No pictures, no walk report today, just a list of Seattle changes I have noticed. Last week, my walk distances totaled over 100 miles so it's time for some observations. It's easier to note what's new and present than what's missing and I've mostly only walked in Northeast Seattle but here goes.

  • Additional bike lanes
  • New curb cuts
  • More pedestrian activated crosswalk lights
  • Some additional sidewalks, especially near schools
  • Road diets resulting in fewer driving lanes and/or reduced parking; backing up traffic behind stopped buses but sometimes providing turn lanes
  • Reduced speed limits
  • Taller, more overloaded utility poles
  • Electrical vehicle charging stations
  • "Order Online"/Pickup parking spots in supermarket lots
  • Remodeled schools, libraries and fire stations (I haven't yet seen a remodeled police station)
  • Rental electric scooters (probably fewer rental bikes and less car sharing)
  • New Light Rail stations in the U District, Roosevelt and Northgate leading to expansive development around the stations and the elimination of some bus routes
  • The John Lewis Memorial Bridge
  • Northgate Mall shops mostly gone; now the home of the Kraken
  • Solar panel on houses and used to power security cameras in parking lots
  • More AirBnB's
  • Modest houses replaced by bigger houses
  • Dense multiple unit condos (many with roof decks) on formerly single family lots
  • Denser housing causing parking issues; sometimes forcing a car to back out of a narrow street when another car is coming in the opposite direction (Are one-way streets in our future?)
  • More Senior housing
  • Air conditioners in windows of older apartment buildings
  • Churches being closed and/or knocked down and, sometimes, housing going up instead
  • Fewer blackberry patches
  • Longer, hotter summers leading to leaves changing colors later
  • Amazon lockers
  • More cannabis shops and fewer used car lots along Lake City Way
  • More yoga studios and wellness-related businesses
  • The number of dentist offices seem to have multiplied
  • Group Health is now Kaiser Permanente; more medical clinics near Northgate
  • Bartell Drugs taken over by Rite Aid
  • Solo medical practices disappearing
  • Pacific Fabric at Northgate closed
  • Two QFC stores closed; Kroger trying to buy Albertson/Safeway
  • No more Bon/Macys in Seattle
  • Banks closing branches in some neighborhoods (Lake City); more ATM's, fewer tellers.
  • Dollar Tree now charging $1.25 for most items
  • More Phone stores and Thai restaurants
  • Restaurants short staffed (other industries too)
  • "We're Hiring" signs
  • More restaurant outdoor seating
  • More street murals
  • More Graffiti
  • More homelessness; camper vans; tent encampments; community center showers
  • More arts and cultural events outside the city limits
  • More eBooks and computers in libraries
  • Pickle Ball even more popular
  • More people out walking, especially during working hours
  • More people walking dogs; more people owning two dogs
  • Demographic changes
  • More school textbooks are online
  • Stamps no longer required on mail-in ballots
  • Fewer USPS Mail Boxes (I think - there weren't too many 12 years ago either)
  • Private schools seem to be flourishing
  • More sharing (Little Free Libraries, Food Pantries, Plant Sharing, Buy Nothing groups)

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