Top 10 Most Read and Commented Posts of 2016
SounderBruce (Flickr)
With over 600 articles, tens of thousands of comments, and millions of page views, you kept us busy in 2016. Here are the Top 10 Most Commented and Most Read Posts of 2016. You may notice a theme here. Was there a big ballot measure or something?
Top 10 Most Commented Posts of 2016
1. Sound Transit 3: Meet Your 25-Year Transit Expansion Package (Zach): 513 Comments, March 24. The second highest comment total ever for STB, this post captured the initial burst of reactions when the ST3 package was first released.
2. How to Fix ST3 So Seattle Will Vote for It (Seattle Subway): 315 Comments, March 31. A week after ST3's release, Seattle Subway asked for the moon and ended up mostly getting it. Always good comment fodder.
3. Sound Transit's Updated ST3 Plan: Bigger, Faster, Stronger (Zach): 311 Comments, May 26. Sound Transit's 2nd draft of ST3, a month before adoption, shaved a few years off of each timeline, committed Ballard to full grade separation, funded 130th, committed Sound Transit to fund portions of Madison BRT, and added South Kirkland to the intra-Eastside line.
4. Seattle is the Tortoise, Portland the Hare (Zach): 286 Comments, June 8. City comparisons are always good for comments. This piece was my provocative attempt to explain, if not fully defend, the timelines and costs of our projects. No matter your beliefs on the merits of any particular project, the pure extent of fully grade separated rail is unprecedented in an era of cheap at-grade North American light rail.
5. Yes on ST3 (STB Editorial Board): 228 Comments, August 30. STB's official ST3 endorsement.
6. ST3 Isn't Perfect, But It's Good (Zach): 215 Comments, August 30. My attempt at a "Why ST3 Skeptics Should Vote Yes Anyway" piece, recognizing structural flaws and political compromises in the context of plausible alternatives.
7. Snohomish County's ST3 Letters (Zach): 208 Comments, February 11. Lots of feedback from most Snohomish County jurisdictions, and plenty of oxygen for anti-Everett Link commenters to air frustration.
8. Why ST3 Is Worth It, Part 1: Everett (Zach): 208 Comments, September 20. The rose-colored glasses case for Link to Everett, as plausibly seen through their eyes.
9. The Future of ST Express: Frequent Feeder Service (Zach): 206 Comments, January 8. Readers got their first hint that ST Express would indeed truncate most services at Link terminals.
10. So What's the Problem with BART? (Martin): 200 Comments, April 6. Martin's solicitation of frothy comment about BART's inadequacies and suburban biases.
Top 10 Most Read Posts of 2016
1. The Seattle Transit Map and Guide (Oran): The gift that keeps on giving, Oran's mapping skills. If you want something done right, sometimes you've gotta do it yourself. 333% more views than the average 2016 post.
2. Sound Transit 3: Meet Your 25-Year Transit Expansion Package (Zach): 316%
3. Seattle is the Tortoise, Portland the Hare (Zach): 298%
4. ST3 Is a Go! (Seattle Subway): 242%. Seattle Subway's Facebook virality continues to drive readership.
5. How to Fix ST3 So Seattle Will Vote for It (Seattle Subway): 216%
6. Ballard to Downtown Must Be Done Right (Seattle Subway): 122%
7. University Link Opens March 19 (Zach): 106%. The date everyone had been waiting to know for 8 years.
8. A Grand Bargain for Kirkland in ST3 (Zach): 85%. My attempt to salvage Kirkland in ST3 while making an intra-Eastside line more useful. The idea was not implemented, but it helped shift the transfer point from Wilburton to East Main.
9. Without Plausible Enforcement, Surface Transit is Hopeless (Zach): 76%. The best rants are born of personal suffering, and I wrote this while sitting at Aurora and Denny while waiting 20 minutes for the intersection to clear so my bus could open its doors.
10. Times Surprises No One, Misinforms Its Readers (Martin): 75%. Martin's meticulous takedown of the Seattle Times' "fundamentally dishonest and insincere" anti-ST3 editorial.