Jake Kennon
SwatchJunkies
SwatchJunkies
Legalizing Clotheslines
Elizabeth Morris and her family bought their house in the High Point neighborhood for a reason. It’s been touted internationally as Seattle’s premier “green community” and for mixing Seattle Housing Authority rental properties and private home ownership. It’s a compact, walkable, mixed-income, energy-efficient, green-built neighborhood peppered with bicycle commuters and rain barrels. So Morris was shocked to find that at High Point, clotheslines are banned.
“Homeowners have even been warned that it is illegal,” Morris said. “Not only are owners not allowed to save energy by hanging out laundry but those who rent from SHA (read: low income) aren’t allowed to save on their energy bills either.”
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Unchain Bike Sharing
Imagine for a moment that cities around the world are rolling out fleets of magic carpets and that those carpets are having truly wizardly effects: improved public health and safety, reduced traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and reduced dependence on foreign oil. City dwellers can check them out or drop them off at stations everywhere, and they are free to use for up to 30 minutes. After that, they cost something, but not much. Picture literally millions of citizens using these carpets for short, speedy trips all over town. Now imagine being in the Northwest and watching this opportunity fly by because fanatical carpet helmet laws discourage would-be riders.
This is exactly what’s happening. The magic’s not in carpets, though: it’s in the humble bicycle.
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Unbanning Clotheslines
Elizabeth Morris and her family bought their house in the High Point neighborhood for a reason. “High Point is the City of Seattle's premier ‘Green Community,’ having been touted internationally as such, as well as [for] mixing Seattle Housing Authority [SHA] rental properties and private home ownership,” she explained. It’s a compact, walkable, mixed-income, energy-efficient, green-built neighborhood peppered with bicycle commuters and rain barrels. So Morris was shocked to find that at High Point, clotheslines are banned.
“Homeowners have even been warned that it is illegal,” Morris said. “Not only are owners not allowed to save energy by hanging out laundry but those who rent from SHA (read: low income) aren't allowed to save on their energy bills either.”
Read More