By Susumu Takahashi
NAP Contributor
On a Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington, it was peaceful and joyous, where people from the East met those from the West. They were coming to a J-Pop concert at Bacovino Winery on Yesler Way overlooking beautiful Elliott Bay.
After being hit by COVID-19 and even afterwards, downtown Seattle has not fully recovered. Fox News (cable television channel) said, “[It is] more difficult operating in downtown Seattle today than it was during COVID.” Seattle’s downtown office vacancy has risen to nearly 35 percent as businesses can no longer survive with drugs, despair, and tech(nology) layoffs. It is one of the highest vacancy rates in the country.
The good news is that Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail will connect the Eastside to downtown Seattle soon. The manufacturer of Series 2 trains is Siemens in Sacramento, California. Series 1 trains have been made by Kinki Sharyo-Mitsui of Japan since 2009. These trains have been retrofitted with updated onboard systems and new speed codes to be compatible with the East Link. March 28 is the official grand opening of the cross-lake connection, linking downtown Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond. People in the east and west will no longer be separated but will become one. The economic vitality of downtown Seattle should be dramatically enhanced.
My suggestion to make downtown Seattle a better place to work and live is to have a Koban (urban police boxes) that are permanent like in Japan. There could be one in Pioneer Square and one near Pike Place Market. In Japan, there are 6,000 Koban and another 6,000 Chuzaisho (residential rural police boxes) throughout the country to protect people safely and securely. They must operate 24 hours with three shifts of police personnel. Bathrooms might also be included that could be used by the public 24 hours a day.
Next, blocking vehicle traffic on Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. during the summer from June through August on Yesler Way between Western Avenue and First Avenue would create a pedestrian heaven like Ginza Street in Tokyo, Japan. Ginza also has kids’ concerts every weekend. Cafes and mobile food trucks could serve lunch and snacks.
A celebration of Light Rail in Pioneer Square should be organized. Then the revitalization of downtown should start with a Koban on Yesler Way. We need to show we are a first-class, global city that entertains people from around the world.
