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Gordon Padelford

@gordonofseattle.bsky.social

3.7K followers 1.4K following 1.7K posts

I share about walking, biking, great cities, & progressive politics. I work for @sngreenways.bsky.social (Seattle's walking, biking, and streets for people nonprofit), but these are my personal opinions.

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · Nov 22

👋🏻 new followers. I’m Gordon and my day job is Executive Director of Seattle’s walking and biking nonprofit @sngreenways.bsky.social. Most of my content is specific to Seattle, and mostly about street infrastructure.

Hing Hay park in the Chinatown International District

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Reposted by Gordon Padelford

The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 22h

NEW // Lake Washington Boulevard Safety Upgrades Fully Designed Before Mayor Pulled Plug

By Ryan Packer

via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/10/07/l...

Lake Washington Boulevard Safety Upgrades Fully Designed Before Mayor Pulled Plug » The Urbanist

# A major intersection redesign near Seward Park was ready to go to construction with a Mayor's Office review the only impediment, records show. The exchanges reveal what was happening behind the scen...

www.theurbanist.org

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Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 21h

The scenes out of Chicago should outrage us all. These federal agents are out of control, committing senseless acts of violence & putting everyone at risk.

American citizens are being detained & brutalized.

This kind of immigration "enforcement" shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.

Immigration agents become increasingly aggressive in Chicago

Activists, residents and elected leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest cit...

www.pbs.org

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 1d

And now it's burning the gorgeous Bean Creek basin to the ground 💔

looking down at treed valley with mountains in the background

on the trail looking up bean creek basin

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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 1d

Electric bicycles, and shared electric bicycles in particular, are a revolutionary transportation technology. Forward-looking cities should be building out the infrastructure necessary to make cycling safe and convenient for everyone who wants to do it.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

i recently got a great deal on a barely used folding ebike and i have to say it has revolutionized my train travel. i can get from my front door to the amtrak station in a little less than 5 minutes!!!

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Peter Cheung @bostonaruban.bsky.social · 2d

Protected Bike Lanes benefits people of all ages.

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 1d

It's odd that the @thestranger.com didn't talk about how Mayor Harrell's budget includes a new $2.7 line item to crack down on street vending? It would have fit perfectly with this piece?

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 13d

Finally Seattle's budget invests tackling our biggest transportation issue: too many agua fresca and mango vendors on our street corners

sweet corn and agua fresca on alaskan way

fresh fruit on Beacon Hill in a curb bulb

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 1d

Street food is part of what makes great streets and cities! Great to see King County trying to be collaborative rather than punitive to help keep the public safe and creating a thriving street food culture. But... 1/2

The Stranger @thestranger.com · 4d

In our Food Issue, @mudede.bsky.social writes about Seattle's street-food scene, and talks to local vendors about some of the hurdles they face as authorities shut down more unpermitted food vendors every year.⁠

Big City, Big Street Food

Seattle is growing. We are becoming big. And with a big city, comes big, delicious food tents.

www.thestranger.com

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Reposted by Gordon Padelford

Seattle Department of Transportation @seattledot.bsky.social · 1d

Apologies for the delay! We're back: sdotblog.seattle.gov/2025/10/06/t...

Bring Trick-or-Streets to Your Block – Apply by October 20 - SDOT Blog

A Trick-or-Streets event is a wonderful way to celebrate Halloween or Día de Muertos with your neighbors. Apply for a permit by October 20.

sdotblog.seattle.gov

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 2d

I really appreciate how the piece digs into fact checking whether the various policies and programs were working or not! A major reason I subscribe to both KUOW and ProPublica!

Data provided by the mayor’s office and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority shows otherwise. The year before, CoLEAD moved a far bigger share of its clients from its city-funded beds into permanent housing than emergency shelter operators as a whole: 65%, compared with 26%.

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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2d

I really wish media covering Trump's invasion of US cities would step away from this "Trump wants to fight crime, but how bad is it really?" framing. They obviously don't give a shit about local crime, but this manufactured narrative dominates all the coverage.

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

As Trump ramps up National Guard threats, what’s crime really like in Portland and Seattle?

