the viaduct days, but i'm still a little wary of just how...cementy it all feels. there's a lack of shade, a lot of big huge flat grey areas. hopefully some of the green features will grow in/be finished in the last few steps here. bit tough to express exactly what i mean. optimistic about seeing the truly final product & how it looks in full use.
lol was literally there last night. I live here in downtown but didn’t even know what it was until I saw it last night open. Good video. Seattle is not transit friendly IMO but it’s better than some other places. But after living here for two years, I can tell you it can take 2 hours to go 6 miles because most of the bus lines only run north to south, as does the train. Meaning the rest of the city is unreachable except by multiple bus changes and tiny streets. It’s frustrating, so my fiancée and I are living in downtown right now (😢) and just try to walk everywhere. But for those with disabilities, it’s much harder to get around. Glad this got some attention, but this money could have been used to fix the terrible bus services we struggle with.
I see a lot of this in places like China and Tokyo. I love the idea of Tiered cities and layers of roads and pedestrian walkways. I want to see more of this built in the US. its like why Pedestrian skybridges in places like Minneapolis or The Tunnels in Houston.
I'd say it's the best in North America, but the Winter Garden of Edmonton's Rogers Place might be considered, and Japan has a lot of Japanishly nice stuff like this too.
I went to it recently and felt like it's kinda unnecessarily large compared to just a path between like place and the Ferris wheel / waterfront. But it does look very cool and as a tourist rather than a native I would probably love the experience of exploring down it and wandering into the waterfront.
One of the big downsides with losing the viaduct was losing the great views we got from it, particularly in the evening. Maybe it marred views, but it also provided them for all the traffic on 99, particularly going northbound at sunset. For me, of the main upsides of this project is that it recreates that same great view we got from the viaduct.
It’s definitely an improvement for Seattle’s waterfront, but my one complaint is there is not nearly enough green space, if any at all. The beauty of the high line in NYC is it combines walkability AND green space.
Just went over to the 72nd floor of the Columbia Observatory yesterday (the elevator ride is less than a minute which is nuts) and plotted out my walking route it was like irl Google maps. Alaskan way is still way to big and to fast but damn is it so nice be down on the water front with a seperated walking path and soon to be seperated bike lane. I love this city
I was disappointed when i first discovered it was not a fish ladder for the aquariums but i got over it the first couple of times i used it. It makes walking from pioneer Square where instay on Alaska way more scenic and safe to get up into the market tonplay pinball or go.
Great video. It'd be really interesting to watch a video about the most walkable cities in the US and what is the best city to move into to be able to walk everyday through greenery or parks-not along roads with cars.
Thanks again for 8 years! Appreciate your viewership!
Also, what happened with the card game you playtested?
Thank YOU!
Thank you for what you do, you and other channels don't exactly understand the levels of discussion and inspirations between people, talking about the places we actually live in. I've been inspired for my own personal projects even
If you run out of ideas.. Prescott az and Prescott valley az bought a hill called Glassford hill to turn it into a City park! The park stretches' from AZ route 89 to Prescott valley
Thank you for your great and informational content! 😊
Chicagos millennium park was hundreds of millions and opened years late. But the effect has generated so much economic activity no one even remembers.
It might be my favorite open public space in the entire country, honestly.
The waterfront has so many interconnected paths and bridges that really make it a breeze to get around as a local or tourist. See the fountain, the lakefront, the museum, a concert. All connected.
Some people do remember. It is part of the budget issue that cost us our parking
Trueeeeee
Too bad Grant Park right next door is meh and is not much more than a glorified fair ground/concert venue. It could really use some work
I wouldn't use Chicago as a positive example of municipal fiscal responsibility. My family had to move away from Chicago when I was a teenager because the taxes were so high we couldn't afford to live there anymore. And honestly, some parts of Chicago are nice but most of it is pretty mediocre. It's cold, grey, ugly, dangerous, and just has very few opportunities.
A few years back I asked my parents if moving from Chicago to Tennessee had been financially worth it. They responded that with the amount of money they saved in city and state taxes alone, they could have an extra free house with quite a bit extra by now. Tennessee has no capital gains or income tax and extremely low property tax. About the only tax you're paying in any noteable amount is sales tax, it's 7% at the state level although some cities tack on an additional 1 or 2%. The infrastructure is more reasonably sized and less ugly and better maintained, the people are more kind, the culture is much less stressful. My depression was cured within a year after we moved, although that's just my personal experience.
