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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Transportation / Politics Kemper Freeman Solves Region's Traffic Problem

Posted by Goldy on Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 11:27 AM

Well, I guess that's one way to escape gridlock without resorting to expensive (and communistic) investments in mass transit:

Despite misgivings about noise and safety issues, the Bellevue City Council voted unanimously on Monday to approve downtown developer Kemper Freeman's plan to land helicopters on a high-rise office building up to five times a week.

See, the great thing about helicopters is, unlike rail, they're not rigidly tied to a permanent route. And only rich people can afford them.

Helicopters are our future!

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Comments (11) RSS

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....and they are highly fuel efficient as well.

Posted by Prusik on April 26, 2011 at 11:32 AM

Oh, look, the helipad is across the street from the condo/hotel tower he built, where he and his wife Betty live in number 3904. How handy!

Posted by gloomy gus on April 26, 2011 at 11:49 AM

Plus, they can carry up to a half-dozen passengers (depending on type), so they're totally the MASS TRANSIT SOLUTION FOR TEH FUTURE!

(Oh, and I suppose the ability to mount .50-cal. machine guns and rocket pods in various locations goes without saying...)

Posted by COMTE

on April 26, 2011 at 11:52 AM

Beat you to it, Goldy:
http://www.cornichon.org/2011/04/chopper…

Posted by Cornichon

on April 26, 2011 at 11:54 AM

They also make great targets for skeet shooting with wire spool bobbins.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on April 26, 2011 at 12:01 PM

@4 ha! And I just realized - though Freeman's residential towers are posh, isn't that technically promoting the kind of density we like to claim to prefer over more Eastside sprawl? Even if it's due to an odious pecksniff like him? I don't like that it may be so, but it may be so....

Posted by gloomy gus on April 26, 2011 at 12:06 PM

@4 - you win one free internet!

Posted by Beetlecat on April 26, 2011 at 12:08 PM

Here's your jetpack.

New Zealand's Martin Aircraft said that its Martin Jetpack--which has a 200-horsepower piston gasoline engine that powers a couple of ducted fans--remained aloft for more than seven minutes in its latest test. That may not be enough time to get you to the store and back, but it represents a record.

A man on the ground flew the Martin Jetpack by radio control; a weighted dummy, "Jetson," served as the pilot. No mention yet on an updated timetable for putting a human through a rigorous series of test runs, though the company has previously said that it's on track to do just that sometime in the current quarter.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-2005…

No need to thank me. Dude.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe