Close Relatives
This week, Seattle’s City Council voted to revive a pre-1950s fashion--they eased the restrictions on property zoning in southeast Seattle, allowing residents to rent out backyard and garage apartments, often known as “granny flats.” Before urban families began to migrate to the suburbs, urban dwellings commonly featured an accessory apartment which was often occupied by an elderly relative, hence the name.
As we’ve mentioned before, there are considerable benefits to granting property owners more choice on how they use their lots. The creation of more residential space in dense areas enriches our communities and reduces strains on the environment. Complete, compact neighborhoods can bring economic stability to local merchants, and reduce the amount of driving needed--lowering traffic-related deaths, commute headaches, and toxic emissions into the air.
Special Series
The Year of Living Car-lessly Experiment
In a Series
Car-free Vacations, the Sequel
A couple of weeks ago, Alan solicited tips on vacationing without a vehicle in the Pacific Northwest. Yesterday, CBC Radio did a story on the subject, featuring yours truly and Brian Grover, author of BC Car-Free, and invited listeners to call in.
I asked friends to submit ideas for the show. Below are excerpts. Please share yours! (As for me, I plan to vacation for several months to test-drive--so to speak--these ideas.)
From a Vancouverite: "Two years ago, we biked, took the Horseshoe Bay ferry to Nanaimo, biked up to Denman/Hornby islands, stayed at B&Bs, took the Comox ferry to Powell River, then biked back to Vancouver (a little challenging coming down from Powell River, but a great trip all round.) Another nice trip, my wife and I did on an anniversary - taking the West Coast Express (a train) from Vancouver to Mission (bikes on train) then biked to Harrison Hot Springs for the weekend, back to Mission and the train to Vancouver."
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