All posts by Nathan Dickey

Transportation:

• SDOT is proposing to scale back Pike Place’s pedestrianization pilot this winter; the Seattle Street Alliance proposes an alternative (The Urbanist).
• Another round of WSLE station area design surveys by SDOT is open, closing on September 8.
• July bike counts obliterated Seattle’s all-time monthly record (Seattle Bike Blog)
• With Ballard Link delayed to sometime between 2042 and 2060, some advocates are calling for ST to reopen consideration of a Ballard stop on the Sounder N Line (The Urbanist)
• How Recent Crossing Improvements Have Lowered Speeds around Judkins Park (WSDOT Blog)
• Denny Way is getting its eastbound bus lane this weekend (SDOT Blog)
• State ferries to recap busiest summer since 2019 and share other updates at virtual community meetings this September (WSDOT)

More headlines after the break.

Preliminary first-count results released yesterday. Coverage by KUOW, by The Urbanist, by The Stranger, by The Seattle Times ($), and by the Northwest Progressive Institute.

King County’s results are here (PDF); statewide results are accessible here. First-drop preliminary results represent about half of ballots cast; later counts typically trend very progressive in the Puget Sound region.

Seattle Transit Blog has not yet issued endorsements for this year’s elections.

Selected Primary Elections (top two proceed to the November General Election):

• Seattle City Council D5: Nilu Jenks (49.69%); Julie Kang (36.67%)
• King County Council D2: Rebecca Saldaña (51.94%); Toshiko Grace Hasegawa (38.66%)
  • Mriam Mboya (8.70%)
• King County Council D8: Teresa Mosqueda (62.78%); Nick Duda (27.49%)
  • Mia Jacobson (9.27%)
• State Leg. D43 Senator: Jamie Pedersen (71.06%); Hannah Sabio-Howell (17.86%)
• State Leg. D46 Pos. 1: Gerry Pollet (54.34%); Will Dreher (30.69%)
  • Ron Davis (13.69%)
• US Congress D9: Adam Smith (50.94%); Doug Basler (23.79%)
  • Kshama Sawant (12.56%); Melissa Chaudhry (11.42%); Jacob Perasso (1.13%)

Selected levies and other elections:

• Seattle Prop. 1 (Library Levy): Yes (71.71%)
• Tacoma Prop 1 (Connect Tacoma: Safe Streets and Sidewalks Levy): Yes (57.51%)
• Spokane Public Transportation Benefit Area Prop 1: Yes (50.38%)

We are tracking a few elections of interest and will share relevant updates as ballots are counted. Results are from August 4, 2026.

Comments may discuss any election result relevant to transit or land use improvement. Uncivil comments will be moderated.

First-drop election results after the headlines.

Service changes are coming at the end of August! Summary articles are in the works.

Headlines:

• Op-Ed: Federal Transportation Policy Is Growing Unhinged Under Trump (The Urbanist)
• Full Ballard Link Line Could Take Until 2060 To Build, Sound Transit Says (The Urbanist); Seattle Subway’s response.
• The Builder’s Remedy Looks To Be Coming to Bainbridge Island (The Urbanist)
• Seattle Council Reins In Growth Plan Appeals in Narrow Vote (The Urbanist)
• Impending Metro Service Changes See Last-Minute Pushback in Lake Forest Park (The Urbanist).
• PubliCola introduces new comparison commentary column “Greater Seattle” (PubliCola)
• In California, Some Cities Are Done With Drive-Throughs (The New York Times, gift link)
• Seattle office building turns into apartments. Here’s how it looks (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• Bellevue adds “Bellevue Light Rail Shuttle” on top of its existing BellHop app-taxi shuttle (Visit Bellevue). Coverage by The Seattle Times ($)
• “August Adventures” accessible via Community Transit (CT News)
• Pierce Transit to run a special express service to the Washington State Fair, Sept. 4-27 (What’s New)

• 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.