All posts by Nathan Dickey

News and commentary from the past week or so.

Survey: Community Transit wants your input on Swift Gold by November 15.

News:

• Despite Pushback, Updated RapidRide R Plans Include Scant Changes (The Urbanist); meanwhile, Metro Matters’s headline is “Executive Zahilay Moves to Accelerate Metro’s RapidRide R Line“.
• State Lawmaker, SDOT Director Clash Over Aurora Avenue Overhaul (The Urbanist).
• RapidRide I Line construction updates (Metro Matters).
• Metro receives national award for innovative paratransit map (Metro Matters).
• Get ready for major changes at Canyon Park Park & Ride in Bothell (CT News).
• Another option to pay for parking coming to Seattle with new “text to pay” feature (SDOT Blog)
• Housing Accountability Act Puts Tiny Beaux Arts Village in the Spotlight (The Urbanist).
• Seattle Social Housing Developer Advances First Construction Project (The Urbanist); also in The Stranger, on KUOW, the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, and The Seattle Times ($; free via SPL).
• Addressing the Growth Management Hearings Board Decision and Creating a Livable Seattle for All (The Daily Plan It Blog).

News and commentary from the past week or so.

News:

• Tug-of-War Over New Transportation Funding Heats Up in Bellevue (The Urbanist).
• Building I-5 left many scars in the Pinehurst neighborhood, new walking and biking projects hope to heal some of them (Seattle Bike Blog).
• Mukilteo’s Plans for ‘Vibrant Waterfront Village’ Start to Come Together (The Urbanist).
• Sound Transit Panel advances land acquisition for West Seattle Light Rail line (Westside Seattle).
• Beacon Ave S safety improvement design work resumes (SDOT Blog).
• ‘The Ave for All’ Transforms U District’s Main Thoroughfare (The Urbanist).
• 2026 Transportation Choices Hall of Fame (Transportation Choices Coalition).
• Peter Ngo named King County Metro’s Vehicle Maintenance Employee of the Year (Metro Matters).
• Seattle’s ‘Centers & Corridors’ Zoning Update Delayed Another Year (The Urbanist).
• Tacoma Pushes to Reimagine Crash-Prone Portland Avenue (The Urbanist)

Commentary:

• Making Every Bus Rapid (City Hikes).
• Greater Seattle: A Supermajority, a Mistake, and a Chance (PubliCola)

This is an Open Thread.

Reminder: Buses replace Link trains between Westlake and Northgate after ~10pm from Oct. 6-8 as part of Sound Transit’s rotating monthly maintenance program.

News and commentary from the past week.

News:

• Puget Sound ferry service returns after 23 ferry engine room workers staged a “sick out” amid tensions over low wages and long hours (KUOW). Also well-covered by The Stranger.
• Zahilay Proposes Advancing RapidRide R Funding to Spur Bus Upgrades (The Urbanist).
• Deadline Approaches for Outside Ideas to Curb Costs on Ballard Light Rail (The Urbanist).
• The push to Reconnect Fremont across Aurora (Fremont Neighbor).
• Paid Parking Could Expand to West Seattle, Upper Queen Anne (The Urbanist). Also on West Seattle Blog and the SDOT Blog.
• Nathan Vass’ Deciding to See is a Finalist for the Washington State Book Awards (The Urbanist).
• New Night Bus routes offer regional connections 24/7 (The Platform)
• KCRHA Consultant Finds the “Missing” $8 Million; Strauss’ RV Ban Moves Forward (PubliCola).
• The Seattle area’s most extreme bedroom communities (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• King County Metro apprenticeships offer a chance to shift gears (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• WSDOT’s Cascadia Program exploring regional high-speed rail in coordination with statewide I-5 needs (WSDOT Blog).

Seattle City Councilmember (District 6) and Sound Transit Boardmember Dan Strauss is hosting a community form discussing the Ballard Link Extension alongside several other elected officials and Sound Transit representatives. The forum will be held in the Osberg Great Hall at the National Nordic Museum on Monday, October 19, from 6-8pm.

New Link station and new Amtrak trains! Pinehurst Station opens today, and Amtrak Cascades has begun running new Airo trains.

Week Without Driving is October 1-8, 2026. Transit Trekker and King County Parks are leading a Transit Trek on Maury Island tomorrow.

News and commentary headlines from the past week.

News:

• Bus route changes, improvements for University of Washington, college campus connections (Metro Matters).
• King County Council Debates Future of its Transportation Funding District (The Urbanist).
• The Graham Street Station Is Fully Funded. Now Comes a Block Party (South Seattle Emerald).
• ‘Keep Pierce Moving’ Campaign Touts Major Bus Service Expansion Plan (The Urbanist).
• Dow Constantine Secures Three-Year Extension as Sound Transit CEO (The Urbanist).
• Renew and Reinvest: Metro’s zero-emission fleet generates nearly $1.5 million in clean fuel credits (Metro Matters).
• Free transit program drives big savings for Snohomish County workers (CT News).
• Clyde Hill Brokers Deal to Settle Growth Plan Complaint (The Urbanist).
• Mayor Wilson’s 2027-2028 Proposed Budget Supports a Resilient Seattle Transportation System (SDOT Blog). Alternatively: Pending Fiscal Cliff at SDOT Prompts Major Budget Shifts (The Urbanist). More review of Mayor’s budget proposal provided by PubliCola and by South Seattle Emerald.