Long story short, the people of Chicago have been suffering from over spending on non financially viable projects for decades now. Terrible example.
Went down to aquarium over the Xmas weekend. This bridge fully shows how much better the water front is without the eyesore of the viaduct years ago. I'd argue making Alaskan way a pedestrian only would still be ideal eventual bridge could still be a good connection option with how hilly that part of Seattle is.
I lived in Seattle and remember how many cried over the “tragic” loss of the viaduct. People would grow attached to a highway running through their living room if they grew up with it.
This is SUCH an improvement over the old viaduct! It takes the Seattle waterfront from a 2 to a 9. This area has been packed with pedestrians every time i have been there.
Please, open your eyes. If you don't come armed, don't go to downtown Seattle's cease pool.
@@michaeladams2959 lmfao every big city has homeless people
@@michaeladams2959 you sound mentally ill
@@michaeladams2959Hahaha. Yes, it’s best if you stay home and stay safe.
Most of us sit at a desk for 8-9 hrs a day. So encouraging walking, rolling and biking is absolutely crucial! And makes cities more beautiful
most?
I just discovered this on a random trip to the market. I had no idea it was completed, but could not believe how much easier it was to get to the waterfront. And the bridge itself is quite pleasant to walk. Glad you are highlighting it!
Living in Seattle I can say that for me the overlook walk has had me show up to the waterfront more frequently since it opened than in the last five years combined. It’s been great to bike there, lock up, enjoy the view and grab a coffee or a bite and then head out all without much car interaction once I’m there
It’s so nice to see Seattle invest in good design. The old way of connecting the Market with the waterfront was dreadful. San Francisco’s removal of the Embarcadero Fwy was tranformative - this is, too. I’m not a planner but work for my county’s planning commission as their director of historic preservation. I LOVE your work and channel. Your students are lucky to have you in their program. Looking forward to another year of great content!!
I agree that this is much better but just wanted to say I hope you don't use historic preservation as a way to block new housing from being built. Historic preservation can get in the way of change especially if a city really needs new housing
I've grown up here in Seattle. And ever since I was a kid, I've said that walking is the best way to view the city. I know the city better than I ever could have driving, just because I've been walking
As a Seattle native too I love the addition to the city. Real Seattleites unite!
Having just moved to Seattle earlier this year, I feel so fortunate to live in a city that's prioritizing pedestrian experiences. Still so much to do to across the city, but the waterfront is a genuine joy to walk along.
Now if only they'd close Pike Place Market to cars...
Seriously! Was shocked that a busy place like that had car traffic when I visited. So dangerous and detracting from the experience!
@@goinginzane Don't worry. They will eventually close the street to all but vehicles for merchants. Sometimes, it just takes Seattle a long time to do something that will seem so obvious.
I’ve been on the bridge. It’s really cool.
But having been through Pike Place Market to find parking that same day, I was surprised that I could drive near it.
It definitely could be closed to cars.
I just walk down the middle of the street. The cars can wait.
@@randalllewis4485 Pretty sure the merchants there are against that. Why it has never been implemented. As a disabled user who visits the market weekly, I would LOVE to ban most vehicles from the market (allow deliveries at certain times, disabled parking/drop-off).
I absolutely love the Overlook Walk. I've been many times, and it's my favorite people-watching spot in the city. You visited after cruise ship season, too. It opened near the end of summer, and the place was always jam-packed with locals and tourists. Crowds are a bit sparser now we're into Seattle's gloomy and short winter days, but any time the sun breaks out the number of people multiply.
Re: Why walk? - I would also argue that walking and pedestrian spaces promote active community and reduce the sense of isolation that American cities tend to otherwise promote. It starts to communicate something when you see families and people, young and old, out and about. You start to see people and people regularly. 'The coffee shop at X' starts to turn into 'my coffee shop on X'. Not only that, but with the kind of well designed and welcoming and lit spaces, these places also start to feel (and become) safer. After all, it's harder to mug someone if there's no dark spaces to isolate someone in away from other people. And all this, over time, also starts to promote communal involvement in the spaces as well - people and organizations start to want to actively do things at these places - instead of a food court serving mostly tourists and hungry lunchers, now that food court (and the businesses within it) might be rented out by an organization for a company party.
