I was bicycling along on Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail when this caught my eye.  Were those…. shoulder pads?  Stapled to the stop sign?  Going back for a closer look, I saw that this one was stitched with the word, “Change-o” … And, you guessed it, the one on the other side said “Presto.”

Masterful!  What trail user can’t use a little magic en route?  Woulda missed this if driving! - Julia Field

PSST!  Got a “woulda-missed-this-if-driving” story to share?  Email us and tell us about it!  Attaching a photo would be most swell.  Thanks!

Undriver Paul Byron Crane reports in from London:

“On my yearly sojourns To England I stop off in London, where I spent years living, to visit friends, with places to go and things to do. My passionate interest is sustainable urban design and the tapestry of urban amenities that support sustainable urban living. The transformation of “old school” London into the green living city that London hopes to become is a delight to explore and take part in yearly.

Now that the congestion fee has created much less car traffic downtown, bikes abound – and London recently launched its own bike-share program.  I tried out this Barclays bike system and found it very workable and easy.

There’s no charge for the first 30 minutes, so if you can make it to another bike station in the direction your going, and there is a bike available, you can literally travel across London to multi-destinations for free. The bicycle stock is nearly new, clean and very well maintained.
Unlike the badly deteriorated rental bikes in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo Sweden that I have used, these bikes move you with ease and safely. We will see over time if this public/private partnership continues successfully. Seeing how heavy private bike use in London is turning the British Capital into another Copenhagen, it will continue to expand and be successful. Could we see a BECU/City-of-Seattle system in our future?”

Paul Byron Crane, Landscape Architect, Seattle

When Paul Byron Crane travels, he puts his Undriver License on his suitcase as his luggage tag.  Recently an airline staffer was concerned that Paul had mistakenly left his driver license on his bag. “Oh no,” Paul replied, “That’s my UNdriver License!” An interesting conversation ensued! 

photograph by Anne Knight

I was walking around Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood one day and happened to notice that several hatch covers had very intricate designs.  Apparently, the City of Seattle has actually commissioned several artists over the years to design “hatch cover art” and these can be found in neighborhoods all over the city.  Some even have street maps imprinted on them that show you where you are standing.  If you [like me] are always in a hurry and have never noticed these covers, it is definitely worth slowing down and taking a  look up close.   Woulda missed this if driving! – Mel

http://shop.nordstrom.com/st/1/directions#

If you give your starting point as SeaTac Airport and click on the little transit icon – it will tell you to take the Light Rail!

And if you put in any other starting point, you’ll get a choice of different transit routes.

So if Nordstrom can do this – there’s no excuse for anybody ever giving just “driving directions.”

Last night a skinny, pale guy wearing a T-shirt, light sweat pants, and Converse-like shoes got on the Greyhound bus at Olympia. He was carrying a paper bag just larger than lunch-sack size. Turned out that he’d just gotten out of the prison in Shelton after 18 months.

He kept saying, “I didn’t even know I was getting out! They just said, ‘Hey you can roll up because you’re out of here.’ I’m going to see my mom!” He was so happy he told anyone who would listen, and his happiness was infectious. Everyone was smiling.

Our driver was the Friday Portland-Seattle regular, and he’s always happy. Before we left Tacoma he told us, “Well, the PA system on this bus doesn’t work, and the reading lights on this bus don’t work, but I’ve got good news: there are wheels on this bus!”

- Steve Verhey

We are having a new Store Information/Events redesign that is launching on 11/14.  The map/directions will be hosted by Bing, and it will include walking and transit directions in addition to driving directions.  As for transit, it will include bus information, but we are not sure if it will include Light Rail.  We will know more when the redesign launches.

The last time I looked at Bing maps, the “transit” directions function didn’t even give bus information – only commuter rail, like they have on the East Coast.  But today Bing readily tells me that I can take Light Rail from the airport to downtown.  So I’m optimistic!  Everyone be sure to check out the Nordstrom website on November 14!  and then follow the directions for an Undriving trip downtown!

My internet was down for the last few days of the Undrive-a-Thon.  So I’ve given myself another couple weeks to meet my fundraising goal.  Help me out, OK?