All posts by Mike Orr

The Sound Transit Board just voted to pass the ST Express 2026 restructure, which will be implemented this fall. There are little or no changes from the last proposal. The vote was unanimous.

Until then the ST Express routes will remain unchanged, even though Crosslake Link will open in two days and Federal Way Link opened last December. ST says this is to provide “resiliency” through the World Cup period. I take this to mean if Link breaks down or gets overcrowded during the World Cup, these routes will remain as a backup, and the routes are widely known so residents can help visitors find them and tell them when they run.

There was extensive public testimony at the beginning of the board meeting, though most of it wasn’t about ST Express. The meeting livestream should be on ST’s YouTube channel within a couple days. I listened to bits of the testimony: most of what I heard was advocating for ST3 Link extensions not to be dropped, and there were a few ST Express comments.

We have reservations about parts of the restructure, missed opportunities for further restructuring, and the way public input was handled. The online survey had no text field to suggest changes to other routes or other alternatives for these routes. I sent my feedback in an email to ST, but most people wouldn’t think of that or get around to it or realize other changes were even possible.

More below the fold.

Continue reading “ST Express 2026 Restructure Approved”

Downtown Redmond’s walkable urbanism in the Link station area is transit-oriented development (TOD) done right. (Yet Another Urbanist, August 2025)

Continue reading “Sunday Movie: Downtown Redmond Urbanism & Floating Bridge Rail”

[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.

US vs European zoning. (City Beautiful)

This is an open thread.

London vs Berlin transit. Which is better? (Evan Edinger)

Top 15 highest-ridership cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico. (CityNerd)

This is an open thread.

Two videos partly related to Friday’s “Pedestrianize the Ave” article.

The biggest opposition to congestion pricing and pedestrianizing streets comes before they’re implemented, then they open and often become big successes. The Hill of Hysteria. (CityNerd)

Deliveries by cargo bike. With illustrations in color. (Urban Mobility Explained)

This is an open thread.

Open payments or “Tap to Pay” started today. Several transit agencies’ bus and rail readers including Sound Transit and Metro now accept not only ORCA cards but also credit cards and digital wallets (pay by phone).

Open payments raise the risk that if you have both an ORCA card and credit cards or debit cards in your wallet, it may charge the wrong card or multiple cards or refuse the transaction.

How are your experiences with it?

The history of Gasworks Park. (Fourth Place) Even if you’ve heard some of the history you probably don’t know all of it.

From downtown Portland to Mt Hood by MAX and bus routes. (Climate and Transit)

I made a similar trip to Grouse Mountain in British Columbia in the 90s. From downtown Vancouver I took the SeaBus to Lonsdale Key, a local bus to a transfer stop in a residential area, a second local bus to the Grouse Mountain parking lot, and the ski lift to the resort. It was summer so there was no skiing, just an outdoor space similar to Gasworks Park where people picnic and a building with a documentary movie. The Grouse Mountain website says bus #236 now goes all the way from Lonsdale Quay to Grouse Mountain (a 25-minute ride), and in the winter there’s a shuttle bus from downtown Vancouver to Grouse Mountain.

This is an open thread.

On March 28 the full 2 Line will open with Crosslake service. The next nationwide No Kings march is on the same day. Having both at the same time raises logistical issues like overcrowded trains in the Crosslake segment and downtown street closures. It’s worth thinking through the implications of this early. Hopefully Sound Transit and Metro will have extra service as needed, and a robust plan for downtown street closures. We can point out any blind spots they may have.

Past Link openings have several busfuls of people coming to the speeches, and full trains for the first few hours of service as people try out the route and stations and take their kids to the festivals at all the new stations. We don’t know where the Link speeches will be: most likely Judkins Park, Mercer Island, or Bellevue Downtown station.

The last No Kings march brought over 90,000 people to downtown Seattle, many coming on Link and buses. They blocked part of Pine Street and 5th Avenue for three hours. The first Women’s March started at Judkins Park and went up the entire 4th Avenue.

Continue reading “2 Line and No Kings”

Tacoma’s abandoned railroad tunnel. (Pretty Gritty Tours)

1980 Seattle bus and walking tour. A short KCTS documentary. (Tom Speer)

A realtor looks at Seattle in ten years. (Living in Seattle with Sean McConnell) Best taken with a grain of salt, and he’s trying to drum up buyers, but here’s what people are saying. Just don’t look too closely at a Ballard to Bellevue trip on light rail.

This is an open thread.