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Joshua McNichols

Reporter

About

As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.

Joshua holds a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington. Public Radio is his second career; architecture was his first. He is proud of the many odd jobs he's held in his life, such as salmon fisher, author, bike courier, and bed-and-breakfast cook.

Location: Seattle

Languages Spoken: English

Pronouns: he/him

Professional Affiliations: The Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington Chapter

Podcasts

Stories

  • caption: Warren Aakervik of the Ballard Oil Company, pictured in 2019.

    'Missing link' connects with Ballard City Council contest

    The Burke Gilman Trail "missing link" has been held up by legal appeals for years. That’s a stretch of bike trail along Ballard’s working waterfront. Now, it’s become an issue in the upcoming city council elections.

  • caption: David Rue on a billboard, part of the "Don't Blend In" campaign by SDOT.

    How not to get hit when crossing Seattle's most dangerous street

    Wear neon colors to avoid getting hit by cars when crossing Rainier Avenue S. That’s what Seattle's Department of Transportation has been telling people on billboards and ads in a campaign called “Don’t Blend In.” Rainier Avenue is Seattle’s most dangerous street. One out of every 20 pedestrians hit by cars in Seattle – are hit within a block of Rainier. The campaign has drawn a mixed response.

  • caption: An artist's rendition of the new Plymouth Housing building underway on Rainier Avenue South in the Chinatown-International District.

    Seattle plans to tap sales tax for affordable housing

    For the State of Washington, the sales tax is a firehose of money. For ages, cities have wanted to poke a straw into that firehose and get just a teensy bit of what's flowing inside. During the last legislative session, cities finally got that wish.

  • caption: Andre Taylor, of the community group Not This Time, speaks at a press conference on July 15, 2019.

    Seattle police reform could backslide if steps not taken, critics say

    Ever since a First Nations woodcarver was fatally shot by Seattle Police in 2010, the police have been trying to prove to a federal judge that they have reformed. But critics say Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle Police Officers Guild have made that goal harder to achieve.

  • caption: Tim Fliss pauses in his morning commute down 35th Avenue NE

    Safety concerns grow on the Seattle street that scrapped bike lanes

    Since the 35th Avenue NE redesign, there’s already been a fatal motorcycle accident and a cyclist hit. Some locals have started calling it the Durkan Speedway. That has the Seattle City Council raising questions about its safety. We wondered how dangerous 35th is now, so we rode it ourselves.

  • caption: Lora Radford at one of the free parking lots run by the West Seattle Junction Association

    This West Seattle parking lot is chock-full of drama

    Seattle is famous for its neighborhoods – but epic growth is bringing big changes, and lots of tension. One place that tension’s bubbling over is in parking lots. They’re an obvious place to build housing, but merchants need them to draw customers.

  • caption: At 3180 square feet, this 2016 Ballard home could not be built in a Single Family Zone under proposed new rules capping home sizes in Seattle.

    Seattle bill pits McMansions against backyard cottages

    The fight to bring more backyard cottages and granny flats to residential zones in Seattle has a new twist. A bill that would make them easier to build – would also ban super-sized homes. That bill comes up for an important committee vote in the city council on Tuesday. It highlights the tension between people who want affordable places to live and people who need larger homes for growing families.