Josh Holland
@joshholland
Train Enthusiast. Part-time Foodie. Cities are better with lots of people.
At Google’s Commute Expo today, talking with Googlers about what safe, welcoming streets can look like in Seattle. 🚲🌳
BUT Seattle and Amazon built a decent, modern extension to the region’s economic heart, with good urban bones for the future. I will still always wonder what would have happened if we had gotten to Amazon iteration 4 for the city (now in Bellevue).
The second iteration of the Seattle Amazon has grown on me over the years 📦 ☁️ We messed up a lot of the original vision for SLU and didn’t always make the best use of our last gold rush.
After a few wks on the road, it feels great to be home & back in the kitchen. This weekend’s experiment: pesto chicken salad lettuce wraps—super tasty. 😋 I’ve really enjoyed trying out new recipes this year & giving myself a reason to cook again after finally getting a full stove back in April.
Seattle summer sunsets can be stunning. 🌅🌲 Sometimes I wish my little beta city would grow up a bit faster. 😅 We have the ambition, the talent, and honestly, a ridiculous amount of luck when it comes to economic output, and our natural surroundings are beautiful.
It’s also one of two S Tier Alpha Cities, and within just a few hours of arriving, I could already feel why. People from everywhere. Food from everywhere. Languages from everywhere. It feels like the world converges here.
But London has always been high on my list because of its outsized influence on the world. Few cities have shaped global culture, finance, politics, language, and history quite like London.
Hello, London? ☎️ 🇬🇧 Another bucket-list city checked off. As an American, I have a different relationship with London than many people across the Commonwealth.
I’m still debating the UX of the bike path naming here in London, but in theory, it helps you connect easily to different parts of the city via bike.
Why ride a bike in big cities? It can often be faster than public transit and more scenic, even in large cities like London.
The Luas feels connected to the city in a way that’s hard to replicate: easy to hop on, woven into everyday life, and running through calm streets at a human scale. Neat trains, Ireland. Thanks for the rides (and yes, I paid… despite what a few locals might tell you 😅). 🚊 🇮🇪
My new friend: Luas 🚊🍀 I’ve grown fond of Dublin’s tram system. As a transit nerd, I usually prefer tunnels or elevated rail—they’re faster and more reliable—but there’s an undeniable charm to a well-designed surface tram.
One of my favorite parts of traveling is proving my own assumptions wrong. This trip, I’ve been rethinking the idea that food from the British Isles can’t compete with the rest of Europe. This Irish lamb stew was rich, comforting, and packed with flavor.
Great tour of Seattle Center’s new bollard system today with partners from SDOT, Pike Place Market, and the community. Lots of lessons for creating people-first streets that still work for deliveries, events, and emergency access. Thanks for hosting Seattle Center.
Union Seattle’s Block Party expanded by a whole block on 10th this year. Love to see it. 🌈 Every block we open to people instead of cars becomes a place to dance, connect, and celebrate community. Here’s to reimagining our streets one block at a time. Happy Pride! ❤️
Love to see it. Pride is in the air, and street closures are going up on Capitol Hill to open the street to people for dancing, community, and general summer love this Seattle Pride. Hoping the festivities don’t get too rained out this weekend. Today is absolutely gorgeous.
Seattle has one of the best World Cup posters. Amazing work, Shogo Ota.
So… we can have smaller Seattle Fire Department response vehicles? 👀 Loving these mini rigs for the World Cup. After the tournament, can we keep experimenting with more right‑sized vehicles so our urban streets don’t always need a 20 fire lane carved out for giant trucks?
Stumbled across the Alaska Airlines Match Day Club while exploring the new World Cup pedestrian zone in Pioneer Square. A great way to bring Seattle’s hometown airline to life for a global event. ✈️💙💚
Today was a great day to ride Seattle’s waterfront—whether on your own bike or a borrowed Lime. 🚲🌊 We built this infrastructure to move people, connect destinations, and make post-game crowds a little more manageable. Dare I say it: getting around the city was actually part of the fun. ⚽️✨
The Waterfront was absolutely packed after the Belgium vs. Egypt match. ⚽️ A decade ago, this scene wouldn’t have been possible. The rebuilt waterfront has transformed the walk between the stadiums and Pike Place into one of Seattle’s great public spaces.
Took a Lime bike from Capitol Hill to Ballard and then Metro + Link home. 🚲🚍🚈 One of the best things about Seattle’s growing bike and transit network is realizing that neighborhoods that once felt far apart really aren’t. Your friends on the other side of Lake Union are closer than you think.
The Emerald City is beaming with joy as soccer takes over this month. ⚽️💚 The rebuilt waterfront was made for moments like this—thousands of people gathering, watching matches, and simply enjoying being together in one of Seattle’s best public spaces. Love seeing the city so alive.
Not with signs like this. How would you ever overcome such an obstacle?
Tried Pike Place Market’s new Sip & Savor program today. 🍻 It feels like common sense: grab a drink from a local business and keep exploring. It’s great to see Seattle making it easier to enjoy public spaces while supporting local businesses. More of this, please.
One of the stranger things about Seattle politics: The Stranger rarely does deep local political reporting anymore, yet its endorsements still carry outsized influence. For many progressive candidates, a Stranger endorsement remains one of the clearest paths to advancing past a primary.
Sometimes it pays to say yes to an after-work adventure. What started as a quick stop at the Capitol Hill Art Walk turned into a mission to collect as many gems as possible for the raffle. 😅 Ended up winning a piece from 1 of the featured artists. Rarely win things, so I’ll gladly take the W. 🎨✨