News and commentary headlines from the past week.

News:

• RapidRide I Line construction update (Metro Matters).
• Seattle had record-breaking bike traffic this summer. What’s behind the numbers? (KUOW)
• Traffic Safety Package Advances with Change Targeting Historic Districts (The Urbanist).
• We worked through the summer to keep you moving this fall (and beyond!) (SDOT Blog).
• Seattle’s Speed Camera Program Enters New Frontier (The Urbanist).
• What happens when something goes wrong in a rideshare in Washington? (CascadePBS).
• Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet (KUOW)
• Zahilay Announces More Than $19.5 Million in New Housing Investments (The Urbanist).
• Wilson Seeks to Clean House Ahead of First Budget Rollout (The Urbanist).
• Housing Advocates, Workers Pack City Hall to Support Temporary Fee Break (The Urbanist).
• Host a Trick-or-Streets celebration on your block – Apply by October 20 (SDOT Blog)
• Mayor Katie Wilson announces proposed 2027-2028 budget (Office of the Mayor). Further reporting is expected to be published today.

Commentary:

• Greater Seattle: Councilmember Foster Breaks the MHA Logjam (PubliCola)
• Op-Ed: Seattle Needs More Than a 10-Minute Walk or Roll to a Park (The Urbanist).
• Seattle needs a new ‘process’ (Real Change)

This is an Open Thread.

News and commentary from the past week.

Transit & streets:

• New Airo Trains Start Rolling on Amtrak Cascades September 30 (The Urbanist).
• Executive Zahilay joins South King County leaders to celebrate new Metro Flex service in Auburn and Federal Way (Metro Matters).
• Faulty Pantograph Blamed for Sound Transit’s Apple Cup Train Stall (The Urbanist).
• RapidRide J Line upgrades take shape in Eastlake, U District, South Lake Union (SDOT Blog).
• Vehicle resident legislation heads toward City Council vote (MyBallard).
• Bellevue Council Faces Decision Point on Parking Reform (The Urbanist).
• Person driving at freeway speeds on I-90 Trail raises serious trail security concerns (Seattle Bike Blog).

Housing:

• Environmental Complaints Against Seattle Growth Plan Thrown Out in State Ruling (The Urbanist).
• Seattle Creates ‘Do Not Solicit’ List to Curb Predatory Real Estate Outreach (South Seattle Emerald).
• Wilson slows homelessness plan including shelter goals in roll-out of 2027 budget proposal (Capitol Hill Seattle Blog).

Miscellaneous:

• In 2025, there were many fewer reported crimes in Seattle’s central business district, but increases in surrounding neighborhoods (The Seattle Times, $). Note: Seattle Times’ analysis does not consider per-capita rates.
• Seattle Youth Mentorship Program brings young people’s voices to the forefront on transportation equity issues (SDOT Blog).
• Op-Ed: Building Toward a Greener, Housing-Abundant Seattle (The Urbanist).
• Greater Seattle: Third Places (PubliCola)

This is an Open Thread.

Yesterday, a coalition of transit advocates launched “Hop On Board!”, the official campaign urging Seattle voters to pass the renewal and expansion of the Seattle Transit Measure this November. Speakers at the event included Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, ATU 587 President Greg Woodfill, Nondrivers Alliance founder Anna Zivarts, Transit Riders Union General Manager Lam Ho, and Transportation Choices Coalition‘s Executive Director Kirk Hovenkotter and Policy Director Katy Ricchiuto.

The Transportation Choices Coalition is leading local advocates pushing for expansion of the transit measure, which proposes to increase the current 0.15% sales tax for transit to 0.3%, the maximum allowed under recently adopted state law. If approved by voters, the measure would take effect in April 2027.

News and commentary from the past week or so.

• After Voters Pass Connect Tacoma Levy, Officials Eye Next Steps (The Urbanist).
• Greater Seattle: Late Press Conferences, On-Time Buses, Selfish Housing (PubliCola)
• Why an empty pit in downtown Seattle remains undeveloped after 21 years (KUOW)
• Kirkland Council Divides Over Affordable Housing Fees in Low-Density Zones (The Urbanist).
• Light rail train breaks down near Husky Stadium after Apple Cup, again (The Seattle Times, $)
• How neighbors created the Burke-Gilman, the nation’s first urban rail-to-trail (The Seattle Times, $). Also on Seattle Now & Then (no paywall).
• Metro Plans to Replace the 7 Bus Line in 2032. Riders Already Have Concerns. (South Seattle Emerald).
• Washington’s Complete Streets Mandate Stops Short in Mukilteo (The Urbanist).
• Everything You Need to Know About Pierce Transit Proposition 1 (Transportation Choices)
• Urbanism 101: What Is Transportation Resilience? (The Urbanist)

This is an Open Thread.

The L8 is not so late anymore since an eastbound traffic lane was converted to a bus lane in August. On Tuesday, September 8th, Fix the L8 is organizing another race against Metro’s bus Route 8 along Denny Way. Unlike the previous event, the group is expecting to lose as the buses bypass traffic via newly-painted eastbound bus lanes.

“Across multiple decades and several mayors, it’s been obvious that a bus lane is needed on Denny Way, and it only took a few months of Mayor Wilson’s leadership to get one” said Fix The L8 co-leader Jason Li. “This will transform the lives of the thousands of daily Route 8 riders while attracting countless more as it goes from being slower than hopscotching to being irresistibly good.”