While none of these things couldn't technically be done with car-based infrastructure, the challenge is that to support that physical proximity as well as headcount, you'd have to also build TONS of parking and TONS of parking related infrastructure. It becomes impractical as well as just unpleasant - why would you drive even 5 minutes, spend another 10 looking for parking, and then walk another 15 to do something like go to a park. It turns it into a chore and an 'event' and limits how spontaneous people can be.
Creating third places.
It’s frankly one of the most beautiful sites in Seattle now and a must see place for tourists who visit Pike Place Market. Overall, I am very impressed with the waterfront which is now a beautiful place to visit.
i love linear parks that are basically designed for people to go on walks in. walking isn't just a wayt to get from point a to point b. it's also a fun activity and as nice as it is to walk along nice streets (when available, obviously) it's also really nice to have a nice long park with some greenery to have a walk in. i can never be against more pedestrian spaces.
Vancouver's seawall around Stanley Park is amazing for this. There's even a great beach halfway around.
There has been a lot of talk about "reconnecting" communities to the water with this project. That sounds (and is) great, but I think it really misses the history. These are connections to the water that never existed before. When you look at the history of Seattle the shoreline went from rocky cliffs right to industrial and commercial use before they slapped a highway down too. This whole thing isn't a reconnection, but a whole new waterfront like it never was before. I think that's pretty cool and should be pointed out.
Edit: By the way, I'm pretty sure your Alaskan Way video was the first of yours I saw. We've come full circle. Nice job explaining the topography involved.
And the industrial uses meant workers going to work and then back home. so reconnecting is appropriate
@@cmdrls212 A lot of them went to Alaska and never came back. Besides that, the logging and industrial stuff was all mostly where it still is now, from the ferry terminal and south. This area by the market and Overlook Walk is connected like it was never before.
Fellow Cal Poly Alum though I am a Civil Engineer. I want to encourage you to further pursue the topic of building extraordinary pedestrian facilities as their costs may be justified by resulting increase in activity. When I worked for the City of Santa Cruz I had a dialogue with Redding concerning the Sundial Bridge. The engineer in me thought they spent twice as much as needed just to build a Calatrava. But they told me the increased economic activity - such as increase in hotel taxes - easily justified the large cost. It was an excellent lesson though I still could not fund a signature span. Keep it up, nice work!
Congrats on your channel's anniversary! Also, good to see there are cities in the U.S. that places pedestrians as priority. My first introduction to your YT channel was about the initial plans to remove the freeway and turn it into this amazing parkway. Great job covering this over the past 8 years!
Thank you for this great story about the Overlook Walk. My son was working for Hoffman Construction, which which managed this project and was on site almost every day until his accidental death (that was not work related). It was amazing to watch this project unfold and how it was coordinated with the aquarium and other major projects occurring at the same time. It is hard to describe what the structure is like until you walk on it and sit on the amphitheater that overlooks the Puget Sound and Olympic Theater.
Yeah, this is so much better than the veeeeery basic pedestrian bridge that was there before. Removing that viaduct really did wonders for the city, it's views, and general enjoyability.
Congratulations on hitting 8 years with the channel. You've helped so many of us realize the errors city planners have made in the past and how we can rectify them today into tomorrow. Keep up the great work and happy holidays!
Side note, totally agree about special walking spaces like the high line. When they connect seamlessly with their surrounding area they are wonderful and we need more of them. Though I hesitate saying we should make all abandoned railways into walking/cycling paths like a lot of places in the US have been doing. Some of those lines could be reactivated. But the concept is right!
5:50 Rails and trails not rails TO trails
Absolutely! So many rail lines that could have been eventually been used for transit were torn out for bike and walking trails here in the Seattle area (interurban line in the 90s and East Lake rail line recently) it is such a ridiculous waste of infrastructure!
Fair!
