Thursday, January 8, 2009

Site Discussion

Hello Ace'ers.

As you all have seen Matt has sent out an email to discuss his views on the site that was picked at our last meeting. I have included it here so that instead of hitting 'reply all' all the time we will have a better record of the discussion.  Enjoy...... AND COMMENT!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone,
 
I was thinking more about our site choice, and I realize that although I originally made a case for Interbay (and it got voted in), I realize it is not the best place to work. While it has its strong points (it's large, there is a road nearby, and it's not really taking over anybody else's space) there are drawbacks, including that area already has tenants.
 
That being said, the SODO location offers all that and much, much more. It's not just near a road, it's near I-5 and Alaskan Way, in busier area but still "out of the way" enough to not be an eyesore. On top of that, it is a transportation hub; Interbay only has the route 15 and 18 buses. Just by looking at the aerial view, you know it's a good location; you look at Interbay, and it could go either way.
 
I know I'm going against the previous vote, but I believe it is important to get the best possible site. I honestly don't think that Interbay is that choice, and I personally hope you feel the same way. At the beginning of the program, we discussed what it was like for last year's members to look back and realize that they had made a mistake. We don't want to be limited by our site, we don't want to have to waste time improving our surroundings, and we DEFINATELY don't want to look back at last meeting of the year and realize, "Well, our site could have been better."
 
If you agree, or if you don't mind switching sites, PLEASE please please respond to this e-mail. I have cc'ed the mentors, and if enough people agree I'm confident we can change the vote.
 
Thank you.
 
Sincerely,
Matt Bateman

4 comments:

Mike said...

Mike here again...

Izaac Wrote:

Matt, I have to agree that the site is vital, but we also have to more forward. I don't see any large benefits for building it in SODO for the trains actually BLOCK traffic there. Besides the light rail, there is virtually no bus service in SODO on the weekends (trust me, I work down there) and it is very non-pedestrian friendly, posing a problem for people who take the bus and proceed to walk to the site. Traffic is difficult and is not near any neighborhoods besides beacon hill. As for being an eyesore, trust me, ACE isn't about building a Costco. Unlike a Costco or BIG K-mart, we look at form over cost. If we want our building to be noticed, I think SODO makes more sense. The tenants for our current site have folded due the the economy, and our economy is not getting any better. the 15 and 18 come very frequently from W. Seattle to Ballard via downtown. http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s015_0_.html
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bus/schedules/s018_0_.html
Plus, its in close vicinity of recreational activity, the golf course, the seattle center, the inter-bay bike trail leading to the fisherman's terminal from the sculpture park via Eliot Bay/Myrtle Edwards Park. 15th is practically a freeway and serves the entire NW side of the city. But best of all, if we could incorporate windows, it could have a great view... if you have ever biked it you would know. I don't quite see a reason that is strong enough to switch sites, although I agree, the SODO sight would probably be just as good, for each one has it's drawbacks.

Mike said...

Mike here once again....

Matt Responded to Izaac with:

Izaac,

I can't speak to the current bus service in the SODO area, but around Interbay it's not that great. Sure, the 15 and the 18 come regularly, but they go along similar routes and are always busy - I take them home almost every day, as I live in the area. Which brings up the point that the entire area along Interbay where we would be building is also extremely unfriendly to pedestrians, as like you said, *it's a freeway.* There is one walkway, fairly far away. The important point to note is that there is no place to build new walkways anywhere close enough at Interbay; can you say the same about SODO?. Jaywalking across six lanes of traffic is really not that great. As to the the bus service in SODO, we can discuss possibly talking to the city (hypothetically). They add more busses to the routes as they see fit, so it's not set in stone necessarily. Besides, it's still easier to access the SODO location by car than the Interbay location, and we can't rule out the drivers by any means.

I didn't say the building would be an eyesore. The whole area is a little hard to design to, because its so green - in the SODO area, a larger building wouldn't be as bad. There's nothing wrong with our building being noticed, as long as it's not in a bad way.

You're also right in that there are plenty of other recreational activities in the area; and I bet if I asked Interbay, they wouldn't want the competition, and they wouldn't want to share the parking lot. I personally think we need one of those, and it would be simply easier to do at SODO. I do bike, and I do understand what you're saying. I golf at Interbay Golf, and always go by it on the bus; however, I'm not sure if we should put in windows, since we'll have to strictly regulate the temperature.

I still hold that SODO is a better sight; if you think it would be just as good, then there should be no problem if we switch, correct?

Sincerely,
Matt

Anonymous said...

I can use your same arguments to prove that Interbay is better, but they are really about the same. Remember, this project is entirely imaginery, and if we want mas-transit to interbay, the Monorail was (in our minds) voted in 4 or so years ago. Imagine whatever you want. The thing is, we chose our site, we have the birds-eye view prints, we have things to work off of. Every time we reverse a decision, it creates more work. Last year, all we did was reversed decisions and go nothing done, especially because those decisions were never communicated between teams until too late. Lets just listen to the Mentors and use every meeting to produce a "product" that we can move forward on instead of debating it heavily and getting no-where. Our homework is to check the site, so unless there is some serious discussion (by the majority of the team) of changing the site, I feel like it's time to get to work.
If you want a vote on this, lets see if anyone else responds.

Unknown said...

Unfortunately I could not attend Wednesday's meeting but after looking at both site locations I would put my vote towards SODO. That's my two cents.