All posts by Nathan Dickey

• Cartoonist Brett Hamil still thinks about the driver who drove up the tracks to Mount Baker Station (South Seattle Emerald)
• Metro Set to Go It Alone on RapidRide R Line, Won’t Seek Federal Funding (The Urbanist)
• Sound Transit Asks Riders to Weigh In on 2027 Service Plan (The Urbanist)
• King County Metro pledged to boost bus security. How is it going? (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• Bremerton Fast Ferry Headed for 35% Weekday Service Cut This Fall (The Urbanist)
• WA has blocked over 100,000 federal attempts to access license plate data (KUOW)
• Congress Budgeted Billions for Big Transit Projects. Trump Isn’t Spending It. (The New York Times, gift link)
• Everett Transit’s 2027 Transit Development Plan is available for review (Everett Transit)
• Tips for getting around Seattle for Torchlight Parade, Seafair Weekend Festival (SDOT Blog)
• Turn your ORCA Card into a bicycle lift pass + 4 other ORCA card sticker designs (Seattle Bike Blog)
• Ballard Goodwill may be redeveloped into 300-unit apartment building (My Ballard)
• ‘Record time’ — Belmont Village opens with 31 new shelter homes on Capitol Hill (Capitol Hill Seattle Blog)
• City Council passes bill limiting land-use-related appeals; Saka amendment fails (West Seattle Blog)
• Issaquah Leads State With Program to Self-Certify Backyard Cottage Plans (The Urbanist)
• Katie Wilson tries to find balance in move from organizer to mayor (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• Op-Ed: A Multiuse Path Building Spree Can Tackle Sidewalk Deserts (The Urbanist)
• Washington state’s clean-energy bottleneck leads to calls for reform (KUOW)

This is an Open Thread.

• Pierce Transit Goes to Voters for First Funding Increase Since 2002 (The Urbanist)
• I-5 Expansion Over Columbia River Stumbles Forward with Federal Greenlight (The Urbanist)
• Rant and Rave: Reader grateful for ‘No turn on red’ signs (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• SDOT Prepares to Roll Out the Route 8 Red Carpet on Denny Way (The Urbanist)
• Pioneer Square homelessness effort exceeds original goal (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• What ST heard in comments about the Tacoma Dome Link Extension (Sound Transit)
• RapidRide I Line construction update (Metro Matters)
• Swift Green Line Extension: Project Update (CT News)
• With Major Reforms Years Away, City Could Make Temporary Changes to Housing Fees Next Year (PubliCola)
• Renton’s World Cup legacy, future hopes seen in Legacy Square (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• Park (or ride) the bus: Visitors enjoy transit options during summer soccer extravaganza (WSDOT Blog)
• Getting to games in Seattle: Skip traffic, parking with these transit tips (SDOT Blog)
• Free transit rides for active military and veterans during Fleet Week (Metro Matters)

This is an Open Thread.

After nearly two months of various council deliberations and public commentary, the Seattle Transit Measure is officially heading to voters in this year’s November General Election. This measure proposes to renew funding for boosted transit service in Seattle, first enacted in 2014 (and reduced in 2020) for 10 years.

Mayor Wilson’s proposal in June faced a litany of amendments and emerged from the legislative process relatively unscathed. The adopted amendments largely require additional reporting by SDOT and Metro regarding the impacts of purchased service and other statistics.

PubliCola interviewed Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson: Part 1 and Part 2. Cascade PBS sat down with Tacoma Mayor Anders Ibsen, also at 6 months into his first term.

Transit & Streets:

• Pierce Transit puts expansion measure on November ballot. (Pierce Transit)
• Did you ride transit during the World Cup? Take Sound Transit’s survey.
• Sound Transit’s proposed transit service for next year (2027) is available for public review.
• OPINION | Neglected Traffic Medians on Rainier Avenue South Point to Inequity in the South End (South Seattle Emerald)
• Who Put 2,400 Eco-Blocks in Georgetown? Researchers Still Don’t Know. (South Seattle Emerald)
• Join the Renton Area Mobility Project Board and help shape the future of transit (Metro Matters). Submit your application here.
• Avoid the Squeeze: Take the Bus to Link Light Rail (Community Transit)
• Seattle’s first major roundabout opens near future light rail station in Pinehurst (SDOT Blog)
• Dan Strauss pushes for more Ballard bus service ahead of Seattle Transit Measure vote (MyBallard)

This Monday, July 13, Seattle City Council is holding public hearings on the Seattle Transit Measure, Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed renewal of funding for more frequent, reliable bus service across Seattle. Councilmembers are considering a long list of potential amendments to the proposed measure. Some proposed amendments would cut funding, shorten the measure, and slow down new service. Others would make it stronger for riders.

