In Defense of the City (Or: The Real Disaster Will Not Be Blogged)

The city has let me down. A great example is PDX's mayor had a press conf. for their storm.

Other than waving, what has Greggy done? Really?

Roads are closed that shouldn't be closed any longer and roads that should be closed aren't. They're no substainally logical detours (that I have seen), and that's just in the city.

I don't think I'll be able to make to TUKWILA on Christmas. It took me 5 hours to get to LQA from Wallingford last night.

On the plus side, yay for neighborhoods. 45th was buzzing last night. Even more reason to live where you work. (I know that's not always possible, trust me, I know. I don't live where I work, but damn it'd be nice if we all could).

i appreciate that i've maintained my electricity, etc. i'm just saying that i'd be tipping my cap to the city if all our power went off, and they got it all turned back on. as it is, i'd give less credit to the infrastucture and more credit to "not having many trees" to fall on power lines.

partyfernandez, this city, county, and state have sunk multitudinous years and countless billions of taxpayer dollars into the infrastructure that you take for granted, sure.

while you seem to appreciate the infrastructures that the the government has provided (such as the distribution of electricity and water; the disposal of sewage and drainage; the roads, bridges, and boats/ships; the hospitals, precincts, fire stations, schools, community centers, and etc.), you have totally underestimated the ability of 10-15% of its 700,000 residents to complain that their bus was not on time.

And, although you seem to appreciate the built infrastructure, what about the maintenance and operations costs?

"it's just....stayed on," liek magick? maybe all of the maintenance engineers should take a week off must to demonstrate that, although the infrastructure (roads, power, water, sewage, garbage/recycling/yardwaste, etc.) was built, the building phase was the cheapest part. 90% of it is in the operation and maintenance (sorry, pulled that number out of my ass; it is probably closer to 97%).

metro could not efficiently deliver staff to the hospitals on the hills (that's another topic), so citizens with capable vehicles ferried them to and fro work, "pro bono," at their own costs and liabilities. seattle and king county did not have a plan of transportation for staff and patients to our hospitals on the hill.

Party Fernandez for City Council!

We had a transformer on our block blow up, which took our power with it. Within an hour the city had repaired it, and our power came back on a short time after that. So good job there city, however, this is pretty stupid, 'If you don't want to get stuck at the airport, don't go to the goddamn airport.'

i agree with Seth that the priorities need to be with power, water, staffing hospitals, etc. however, has the city really DONE anything to keep my power on? it's just....stayed on. it's not like it went out and they hustled to fix it. and it's not like a majority of the police, fire and hospital staff are getting rides into work via city aide - they're driving themselves. so, while i'm certainly not complaining about walking just under 2 miles to/from work this past week, i'm also not going to praise the city for things that are operational, cuz i don't believe they've had much of a hand in it.

the wood stove still keeps the kitchen warm and the food cooked (and chopping wood keeps you warm twice), the kerosene lamp still keeps the house lit, and the horse has had no problems in the snow. the water hand-pump hasn't frozen up yet, although the outhouse is getting a bit chilly.

when it gets really cold, i'll sleep with the sheep to keep from freezing, but apparently you modern folk have laws about that now.

--mbq from 1908, who is astounded about what unthankful lazy people choose to bitch about in the 21st century.

Agree. 100%. This is an inconvenience -- a major one, albeit, but not an emergency.

Also, Seattle is not a "world-class city." Those who have lived here more than 5 years know that it's better that way.

Seth, you should post this shit on Sports NW -- I bet more people would read it.

I agree with you Jeremy - the people who depend on the city's infrastructure for transportation (and other things) are more likely (socioeconomically speaking) to be a higher percentage of those who need to get into work to make enough money to get by. No vacation or bad weather pay means you have to go into work, even if you do "just" make lattes, and when the transit you depend on is unavailable for a week straight, it's pretty understandable to be upset.

I guess my biggest problem with this post was the unclear direction of the "chill out" message. In my experience, the people who are (in various internet locations) saying "chill out and enjoy it" are upper middle class folks with vacation and the ability to work from home. That, to me, is inexcusable, especially if directed at those who are severely disadvantaged by the loss of public transportation. It shows the huge privilege divide in our city, and the thoughtlessness of those on the upper side of it.

Make the case that Seattle's doing the best it can, but don't chase it with a huge dose of privileged nonchalance.

Wow. This is a vitriolic argument and it's getting dangerously close (maybe crossing over to) ragging on working class people for being pissed they can't get to work. I think it's fair to say that while slinging coffee may not constitute a "vital service" to the community, the paycheck the coffee-slinger makes, along with the meager tips earnings, are pretty vital to their making rent and affording food. When I can't get to work, I can log on via laptop from home; not the same for baristas (to say nothing of the nurses, medical assistants, and the like who are working at the hospitals and other vital services and who also use public transportation). Respect where respect's due here: I'm salaried, help the hourly workers.

Those that are ragging on the poster about SeaTac, I believe he meant that for locals, not for those stuck between destinations. Vital services include emergency services, not lattes, so exmanhater's example is moot. Using 4wd vehicles provided by dealerships, private, and city fleets provided doctors, nurses, and staff access to hospitals, not just the semi-functioning Metro. I'm still seeing a lot of self-centered people whining in this thread, not getting the point. Maybe we should take away consistent power, emergency services, and the snowplows and then see if they get it.