@@CityBeautiful thanks for acknowledging and congrats for 8 years, you are making a tangible impact on the world
kind of. A lot of the rails being converted to trails wouldn't go anywhere. They take you from the city to a mine or quarry. Not really usable for transit.
@daveweiss5647 The section of the Milwaukee Road, now the Cedar River trail, would have been a great place for a rail extension out to the Maple Valley area, but instead we got an 11+ mile long paved bike path to Renton. Seriously such a waste of a railbed. Even rebuilding it all the way out to Ellensburg would be great, especially for the skiers and college students at Central, but that will never happen as among other issues, Seattle would have to move its water collection point back from Landsburg all the way up to Chester Morse Lake. If only people realized how amazing it is that there is an already constructed railbed all the way through the busiest mountain pass in Washington State just laying there, even a 2+ mile long tunnel just sitting empty.
The greatest loss to the Seattle Waterfront was the discontinuance of the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar. Though some of the abandoned infrastructure remains, these recent beautification projects have been short sighted on multi modal mobility.
The views are phenomenal but the most underrated part of the bridge is how it connects what was already there. Pike Place and the Aquarium used to be two separate trips for me, but when I was first exploring the bridge I *accidentally* walked into Pike Place. The two places weren’t far apart but it was never worth the effort of crossing the street. Now if I’m going to one side I almost always see the other, and I imagine that’s the case for a lot of people too. Even if the bridge wasn’t as beautiful as it is the effect it has on the activity in the area is huge.
That's looking quite a lot like what Düsseldorf did along the Rhine (they also pushed traffic under the city like this). It's a very popular place, now. There are always people enjoying the space, and sometimes lots of them.
Congrats on 8 years! I've not been a subscriber for a long time, but I have been impacted by your videos in the short time I've been following. Thanks for your work!
I spend most of my work week at Pike Place Market and I am so incredibly proud of this! I mean, I had no hand in it, and I call Tacoma home, but I get so excited when I can direct visitors to this marvel
Congratulations Dave! Definitely the best urban planning channel on UA-cam!
I went here the week after it opened, in October! I actually watched those older City Beautiful videos on the project to prepare myself for the experience. Overall, I really enjoyed it. There are things I could nitpick, but I just love having a walking bridge that is a destination in of itself, a place where people actually want to spend time.
Thank YOU for 8 years. Hope you have many more. One of my favorite channels.
There was another Seattle pedestrian walk that opened up recently. It looks like a wildlife bridge but for people. It has greenery added to it. But since it's winter it didn't look like much yet. I'd love to see pictures of it after the greenery has had time to grow in
Is that at Montlake?
@EricaGamet yes the Mountlake lid, I saw another urban UA-cam channel feature it
Great video. The Overlook Walk feels like something that should have always been there - which I feel is s testament to the design. Historically, the double-deck Alaskan Way Viaduct had been in the way of creating such a connection. With that gone, the new connection was possible. Its nearly 100 feet of elevation difference between the Overlook Walk and Pike Place Market. The Overlook Walk breaks that journey up into interesting stages - all with great views!
The scale of Overlook Walk makes it feel like the busy street below doesn't even exist, and gives me a sense of pedestrian-first design rare in American cities.
This is the most exciting thing about Seattle for me right now. It is so fun and engaging walking on this path down and up now! It just makes me want to be down there more!
I live in Columbus. There is a developer that is turning a pedestrian bridge that started at a Parking Structure and ended at a building into something like the Highline. There eventually will be stairs down to street level. I am not sure when it will be finished. Another unusual structure that has been open less than a year is what they call the Canopy Walk. It is in Blacklick Metro Park. It allows you to walk in the tree canopy. There are about 100 steps and an elevator to reach it.
I first visited Seattle for the World's Fair in 1964 (I was just a young child at the time). Over the decades Seattle's waterfront has changed, mostly for the better. Glad to see the latest changes (and the departure of the ugly viaduct that was not an asset for the city).
That’s awesome
I was born in 1966 and moved to Seattle in 1972, a decade after the Fair. (The Fair was in 1962.) I've never met anybody who'd been to the Fair until your comment, so it's a joy to hear from somebody who experienced it and can compare it to the amenities now.
