Development: Save Proctor from Seattle’s fate

“Get a grip, Proctor - dense develpments help preserve our city, not destroy it,” (Matt Driscoll column, TNT, 7/21).

I’m a third-generation North Ender, and though I moved due to my job, I used to shop frequently in the Proctor District.

I don’t much anymore because it’s an ever-increasing pain. It was a nuisance to find a parking place then, it’s worse now, and it will become outrageous if the City 1) allows more large apartment buildings and 2) authorizes less than one parking stall per unit.

I also used to go to several places in Seattle. I haven’t been to a favorite shop in Fremont in years due to impossible traffic and parking. I go to one place in the U District that has its own lot. Ballard? Green Lake? Forget about it.

This infuriating, overrun future is what proposed additions will do to Proctor – destroy an iconic Tacoma neighborhood. Dense development destroys quality of life.

Back when Driscoll was a child, you used to see bumper stickers saying:“Don’t Californicate Oregon.” The current relevant analogy is “Don’t Seattledefecate Tacoma.”

This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 2:07 PM.