Ten years ago yesterday, March 19, the University Link Extension opened to the public. The extension utilized a new 3.15 mile twin bore tunnel from the north end of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) to the University of Washington, via Capitol Hill. U Link was arguably the first subway-like section on the 1 Line (then Central Link). Trips between the University of Washington (UW) station and Westlake station only took 8 minutes, compared to 20-30 minutes on a bus. The extension caused a significant Metro bus restructure that truncated numerous routes at UW.

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: University Link Turns 10” | 10 comments

Sound Transit finally addressed their severe budget shortfalls at the March 18 Board Retreat. The transit agency looked at three different approaches to build ST3. All three approaches investigated involve heavy truncations with some lines being completely eliminated.

Continue reading “ST3 Truncations” | 124 comments

Reminders & Updates:

• Downtown Transit Tunnel Closure Mar. 21-22: Link service between Capitol Hill to Stadium will be replaced by shuttle buses this weekend for scheduled maintenance.
• Simulated 2 Line service from Lynnwood to Seattle is suspended until March 23.

Local Transit:

• Sound Transit’s efforts to make ST3 affordable again continue with new cost-savings measures for WSLE (The Urbanist). Revisions to the long-term plan for ST3 are the focus of today’s ST Board retreat in Tacoma.
• Meanwhile, Sound Transit is trying “progressive design-build” as a way to build its third Link operations and maintenance facility more affordably than estimated under its standard megaproject delivery methods (The Urbanist).
• The Interstate Bridge Replacement project is being broken into phases as cost estimates continue to explode (The Urbanist).
• State Rep. Greg Nance (Bainbridge Island) accused State Sen. Marko Liias of retaliatory and transactional lawmaking as the Mosquito Fleet bill stumbled at the State Legislature (Op-Ed, Kitsap Sun, soft $). Liias says he would have preferred a phone call over a newspaper column (The Seattle Times, $).

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: ST Board retreat” | 47 comments

[Ed. This article featured a video that has since become unavailable. Here’s a video link in case it comes back. Commentators who saw the video, could you help summarize the content as you remember it in the comments?]

A bus restructure idea for rural Pacific County in the southwest corner of Washington State, home of the Long Beach penninsula. (The Transit Bandit) Thanks to commentator “big-b” for finding this video.

Would anyone like to do an article on another Washington county outside Pugetopolis? What is the current transit network like? How well does it serve residents and visitors? What service is missing? Would a revenue-neutral restructure help? Would a small expansion like one or a few more buses allow a large improvement to the network? This could evolve into a series about several counties if somebody or some people want to write it. We’ve had articles about Spokane, Ellensburg, the Tri-Cities, etc, when we’ve had somebody with ties to those counties or the agency announced a major change.

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Judkins Park Link station will open with the full East Link Extension on March 28. While Judkins Park station will be an incredible resource for Seattle residents in the Central District and Southeast Seattle, the station’s location in the middle of I-90 is less than ideal.

The two entrances to Judkins Park station are quite different. The east entrance faces 23rd Ave, a 2-lane arterial, and Sam Smith park on the I-90 lid. The west entrance faces the 6-lane Rainier Ave under the Link tracks and several I-90 overpasses. Recent improvements in the area have mitigated some of the challenges faced by people traveling to the station by transit, bike, and on foot.

Transit Connections

Judkins Park station’s east-west orientation has potential for great connections with several north-south bus routes. Fortunately for transferring passengers, King County Metro, Sound Transit, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) have worked together to provide front door transit service to both entrances.

Continue reading “Judkins Park Station Access Guide” | 89 comments

US vs European zoning. (City Beautiful)

This is an open thread.

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Sound Transit’s arduous journey building the 2 Line will finally conclude two weeks from today with the opening of the “Crosslake Connection” between Seattle and Bellevue. On March 28, along with beginning regular operations of the world’s first (and only) electrified floating railway, two new Link stations will open: Judkins Park and Mercer Island. Like previous openings of Link extensions, Sound Transit is hosting celebrations at these new stations as well as key stations at either side of the Crosslake Connection and other stations along the 2 Line.

Read on for details.

Continue reading “Link 2 Line “Crosslake Connection” opening celebrations” | 71 comments

Cherry blossom season typically heralds the end of winter, and it returns this weekend. The U-District Cherry Blossom Festival starts today with special events now through March 29. While the groves at the University of Washington’s campus in Seattle are the most popular destination for blossom-seekers, The Seattle Times ($) offered five alternative urban cherry tree destinations to consider visiting for blossom viewing. Last year, the Urbanist created a map of each of Seattle’s 17,000+ cherry trees and 27,000 other blooming arbors.

Here are some transit-accessible cherry blossom viewing suggestions across Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma:

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: cherry blossom season” | 33 comments

Stride 3 BRT will be the new avenue-running BRT on SR 522 (Bothell Way) from Seattle/Shoreline via Lake Forest Park and Kenmore to Bothell. The bus will run every 10 to 15 minutes and stop at 14 stations.

This article will continue the Stride 3 BRT discussion with the eastern half of the route with Kenmore and Bothell.

The previous article (Stride 3 BRT Part 1: Seattle, Lake Forest Park and Kenmore) discussed the western half of the route with Seattle, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.

Continue reading “Stride 3 BRT Part 2: Kenmore, Bothell, and I-405” | 34 comments

Reminders & Updates:

• Simulated Service of the 2 Line west of Lake Washington has resumed. Northerners rejoice. The Crosslake Connection of the 2 Line opens on March 28.
• Downtown Transit Tunnel Closure Mar. 21-22: Link service between Capitol Hill to Stadium will be replaced by shuttle buses next weekend for scheduled maintenance.

Local News:

• No transit measure for King County in 2026, but the Council will likely implement a 0.1% sales tax hike for roadway maintenance, which currently has no funding (The Urbanist).
• A state bill directly authorizing 75-year bonds is dead, but an amendment to the state’s transportation funding policies might give Sound Transit the authority it’s hoping for (The Urbanist).
• Bellevue wants to know if residents agree with dropping speed limits 5 mph on most city streets (Seattle Bike Blog).
• Sound Transit should leverage the vast popularity of light rail expansion to get laws and policies changed before cutting ST3 projects (Op-Ed; The Urbanist).
• King County Metro recorded over 334,000 boardings on Feb. 11, the Seahawks Victory Parade day (Metro Matters). Metro reports last February’s average weekday served about 265,000 boardings.
• SDOT is once again accepting applications to volunteer on the various advisory boards (SDOT Blog)
• Seattle Mayor Wilson has proposed legislation to speed up construction of tiny house villages, an early step toward delivering on a campaign promise for 1,000 new shelters in 2026 (The Seattle Times, $). Erica C. Barnett reflects on the consequences of abandoning “Housing First” (PubliCola).

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: gas prices surge” | 119 comments