Congratulations! I’ve been watching your videos of the Seattle waterfront from the start. In some ways your channel and the viaduct transformation have developed in parallel. Keep up the great work!
Congratulations on the anniversary! And thank you for covering our beautiful city.
What a great piece of urbanism! A very similar project is the City to Sea Bridge in Wellington, New Zealand, which connects the city's main square with it's waterfront, spanning over a major road. It was built in the 1990's and is a wonderful pubic space in it's own right, and has become much loved by the local community. Sadly the city now wants to demolish it as it is apparently poses a risk in a major earthquake. There is much debate about whether to replace it at vast expense, or reintroduce a grade-level crossing. If you wanted to do a southern-hemisphere oriented video, looking at this and the development of Wellington's excellent waterfront in general would be really interesting!
I love the Overlook Walk, speaking as a resident within walking distance! Thanks for covering it.
PS, the new freeway tunnel isn't underneath Alaskan Way except at the very south end. It slants deep under the northern parts of downtown, Belltown, and South Lake Union.
Given how expensive similar infrastructure can be 70 million is a relatively decent pricetag for the results, especially within a 2 year timeframe.
I was going to say something similar. You can get a lot less for 70 mil these days!
The glass tiles on the boardwalk isn't just a ascetic choice, it allows light to reach down and allow life to florish along the seawall below.
True. But its also to keep young fish out of the deeper waters. They stay near the shore and under the light. With the old sidewalk without glass tiles, they'd go swim out to the ends of the pier because it was dark under the boardwalk, and they'd be more likely to be eaten by larger predators. Because there is light coming through, they'll stay near the waterfront.
The new seawall has a stair-step design underwater. That allows salmon to swim at the top level near their preferred light, while other species travel at other levels and can't interfere with each other.
Seattle guy here. The drama that accompanied the decision to take down the viaduct was truly next level, even for us. Now that it’s nearly complete (it = new Aquarium, underground highway, the underwater seawall that prevents the city from sliding down to a watery grave at the bottom of the Sound, the new surface streets, ferry terminal, pedestrian bridges, landscaping, buried electrical lines, and more) it’s impressive. It’s like an entirely different city, sunny, people everywhere, no intensely loud highway noise flying above your head, no concrete chunks crashing down from the dilapidated death chamber in the sky that was like a 1.1 magnitude earth- hiccup away from complete structural failure. An incredible transformation.
The Bi-directional cycle track is unbelievable! 😮😮😮
Where?
@mikekelly7340 3 min 23 second mark
It's a game changer for the pedestrian experience in Seattle.
What's going to be interesting is the slow redevelopment along Alaskan Way over the decades to come. All those buildings were designed to face away from, and block themselves off from, the waterfront because of the viaduct. As those buildings redevelop with the viaduct gone, the waterfront will only get better.
Love the Seattle content!
Congradulaitions on 8 years of fantastic videos. Thank you for doing this.
The Vessel is great at adding sheer public space, an overlook spot and an amphitheatre in a tight, not ground level plaza where the buildings loom. It could have been made cheaper, but it is beautifully made. The problems all seem to stem from treating it as an attraction with guards, fares, ACA requirements and, erm, pulling a Golden Gate in attracting the terminally sad.
Visited Seattle on a road trip back in 2018 whne they were breaking down the freeway along the pier and was anticipating what would come of it. Roll now to Nov 2024 on my next Seattle trip, had a chance to visit this new crosswalk just beside Pikes Market,. this thing is absolutely brilliant and provides such a nice way to view Pugest Sound , and so much more room to walk around the pier.
Congrats on 8 years! Great content! I've been a big critic of the Waterfront project since planning stage (surface street, design, etc.) But it is comung together very well considering its baked in faults.
I somehow missed that you have a patreon after being a subscriber for years! I remember the first video on the alaskan way highway. Just subscribed on Patreon. Happy New Year!
Greetings from Lviv, Ukraine! Congrats with the anniversary of the channel! I really appreciate what You are doing here🎉
I'm planning to visit Seattle for the first time this summer and hopefully make it to the aquarium while I'm there. I'll have to check out the Overlook Walk, too. Looks nice.
I visited when it was just about finished, and I could already tell that it was going to be transformative. Great to hear that is indeed the case!
I've only been back in Seattle once since Covid, and that was at a residence. I've driven through numerous times on round trips between Snohomish and Lewis counties.
Congratulations on 8 years from Seattle!
The firm that designed the Highline also designed Seattle’s new waterfront - James Corner Field Operations.
Perfect video for what I was looking for I was just trying to research what it all looks like thank you so much
We were there a couple of weeks ago. I loved driving the viaduct, but walking under there was not pleasant. I worked downtown for 28 years, and walked the route often. The new version is pretty great.
as a resident, its helping to restore Seattle's complete collapse downtown accelerated during the pandemic. Its astonishing how beautiful it is.. its also having an impact on the streets nearby.
We were there at the beginning of December because we going to Vancouver and it was so nice and made it so much easier to get to the waterfront.
Have you seen the city across the lake Bellevue's Grand Connection is being built to a similar scope to this over 405?
My parents came down in November and it was pretty good for a couple seniors. Still might not even be the best pedestrian walkway to open in King County this year (the Redmond Technology Station is also pretty great, but being over a dozen or so highway lanes is a mark against it).
i’m really rocking with the new bridge! it’s insane to see how far the waterfront has come over my short lifetime i remember when it was the three story viaduct monstrosity
Good to see that the construction is finally done. It never entirely finished during the time I lived in Seattle. Haven't been there since earlier this year.
I have walked from the Seattle Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock to various office locations as part of my commute in downtown Seattle for the past 10 years. The transformation of the waterfront in that time has been nothing but astonishing. The noise and visual barrier of the old viaduct has slowly -- painfully slowly -- been transformed into a pleasant urban setting. Since the opening of the Overlook Walk I often walk a few blocks out of my way to take that route rather than more direct routes along 3rd, 4th, or 5th. Downtown still has many challenges due to the interrelated problems of high retail vacancy rates, homelessness, crime, drugs, etc, but the trend seems to be moving in a positive direction.
I used to work on Pier 66 on Seattle's waterfront in the 1990's and now I barely recognize the place. But this pedestrian bridge doesn't surprise me. In years past, Seattle has done some pretty creative freeway caps as park space and included water features in some. And I was always impressed with the little waterfall park that UPS created in the shell of the building where they were founded near Pioneer Square.
By US standards, 2y and $70M is a pretty good deal.
This place was full of people the day after it opened. It was a great experience walking through this new piece of pedestrian infrastructure. Great job Seattle!
great work, Dave!
Have you heard of the 606 in Chicago? Seems like you'd be interested from the mentions in this video. Elevated rail turned park. Best part is it's in the middle of the city. Congrats on your journey
It was such a pleasant experience to walk around. Hope that other people get to see and enjoy all of the fun :)
am i crazy or does $70 million seem incredibly cheap for this? Its only been up for two months and I've been there 10 times. I've literally made 4 trips downtown (on light rail from the new Shoreline North station) for the sole purpose of visiting the overlook. The first two just to visit the overlook, once to go to the new aquarium building inside the overlook walk, and once to get drinks at one of the h it? Its only been up for two months and I've been there 10 times. Once the bike lane is finished and Victor Steinbruek park is released from its chainlink prison, everything from Pike Place to the waterfront will be amazing
I live near Alderwood Mall and was thinking about doing this. Doesn’t light rail drop you off east of I5? How did you get to the waterfront from there?
I love that you have a St. John’s Bridge pic on your wall ☺️🌲☔️
Happy 8 years, and what a cool sight to celebrate them with!
So that is what they were working on when I was in Seattle a few years ago. They needed a better way to connect the market level with the water. Nice.
As an urban design student in Seattle, I do appreciate the connection between the PPM and the waterfront via a bridge but my critique is from the use of so much concrete that could be heat reflective in summer and because of the rainy city nature, I thought there would be more overhead protection. Also, looking around the the historic and iconic peers there a lot of wood used in their designs, taking inspo from the history of the city. I would’ve liked to see more of that incorporated.
Congratulations on 8 years!
Seeing as how you love to record your walking adventures in walkable places, you should upload the full videos of you walking! People love to watch walking tours.