You had me until your last paragraph - the only reason the city has any operating services at all right now are because people like me are standing 3 hours in the snow waiting for a bus to take to work so that all the white collar folks like you who can just work from home are able to take short walks in their neighborhood to the library and the coffee shop after sledding all day.

So yes, the city is focusing on the essential operations, and doing their best with substandard leadership, equipment and planning. But the worst possible suggestion you can make to the people making this possible (who do read blogs. I know, shocking!) is to 'just relax' when we can't, and shouldn't, in order to do our jobs and make the next rent payment, and advocate for better planning in the future.

Not to mention all the folks stranded at Sea Tac. Try telling a mom with 3 kids that her family being stuck in the airport (not a hotel) for 3 or 4 days, including Christmas, isn't an emergency. See how far you get.

Seth,

You should go back to being the worst Sports blogger in Seattle. You're much better at it.

Oh Seth Kolloen, I thought I knew ye! Shame, shame on your for being so inconsiderate. Let's examine what you're apparently arguing.

What is working in Seattle during a once-in-15-years snowstorm: Water, gas, electricity, phones.

What are open and fully operational in Seattle during a once-in-15-years snowstorm: Hospitals, supermarkets.

A fine point, Seth, a fine point indeed: It brings to mind the logic of that old saying, "If you're expecting a kick in the balls and get a punch in the face, call that a victory." Works well coming from a drunken Irishman, though admittedly I would have expected a tab bit more from what purports to be a world-class city than to be all like, "Hey, we didn't fuck up that bad."

But to get to the gist of the matter, which is that apparently you're rebutting Ronald, Brad, and me, let's go over this.

Ronald posted a gripe that buses don't service a core Seattle neighborhood. I suppose if you don't live there, it may strike you as self-centered. Good for you! Remember that when it's your turn.

And Brad--well, this just reveals your Seattle-centric outlook. Brad doesn't live near downtown, and I think it's fair to appreciate he may be talking about a different experience of the response to the--are you admitting they're real at all?--challenges presented by the "once-in-15-years" storm.

And as for my piece...well, I can only say I'm shocked. To paraphrase, I noted that what started out as your average fun snow day has turned in to a stressful, occasionally dangerous situation for Seattleites and a nightmare for travellers stuck in our fair city. You're very kind to them, Seth--"don't want to get stuck at the airport? Don't go to the airport" indeed! If only they'd known! And yes, I send a few darts aimed at the city and county leadership; have we actually seen any leadership?

Yes, the bus drivers were largely at fault for the particular accident that unfolded on my block, but within hours at least one other bus was trying to find a non-existent route across the hill. It didn't turn out well for them, either. In other words, hours after two buses nearly plunged off Capitol Hill onto I-5, the city still hadn't come up with an appropriate route for passenger buses to take. And then yesterday, it appears, a lack of proper crowd control of rambunctious fans coming out of the game snarled traffic and nearly led to a riot. So pardon me if I don't have a lot of confidence in Seattle's leadership.

And finally, my point--and I know this was subtle, since I came out and said it directly--was that given the very real problems many people are facing, that everyone should put their best foot forward and do their part to help out. 3,000 people stuck at Sea-Tac, Seth! Soldiers on leave from Iraq sleeping in the USO! And I'm negative for asking people to help? The commenters on my post got it, even trying to offer help to one another; check Craigslist and amongst the profiteers trying to rake in a couple hundred to give someone a ride to Portland you'll find people out-of-town this week offering their home here to people stuck in town so they'll have somewhere better than a terminal to enjoy Christmas.

But I guess what they say is true, Seth: bad times make people show their true faces. For shame.

Seth, you make an excellent point many have lost sight of. Yes, without transportation, you may miss out on Xmas with the family, which is awful, but recall two years ago when we had no power for Xmas and hadn't had any for days and days. Basic necessities and true emergencies are being handled just fine, and that is what is ultimately most important. As for the bus on I-5, what has come out so far makes it pretty clear that the driver and the bus company were entirely responsible for the series of poor decisions that led that bus down an icy side street. Thankfully, the kids were ok.

This is similar to something I had drafted earlier but didn't get around to finishing for Metblogs. People are so self-centered that they can't appreciate those who have helped keep the hospitals open for emergency care, those who helped dr's and nurses get to those hospitals, police and fire trucks stations are manned with enough personal to help with basic services and emergencies. SDOT has done what it could with limited resources (and no not whine about how we need more snowplows. We don't. Shut it.).

This is the same type of logic used by drunk drivers who use the fact that they got home safely at the end of the night to justify that they did something totally stupid. The "no one died" defense is lame, hollow and selfish.

Five more feet and a bus full of kids would have been on its roof in the middle of I-5. And next year, it'll be just as likely to happen, as a result of this sort of logic.

Actually, there ARE people without power. There ARE gas stations without fuel. There ARE thousands stranded in terminals across the region. There ARE even more who are forced to make long treks in unsafe conditions in order to keep their jobs. Bloggers in their jammies excluded, of course.

Well put, sir! Until we have to roast editors (past or present) over a flaming garbage can, things ain't so bad.

I love self-centered people like you. "I don't have to plans fly somewhere to spend the holidays with my family, and I don't have family members coming home for the holidays, and I don't have a job that requires me to be there (to staff the emergency room or repair the downed wires or plow the streets or cook your goddamn rotisserie chicken), so therefore this is not a big deal."

(And yes, those who were earlier whining about buses not going up Queen Anne Hill are also self-centered idiots.)