WHEN I PHONED Paula Cunningham, I didn’t know how the conversation would go. Things can get heated in Seattle when certain topics are brought up. She was one of many readers who responded to my request for suggestions for this week’s cover story: taking visitors on a half-day driving tour of Seattle.
There was no mincing in her email. She began: “Having just read two Climate Lab articles above yours on Seattle Times’ Top Stories, I find your article tone-deaf to the challenges of climate change and threats to the health of our beautiful city/state, as you cavalierly ask for suggestions on how to show friends and family around in a gas-guzzling minivan.” Hers wasn’t the only response along those lines.
We have a pugnacious anti-car sentiment . The responses included: ● “I would do a driving tour if I secretly disliked that friend.” ● “It would be irresponsible to publish a ‘driving tour’ of Seattle.
” ● “It’s comical you would suggest people drive their friends around to see the city that’s well served by transit.” I told Paula — I like to think we ended on a first-name basis in our friendly conversation — that the math I did in making it a driving tour was simple. But I also perfectly well understood her sentiments.
One of the most memorable trips my wife and I took was a Washington State ferry from Anacortes to Sidney on Vancouver Island (now canceled until at least 2030 ; “vessel availability constraints”). You can park your car .
