All posts by Nathan Dickey

It’s been a couple weeks, so the roundup is longer than usual. Today, a total solar eclipse will pass over much of the central and eastern United States.

Countdown Clocks:

April 27, 11:02am: First East Link Starter Line Train from South Bellevue Station. Discover the 2 Line.

August 30, 10am(?): Lynnwood Link Extension (1 Line). No schedule for first train yet. Some neat aerial photos from ST’s drone photographer Ken Lambert on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/SeaTimesFotoKen/status/1776001156394762448

Local News:

Sound Transit hired Terri Mestas, most recently head of LAX’s nearly-complete expansion/renovation, as Megaproject Czar (officially “Deputy CEO for Megaproject Delivery”). ST press release; coverage by The Urbanist and The Seattle Times ($).

Mayor Harrell published the draft Transportation Levy for the fall ballot, proposing $1.35 billion in “maintenance and modernization”. Coverage by The Urbanist, Cascade PBS (formerly Crosscut), and The Seattle Times ($).

Community Transit proposes to formally end collection of the higher fare for commuter buses in the fall, since it will be eliminating the commuter routes after Lynnwood Link opens (Community Transit blog).

Federal Way City Council approved a development plan to bring up to 1,600 homes and a lot of new office/retail space next to the Federal Way Link station (The Urbanist)

Sound Transit modified their contract with Siemens to add 10 link cars to the current contract of 152 new Series 2 light rail cars, totaling 162 new cars by 2028 (The Urbanist). As of February (pdf), Siemens had delivered 125 cars, reportedly enough to fully support East Link and Lynnwood Link service.

Councilmember Kettle (D7) wants to remove the potential pedestrianization of Pike Place Market from the Seattle Transportation Plan (PubliCola).

This week (March 17-23) is Transit Appreciation Week! Be sure to thank your bus driver or other transit operator for the hard work they do.

Sound Transit Announcements:

New initiatives to reduce crowing when Lynnwood link opens; reviewed by The Urbanist.

Link 1 Line single-tracking for late-night station maintenance for the next month: Trains will run every 15 minutes after 11pm March 17 to 25, and every 20 minutes after 11pm April 2-17.

News Roundup:

Port Townsend turns parking mandates into “recommendations” (Urbanist).

“Year of Housing 2.0” mostly died in the Senate (Urbanist).

Bi-annual street parking rate changes kick in on Monday (SDOT Blog).

King County became the 12th most populous county in USA last year (Seattle Times [$]).

Mayor Harrell proposes exemptions to rules and reviews for commercial-to-residential conversions in downtown in accordance with HB 1042 passed last year (Urbanist).

Paris maintains affordability by providing public housing, now serving 25% of the population. (NY Times [$])

Seattle’s first protected intersection is nearing completion (SDOT; Twitter). A protected intersection includes concrete barriers between the bike lanes and vehicle lanes to provide additional protection for cyclists and pedestrians.

Opinion and Miscellaneous:

Comprehensive Plan is not ‘Space Needle Thinking’ (Urbanist Op-Ed).

“Everyone Thinks Their Transit Is The Worst” (Reese Martin of RMTransit).

“Why the Shortest Route Isn’t Always the Fastest” (RMTransit video).

“More of America’s Lost Metro Systems” (UrbanDox video; Seattle focus at 7:04)

Upcoming Open Houses and Events:

March 19: One Seattle Comprehensive Plan at Cleveland High School, 6-7:30pm.

March 26: Drop-in session to hear about changes to the street grid around OMF-S as part of ST’s preferred alternative.

March 28: Chinatown-ID info session regarding racial equity outcomes for Ballard Link Extension. 4 – 6 pm at the CID Community Center, 719 8th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104.

April 17 and 23: Online webinars reviewing feasibility of potential SLU station location west of SR-99 tunnel at 5th and Harrison. Online Survey opens April 10, closes April 24.

This is an Open Thread.

Seattle’s much-delayed Comprehensive Plan update was released last week by the Office of Planning & Community Development (OPCD). Coverage of the broad points of the plan was quickly provided by The Seattle Times ($), The Urbanist, The Stranger, and Crosscut. The primary takeaway image is the “Future Land Use Map” (FLUM), here:

Coverage of subsequent disappointment from housing density advocates was then provided by The Urbanist and The Seattle Times ($).

The plan itself is full of florid prose describing how it supposedly expands housing opportunities across the city, meets equity goals, invests in walkable communities, and meets the challenges of climate change. It establishes “Key Moves” and proposes policy changes that sound good on the surface, but the proof will be in how these policies are implemented.

State Legislature to allocate $200M from the Climate Commitment Act toward hybrid ferries, assuming the Act isn’t repealed by I-2117 in November.

Free carpool parking permits are returning to the Angle Lake Station parking garage.

King County Metro has broken ground on its interim electric bus base in Tukwila.

The movement to add density to suburban neighborhoods transcends political boundaries (New York Times gift article).

March 11 [today]: Seattle YIMBY is organizing a silent protest at City Hall to support more density than proposed in the draft Comprehensive Plan.

March 12 and March 14: Sound Transit is hosting drop-in sessions for Federal Way Link Extension project updates at Highline Community College on.

March 12, 14, and 21: SDOT is hosting a series of open houses for the Aurora Avenue Project.

March 14 in Loyal Heights: Seattle is hosting its first of eight Draft One Seattle Plan (comprehensive plan update) Open House events.

March 16: Seattle YIMBY also hosting a walking tour in Ballard showcasing of existing housing that would be illegal to build today.

May 5: Emerald City Ride returns with a crossing over the high West Seattle Bridge and a loop around West Seattle.

Articles on the recent West Seattle Link Extension station planning meetings, Seattle Transportation Plan, and draft comprehensive plan update are in the works.

This is an open thread.

Since 2021, SDOT has been working under a Pedestrian and Bicycle program grant from WSDOT to “reimagine” Aurora Avenue North from the northern end of the SR-99 Tunnel to 145th street. Based on community input provided during a series of meetings last summer, SDOT has released concept art depicting four potential general corridor concept designs: “Walkable Boulevard”, “Bike Connection”, “Center-Running Bus Lane”, and “Maintain Capacity”. Since Aurora varies in width along its route, there are versions of each graphic for a 90-foot roadway and a 106-foot roadway.

The Aurora Project is split into five segments:

Note: This map shows the Aurora Project area as diverting to Linden between N 63rd and Winona, but review of details from previous community meetings shows this is not actually under consideration. Also, Aurora Bridge and the Woodland Park section are excluded from segments 1 and 2, respectively, due to “unique constraints and challenges”.