First visit to your channel: I’d like to see tree and flower planters to add some green and shade and break up the vast expanse of open concrete. Perhaps some small performance areas for street performers and buskers as well as small designated spots for coffee wagons and street vendors.
@CityBeautiful If I’m understand correctly, construction is still in progress and eventually the Alaskan Way traffic lanes will be reduced to just 2 lanes, one in each directions, to reduce speeding and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. So, people eventually will get closer to the building. 😃
Vessel seems more like a huge art piece that you can walk within rather than what I'd think of as a walking space. From that lens, I'd want to visit and explore it, even if the price tag sounds outlandish.
I've marked both the Seattle waterfront area and Vessel on my map for future visits to each location. :)
absolute improvement from the viaduct days, but i'm still a little wary of just how...cementy it all feels. there's a lack of shade, a lot of big huge flat grey areas. hopefully some of the green features will grow in/be finished in the last few steps here. bit tough to express exactly what i mean. optimistic about seeing the truly final product & how it looks in full use.
Totally worth it. Good riddance viaduct, welcome waterfront.
lol was literally there last night. I live here in downtown but didn’t even know what it was until I saw it last night open. Good video. Seattle is not transit friendly IMO but it’s better than some other places. But after living here for two years, I can tell you it can take 2 hours to go 6 miles because most of the bus lines only run north to south, as does the train. Meaning the rest of the city is unreachable except by multiple bus changes and tiny streets. It’s frustrating, so my fiancée and I are living in downtown right now (😢) and just try to walk everywhere. But for those with disabilities, it’s much harder to get around. Glad this got some attention, but this money could have been used to fix the terrible bus services we struggle with.
It cost 1.2 billion to replace the Alaska Viaduct with a tunnel.
The waterfront area and proximity to the market and public piers is very similar to FDR Drive in NYC, which is close to the Highline path.
waterfront is so valuable yet many cities stuff it with car traffic :/
hopefully we'll see more pedestrianized places like this one
I see a lot of this in places like China and Tokyo. I love the idea of Tiered cities and layers of roads and pedestrian walkways. I want to see more of this built in the US. its like why Pedestrian skybridges in places like Minneapolis or The Tunnels in Houston.
I'd say it's the best in North America, but the Winter Garden of Edmonton's Rogers Place might be considered, and Japan has a lot of Japanishly nice stuff like this too.
I miss old seattle. That being said, i do enjoy the upgrade. Its just hard to figure out where i am anymore when i go downtown.😅
I went to it recently and felt like it's kinda unnecessarily large compared to just a path between like place and the Ferris wheel / waterfront. But it does look very cool and as a tourist rather than a native I would probably love the experience of exploring down it and wandering into the waterfront.
Looks like we traded places! I'm down in SLO. I still think you should do a video about the pedestrianization of Monterey St outside the Mission.
Happy 8th anniversary!!!! 🎉
One of the big downsides with losing the viaduct was losing the great views we got from it, particularly in the evening. Maybe it marred views, but it also provided them for all the traffic on 99, particularly going northbound at sunset. For me, of the main upsides of this project is that it recreates that same great view we got from the viaduct.
I wonder if the Vesile would be better off if instead of steps there were ramps it seems ramps would be a little easier to walk?
It’s definitely an improvement for Seattle’s waterfront, but my one complaint is there is not nearly enough green space, if any at all. The beauty of the high line in NYC is it combines walkability AND green space.
Happy years I’ve been watching since I was 13 im now 20
Just went over to the 72nd floor of the Columbia Observatory yesterday (the elevator ride is less than a minute which is nuts) and plotted out my walking route it was like irl Google maps. Alaskan way is still way to big and to fast but damn is it so nice be down on the water front with a seperated walking path and soon to be seperated bike lane. I love this city
I was disappointed when i first discovered it was not a fish ladder for the aquariums but i got over it the first couple of times i used it. It makes walking from pioneer Square where instay on Alaska way more scenic and safe to get up into the market tonplay pinball or go.
*I stay
** I live,
*** go shopping
Where would the fish swim to?
Great video. It'd be really interesting to watch a video about the most walkable cities in the US and what is the best city to move into to be able to walk everyday through greenery or parks-not along roads with cars.