FIELD NOTES: Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park
photos by Geoffrey Daniel | words by Lehran Haché
Many North American Cities are struggling from age of automobile-planning hangovers. One of the most challenging symptoms of this affliction are the highways, freeways and train tracks built at the waters edge. Originally constructed in these locations to facilitate the movement of goods or afford a desirable view while users were car commuting, the usage of waterfronts has drastically changed in the last fifty or so years; now the movement of people to the waterfront is a more desirable use for socializing, active recreation and tourism. The question for city builders has become how do we move pedestrians and cyclists there? How do we make this a desirable experience despite the multi-lanes of vehicle traffic? Single lane utilitarian pedestrian bridges are often the leading (and cheapest) solution but miss an opportunity for creating a truly unique and inviting urban experience leading to the waters edge. Seattle took an alternate route.