There will be two public hearing sessions on Monday: Session I will be remote-only starting at 9:30am, and Session II will be hybrid in-person and remote starting at 5:00pm. The Fix the L8, the Transit Riders Union, and Transportation Choices Coalition are calling on all Seattle transit supporters to show up and stand and/or speak in support of the measure during the hearings. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/savebuses13.

The detailed agenda for the sessions is available here. Comments are usually limited to 1-2 minutes. If too many people sign up to comment at the 9:30am meeting, they will be asked to return to comment at the 5pm meeting.

At 6:47 this morning, Sound Transit issued an ominous alert stating “1 Line and 2 Line trains are experiencing delays until further notice due to power issue near University of Washington Station”. Less than 10 minutes later, Link service between Northgate, Stadium, and Judkins Park Station was suspended due to the power issue, with shuttle buses ordered to provide replacement service as Sound Transit investigated the issue. Later in the morning, some 1 and 2 Line trains began operating through Westlake Station.

Transit & Streets

• Kettle Proposes Slashing Seattle Transit Measure, Halting City-Funded Bus Service Growth (The Urbanist)
• Bellevue’s Grand Connection gets a little help from its neighbors (The Seattle Times, $)
• Op-Ed: Why Spokane Needs to Keep Its Transit Momentum (The Urbanist)
• US Subways Build Too Many Cross Passages (Construction Physics)
• Sound Transit’s Bespoke Wayfinding System Is Unnecessarily Baffling (PubliCola).
• Can Seattle move Highway 99 out of [South Park]? (KUOW)
• ‘So be it! See to it!’ Bus shelter mural honors acclaimed author Octavia Butler (Metro Matters)
• How a maintenance crew turned their commutes into a multimodal adventure (WSDOT Blog)
• Seattle’s FIFA construction pause ends, WSDOT’s Revive I-5 resumes this weekend (SDOT Blog)
• Do you visit West Seattle or Queen Anne? Take SDOT’s parking surveys (SDOT Blog)
• Rant and Rave: Couple appreciate help at light rail station (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• High demand, low turnover: SDOT study reveals parking crunch in West Seattle Junction (Westside Seattle)

Land Use & Housing

• Misinformation Runs Rampant as Seattle Council Considers SEPA Appeal Changes (The Urbanist)
• Seattle council considers limit to ability to challenge density plan (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• As downtown Seattle offices empty, city facing years of ‘zombie’ towers (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• I’m homeless in Seattle. Here’s what will get more of us housed (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)

This is an Open Thread.

Reminder: most transit agencies will be running Sunday/holiday service this Friday, July 3, in observation of Independence Day. Check your local agency’s service alerts.

Reminder: To ensure there is enough space on trains, bikes and scooters are not allowed on trains on World Cup match days. There are matches today (July 1) and next Monday (July 6).

Transit & Streets:

• Sound Transit Board Advances West Seattle Link Into Final Design (The Urbanist)
• As Everett weighs transit merger, paratransit riders want same service (Everett Herald)
• Op-Ed: How the Seattle Transit Measure Can Benefit All (The Urbanist)
• Op-Ed: Seattle Needs Car-Free Streets (The Urbanist)
• New Report Outlines Clear Case for Removing SR 99 Through South Park (The Urbanist)
• How Do We Get Transit Champions on Transit Boards? (PubliCola)
• Sound Transit refunds debt for ~$23 million in savings (The Platform)
• Temporary Street Closures Along Aurora Ave N to improve public safety (SDOT Blog)

Land Use & Housing:

• Court of Appeals Ruling Pushes Out Next Phase of Seattle’s Growth Plan ‘Significantly’ (The Urbanist)
• The Good, the Bad, and the UGA-ly as WA Growth Management Act Turns 35 (The Urbanist)
• KCRHA Spins the News that Homelessness Is Growing (PubliCola). Also in The Stranger.

This is an Open Thread.

Reminders: To ensure there is enough space on trains, bikes and scooters are not allowed on trains on World Cup match days.

Local:

• What to expect during RapidRide I construction (Metro Matters)
• Everett Transit Annexation Would Level Up City’s Transit System, Mayor Says (The Urbanist)
• A Seattle Times reader wishes buses were quieter (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• 50 years later, one of Community Transit’s original buses hits the road again (CT News)
• Olympic College in Bremerton is piloting free transit passes for students (KT Headways)
• Data Backs Up Supportive ‘Housing First’ Model in Spite of Federal Attacks (The Urbanist).
• DESC’s Susan Byrnes opines Homelessness is a complex problem. Stop looking for a simple solution (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• Tacoma Sees 62% More Homes Enter Pipeline Following 2025 Zoning Overhaul (The Urbanist)
• Op-Ed: ‘Seattle Atlas’ Can Demystify Zoning, Build Case for More Housing (The Urbanist)
• A review of the impacts of the World Cup on Seattle and the region (CascadePBS)