Donald Trump has often name-checked both cities, describing them as dangerous. Here's what the numbers show.

www.seattletimes.com

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Reposted by Gordon Padelford

ProPublica @propublica.org · 2d

NEW: After paying for hotel rooms to shelter homeless people, Seattle deliberately left them vacant.

By the end of 2024, taxpayers were spending $4,200 a month per empty room at a time when thousands of residents were without a roof over their heads.

Seattle Spent Millions on Hotel Rooms to Shelter Unhoused People. Then It Stopped Filling Them.

Early last year, the city signed a $2.7 million lease extension to continue using a hotel’s rooms as shelter space. Yet despite committing to pay the rent, the city stopped sending people there.

www.propublica.org

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Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 2d

When newly-elected Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson started converting car lanes to bike lanes in 2009, pundits claimed it was political suicide. In 2018, he stepped down after three terms as the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. So what can this tale teach us about so-called "bikelash"?🧵

People of all ages and abilities ride bicycles on protected cycling infrastructure on the streets of Downtown Vancouver.

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 2d

Differentiating which buttons are necessary to trigger the crosswalk light vs which are only for the audio/tactile accessibility feature would be helpful. So far SDOT has not been interested in this idea, despite them having a laudable number of automatic crosswalk lights

Viktor Köves @viktorkoves.com · 2d

First thing I see in New York has me thinking about similar buttons that confused me in Minneapolis and Chicago - this one's great! (CC @alexschief.bsky.social and @lauragmitchell.com )

A button on a pole that says push button for audible signal with a graphic of a man using a mobility cane

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 3d

I tell a lot of people who are skeptical about subscribing to the Seattle Times is important to support the talented journalists there, even if they dislike the editorial board, but this kind of slant makes it really tough. The Harrell campaign would write a similar headline to cast doubt on Wilson

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 3d

Lol, I wonder if the Seattle Times headline writers have a point of view about this race 🤔

COMING NEXT SUNDAY
Bruce Harrell touts progress and promises stability in his quest for re-election.

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KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3d

Looking good, Ravenna Boulevard.

People on bikes heading toward Green Lake on Ravenna Boulevard, with hardened bike lane separation in place

Toronto style hard barriers along Ravenna Boulevard near the Ave

Folks using the Ravenna bike lane from a distance

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 4d

Interesting. @seattledot.bsky.social crews are installing a new bike lane barrier on Campus Parkway today that I’ve never seen before. They call them “a new recycled rubber material that we are excited to pilot and evaluate its durability. “ www.seattle.gov/transportati...

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 5d

Has anyone asked whether Harrell has denounced SPOG head Solan’s comments about Trump’s military takeover of DC policing?

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David Kroman @kromandavid.bsky.social · 5d

The chief of Seattle’s new police alternative “CARE” says police officers are systemically waving off crisis responders in what staff call a “pattern of subversion”
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Seattle officers ‘undermining’ city’s police alternative, report says

The CARE team has become a darling both inside City Hall and among candidates for office, but Seattle police often aren't using this resource, records show.

www.seattletimes.com

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 6d

The “E-Bike Effect:” Those who bought e-bikes increased their average daily bicycle use from 2.1km (1.3 miles) to 9.2km (5.7 miles), a 340% increase. The e-bike share of all their transportation increased dramatically too; from 17% to 49%.

E-bikes support fewer car trips.

V @lloydalter.bsky.social

E-Bikers Ride Much Farther and More Frequently Than Regular Bikers

They are not 'cheating,' but are serious transportation.

www.treehugger.com

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Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 5d

Every bold urban transformation asks a question: what will people remember—the controversy or legacy?

Showing great leadership, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak bet on the latter, replacing a motorway with a waterway.

Two decades later, absolutely no one regrets the decision or remembers the controversy.

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Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck @councilmember-amr.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you @theurbanist.org @seattletru.bsky.social @sngreenways.bsky.social @transpochoices.bsky.social and every volunteer and advocate fighting for better mobility, connection, and safety on our streets. This is a shared win and something to celebrate.

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 5d

Congrats! You might consider turning it into a celebratory meet up at Tailwind Cafe when it opens at 9.

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Gordon Padelford @gordonofseattle.bsky.social · 5d

I take no credit here and will transfer my kudos to @csgreenways.bsky.social volunteers who have been piling on the pressure

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