Earlier this month, VIA architecture released its study of the potential for higher capacity and usage of the Seattle Center Monorail. Though activists had been asking for years for ORCA integration to bring the independent line into the fare system, it was the commitment to bring big-time sports back to Key Arena that finally made […]

Last week, Sound Transit kicked off a summer of public events centered around SR 522 BRT. “Project Refinement” will be done in early 2019, the board selects a final project for preliminary engineering in January 2020, and the line should actually open in 2024. This phase collects input on station locations, parking location and type, […]

The nice thing about BRT is that it doesn’t take forever to open. After we approved BRT on SR522 in 2016, it will open in 2024. ST is holding two community meetings this week to start public planning for the project: Bothell Public Meeting Wednesday, May 30, 6-8 p.m. (presentation at 6:30 p.m.) Northshore Senior […]

Beginning Monday, potential riders in some areas of Pierce County will have the option of a free Lyft ride to or from a nearby transit hub. The Federal Transit Administration is providing the $205,000 for this one-year pilot. From the press release: The Limited Access Connection project’s goals include addressing mobility challenges for those with […]

Every big transportation project starts with a cost estimate. The tedious debate on whether the project costs too much, or is just right, is a proxy fight over whether it’s a good project or not. The estimate spirals upwards, which breeds cynicism among opponents while providing an opportunity to revisit all of the old arguments. […]

Yesterday, the Council passed the alley vacation for the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) that the Transportation and Sustainability Committee approved last week, as we reported. The O’Brien amendment that would have gotten more money for transit from the WSCC in the event of serious service degradation failed 6-3, with only O’Brien, Sawant, and Herbold […]

Sound Transit’s rider-hostile escalator policy is under scrutiny right now, but there are similar problems with escalators in the Metro-run Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), extensively renovated for light rail in 2008. To take one example, the up escalator at the 3rd & University tunnel entrance was inoperative from March 14th to April 3rd “due […]

On its way to producing a single “preferred alternative” in early 2019, Sound Transit is in a year-plus process of collecting public input and screening a number of variants on the Seattle “representative alignment” voters saw before the 2016 vote. These “Level 1” alternatives are getting some basic, qualitative analysis across a wide series of […]

The “Melrose Promenade” takes shape. Why New York stopped building subways. The summary of the first round of ST3 public comments is out. Mercer Island Station work starting. Federal Way and Tacoma Link open houses happening now. Kitsap Transit now has a dashboard for fast ferry key performance indicators. It’s only been 6 months, but […]

For months, SDOT watchers have been agonizing over the fate of One Center City’s program of bus and bike lanes, as well as the Center City Connector streetcar and its dedicated lanes. Mayor Durkan’s new proposal to toll the city center makes these petty squabbles by comparison. Obviously, there’s a lot of process before anyone […]