Seattle is one of America's most livable cities, and our streets have an important role in the livability, vitality, and character of our city. As Seattle continues to grow, we must take steps today to preserve and enhance our city's assets for future generations to enjoy. The steps we take must embody our core values of working to protect our environment, strengthening our sense of community, building a healthy economy, and ensuring that no one is left out of the process. Our state-mandated Comprehensive Plan is built on these four core values, and provides a framework for decisions as to where inevitable change will be encouraged. Seattle's Comprehensive Plan, enacted in 1994, provides a broad policy framework that reflects King County growth management policies to discourage urban sprawl, promote more efficient use of land, and protect the region's natural resources. Our Comprehensive Plan includes a strategy for focusing the city's share of future development and growth in areas that are best equipped to accommodate it - areas that have the existing zoning capacity, services and activities, and basic infrastructure in place. A principal part of this growth management strategy is to encourage the city's distinct and diverse neighbourhoods to plan for the future. In 1995 the Neighbourhood Planning Office was established to assist neighbourhoods in planning, so that they continue to be vital and livable, and maintain their special neighbourhood identity. Neighbourhood plans will provide important detail and direction to complete the vision of the Comprehensive Plan at a community level. Through neighbourhood planning, we have an unprecedented opportunity to work together as residents, businesses, and community organizations in collaboration with the City. Neighbourhood planning provides a forum to address issues of local concern while remaining consistent with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. A key aspect for consideration in any neighbourhood plan is streets. Streets are the necessary link between neighbourhoods, and also contribute to the character and quality of life in every community. This workbook is intended to help communities better understand issues, identify opportunities, and recommend changes and improvements to streets as part of the neighbourhood planning process. With the accompanying videotape, "Making Streets that Work" is only one part of the Seattle neighbourhood planning toolbox, which contains resources on many topics available for neighbourhood planning through the Neighbourhood Planning Office. This workbook has been organized to 'step" you through it, first introducing terms and concepts to help you to assess your street, and then providing a variety of tools and solutions. The workbook contains four chapters, as well as a resources section. You will find a wide array of information, including sketches and examples, to help you plan street improvements. Chapter 1, "What is a Street?", shows how each street is an element of a much larger network, and how each element of the street contributes to its quality and functions. Chapter 2, "The Right Tool for the Job", begins with a way for you to assess how well your street functions, based on several key characteristics. A list of common experiences then allows you to translate symptoms into possible solutions. Over fifty different "tools" that you and your neighbourhood may use to improve your street are also included in this chapter. Chapter 3, "Putting it All Together", moves from ideas to action - it provides information on various city departments that you may be working with as you plan and implement street improvements. Chapter 4, "Profiles", describes streets and street improvement projects that have been completed in Seattle. All projects featured in the video, and more, are described in this section. "Resources" provides more useful information about streets, including more tools, a glossary, reading list, and commonly asked traffic questions. (A)
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