Verdict on Platform Decals: Meh

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Beginning last winter, you may have noticed platform decals in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel attempting nudge new-ish Seattle rail riders to follow the universal etiquette of not blocking the door as people exit. That experiment is over. ST spokesperson Kimberly Reason: The decals at Westlake were temporarily installed on a six-month trial period to […]

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News Roundup: New Volunteers

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Angle Lake is LEED Gold. 216 badly needed housing units in Tacoma, falling apart due to a squabble over parking. It’s a hot real estate market down there. Sound Transit needs new volunteers for the Citizen Oversight Panel. 300 units coming to Downtown Kent. Bikeshare is up and running again. Push-to-walk buttons often don’t do […]

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News Roundup: Ready to Go

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Two bikeshare companies are ready to go, pending permits. But the foolish helmet law could mess it all up. Here are some do’s and dont’s. Details coming in on Amtrak derailment. Tim Eyman launches another anti-transit initiative. The impact would be devastating. Affordable housing coming to Mt. Baker. Metro and Sound Transit have to fill […]

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News Roundup: With the Pontoons

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Cascades derails in Steilacoom; no serious injuries, no obvious cause. Metro killing Route 99, wants your feedback. $50m federal grant ($) arrives for City Center Connector. Remarkably, Seattle’s population growth ($) exceeded the rest of King County in absolute terms. We’re doing something right! I-90 Link construction begins with the pontoons. SDOT rolls out regulatory framework for […]

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Takeaways from the MHA DEIS

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The Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), as Lizz reported, was properly focused on the main issue in a housing shortage: the number of units produced. The punch line is that the zoning changes and affordable housing requirements, taken together, will create about 19,000 new housing units over the next 20 […]

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Somehow, Transit Wins in Olympia

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All session, legislators threatened to repeal voter-approved transit taxes, throw Sound Transit into organizational chaos, or at best ignore transit as they focused on education. Miraculously, as the session is ending all threats have retreated. Instead, transit agencies statewide gained a small amount of revenue as a side effect of wider tax reform. There were three […]

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News Roundup: An Early Peek

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Road pricing doesn’t get much love, but it eases gridlock ($). Notably, transpo chair Sen. Curtis King claims tolling should not try to “change the dynamics of what people want to do” despite that fact that all transportation infrastructure does precisely that. Battery bus maker Proterra shifts into higher gear ($), has competition.  This interview with […]

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News Roundup: A Faster Trip

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Seattle Neighborhood Greenways mayoral forum tonight, hosted by Erica C. Barnett and sponsored by STB and many other orgs, is sold out, but you can watch the live stream City and WSDOT settle lawsuit over waterfront roadway width. Snohomish Executive Dave Somers to head the PSRC ($). More assaults on Spokane Transit drivers. Central District […]

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Sounder Negotiations Update

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When Sound Transit put together their plan last year, more South Sounder service was an important component of building a winning coalition. However, the number of train trips purchased for a certain amount of money is subject to negotiations with BNSF. Last spring, ST exec Ric Ilgenfritz was optimistic that there would be more specifics […]

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News Roundup: Top-Level View

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Erica interviews Mayoral hopeful Jenny Durkan. Self-driving car testing ($) coming to Washington, thanks to Gov. Inslee. Seattle Upzone DEIS ($) is public. Bob Hasegawa clarifies that he supports ST3, doubles down on governance reform and other controversial stands. Semi rear-ends Route 150 ($), injures 11. Audit slams Access Transit ($) for higher-than-normal costs, poor […]

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News Roundup: Indispensable

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Erica interviews Jessyn Farrell. Metro running a survey about I-90 trailheads. Vision Zero making progress, but is it enough? The first reviews are in for Pierce Transit Route 15 (Tacoma-Pt. Defiance) The indispensable Heidi Groover interrogates Bob Hasegawa’s views on transit. Is it too early to allow private bikeshare in? One Center City group collecting […]

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Two-Way Transit Priority Opening on I-90

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After about a decade of planning, legislative showdowns, and lawsuits, two-way HOV operations (R8A)* are to begin on Sunday, June 4th. WSDOT expects delays the first Monday, as people learn about the new configuration. A significant opening in its own right, two-way operations are an omen of even greater changes to commutes in the corridor, and to the […]

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News Roundup: Gathering Comment

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djw has some theories about the latest Republican attack on Sound Transit. I endorse the latest Dan Savage gentrification screed 100%. PSRC gathering comment on their next round of transportation grants. Rob Johnson says HALA is working. Data here. Madison BRT work begins. Metro to increase park-and-ride enforcement. All the lawmakers that claimed to not […]

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Flights Coming to Paine Field

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Alaska Airlines shocked everyone yesterday by announcing they would begin commercial service out of Paine Field in fall 2018. There will be 9 daily flights by Boeing 737 and Embraer 175 jets, presumably to major Western cities. But how does this fit into the overall strategy for the area, a strategy that includes Link to Paine Field? […]

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News Roundup: Hopeful

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California’s full-on legislative assault on NIMBY obstruction. Take note, Olympia. Local car ownership dropping ($). Erica interviews Mayoral hopeful Nikkita Oliver, and as always, goes deep on housing. Rep. Jessyn Farrell and Jenny Durkan are also running for Mayor. Cascade Bicycle Club trying to get accessible Link station designs in Redmond. Good for them for […]

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“I think that vote was rigged”

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In a wide-ranging interview, the South Seattle Emerald asked Mayoral candidate and State Senator Bob Hasegawa about Sound Transit 3. The reply was astonishing in several respects: Emerald:  You’ve been an outspoken critic of the $54 billion Sound Transit 3 package, could you talk about why? Hasegawa: I think that vote was rigged. I don’t […]

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News Roundup: Some Facts

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Judy Clibborn provides some facts for Mercer Island. Republican Senate again votes to slash Sound Transit revenue. Empire Builder fans speak up for it. Sara Bernard’s feature on carlessness in Seattle is far more insightful than most of that genre. In a development that would have been shocking two months ago, Ed Murray will not run for […]

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