News Roundup: Exceeding Expectations

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Fast Ferries “exceeding expectations” Kent digging in on saving Dick’s. A very smart summary of the current state of the MHA legislation. Juarez, Gonzalez, and Mosqueda are the ones unambiguously standing up for maximizing the number of people that get to live in Seattle. Relatedly, fourplexes reduce displacement. Permit parking ($) may be coming to […]

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STB Meetup March 4

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We haven’t had a meetup in a very long while. Please join us for an evening of mingling and camaraderie at the Big Time Brewery in the University District, March 4th, 6pm. There is no cost, and it is open to all ages. However, please be gracious and don’t show up if you’re unwilling to purchase a […]

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Emergency Snow Network to End at 4am Wednesday

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Metro just announced that the ESN is wrapping up at 4am on February 13th. Buses are not returning to normal service, but instead the “snow routes” indicated on many individual route schedules. Metro expects to operate about 90% of its routes tomorrow. We’ll update here as details emerge. Sign up for route alerts to see […]

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News Roundup: Likeable

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Rich Smith is right: Logan Bowers is likeable. Fort Lawton housing plan may finally move forward. A bunch of people started biking when car capacity dropped. Transit, too. SDOT will stop finding excuses to not protect pedestrians. Mayor Durkan may no longer vocally oppose the Center City Connector, but there are still rail skeptics on […]

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A Dilemma at UWB

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The junction of the I-405 and SR522 Stride BRT lines will be frustratingly close to the University of Washington – Bothell (UWB) and Cascadia College joint campus, close enough for a tempting diversion but too far to actually be convenient. Universities are good all-day transit demand generators, but too many campuses in the area were […]

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Voters Both Ahead of and Behind Public Officials

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The Seattle Times published results of an extensive public poll ($) on local transportation issues this week. It asked hundreds of adults in households with registered voters, in both Seattle proper and King County, what they thought about where we are and what we need to do. The results suggest that King County deserve a […]

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News Roundup: Gov. Inslee Insists

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SDOT improves SLU streetcar reliability. Stadium Station office complex gets approval. Gov. Inslee insists that the Columbia River Crossing will include light rail. Pictures of Roosevelt Station ($). ECB discusses the pile of upzone amendments, from all districts, that water down the change. This is disappointing, especially from councilmembers not running again, but we’ll see […]

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Post-Viaduct Open Thread

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Many people are experimenting with different options today. Please share your experiences below to let others know what is, or isn’t, working. WSDOT has a Seattle area freeway traffic map. SDOT has a traffic map that covers many more arterials.

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Bye, Viaduct

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At 10pm tonight, the main segment of the viaduct closes forever. The Battery Street Tunnel (and the corresponding Western Ave. ramps) will remain open for another 3 weeks. It’s part civic eyesore, part scenic drive, and part important piece of transit infrastructure. Seattle will never be the same. The SR99 tunnel is not a replacement […]

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News Roundup: Preconceived Opinions

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JUMP expands service area, adds bikes. As I predicted in a few venues, 10 years of viaduct and deep-bore tunnel events haven’t changed any preconceived opinions ($). Much like guns, fewer and fewer people own more and more of the cars. Sodo offramp 4th Avenue bus lane went in Saturday. Temporary Seattle Squeeze reroutes will […]

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News Roundup: Big Plans

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Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle) will try again to make automated bus lane enforcement legal ($). 20% more bike racks in 2019! It’s time for minimum density standards. NYT says West Coast cities are catching up ($) on transit. But we are long way from getting to their transit-friendly land-use legacy. DSA has big plans for […]

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News Roundup: Up for Sale

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Mercer Megablock is up for sale. Sen. Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens) trying to fund a new transportation package ($) with a carbon fee. Link escalators a disaster, but you knew that already. Redmond Mayor John Marchione is the new ST Board chair. He’s been pretty good on the board. Angst over Tacoma Link construction staging. Jan […]

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News Roundup: Hard Feelings

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Your ORCA beep has changed. Peter Rogoff in line for a $16,000 bonus ($). Columbia River Crossing meetings try to get over hard feelings from Washington Republicans’ irresponsibility. Jay Inslee wants light rail on the new bridge. Judge sets back Burke-Gilman “missing Link” yet again; apparently environmental impact statements are also meant to assess if any […]

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New Bill Would End I-405 Tolling

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On Dec. 10th Sen. Guy Palumbo (D – Maltby/Bothell) prefiled a bill to end the High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes on I-405. Although most transportation experts would line up to slay this bill, its passage — which is not likely — may actually be a good outcome for transit. The bill doesn’t return the highway to […]

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News Roundup: Indefensible

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Fort Lawton affordable housing push rumbles on ($). Renton ahead of Seattle on the backyard cottage front. Seattle booming, not adding cars. 3 finalists for SDOT director Mountlake Terrace planning its station area. The scooter ban is indefensible. Seattle Central College doesn’t want to build any more parking. Geofencing 3rd Ave. ST has a new […]

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About Link Cost Per Boarding

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Last month, alert readers noticed that ST’s quarterly ridership report showed a steep jump in cost per boarding. With boardings up a bit and the number of trips essentially flat, this implied an alarming increase in ST’s unit costs. The good news is that a big chunk of this is a mere accounting illusion. The […]

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Ballard is Big, but Link Might Miss it Entirely

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From Boston, STB’s frenemy emeritus, d.p., shares this twitter observation: @danjryan @kptrease @MikeLindblom @fchi Now that the midterms are over and it feels safe to focus on (still important) minutiae again, I wanted to send you all this astounding comparison I noticed. Both of these maps show 3400-foot walks. pic.twitter.com/FtS0oSpuBj — porcyk (@porcyk) November 19, […]

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