News Roundup: Resolutely Pro-Housing

• In response to growth, Chinese cities choose metros.
• Highway 99 tunnel in Seattle will open to traffic this fall ($), the state and contractors say.
• Morning Crank: Resolutely Pro-Housing.
• Here's a PDF of PSRC's funded 2017 Transportation Alternatives funding.
• Podcast ($): As Seattle faces an even worse traffic nightmare, do officials have a plan or are they just managing through the mess?
• Amtrak gives Oregon, Washington timetable for activating safety enhancements.
• Seattle-area rents drop significantly ($) for first time this decade as new apartments sit empty. Watch for anti-housing "concerned neighbor" groups to pivot from saying "more housing won't make rents cheaper" to "these falling rents prove we don't need more housing."
• Santa Monica looks to cap Interstate 10 in new downtown plan.
• A farming tale: In Whatcom County, farmers have much to say about the urban-rural divide.
• SEPTA's billion-dollar plan for new trolleys takes a step forward.
• In Phoenix, a light rail station designed for, and by, people with disabilities.
• Downtown San Jose transit village near planned Google mega-campus steams ahead.
• In Missoula, houses are replacing farmland. Can lessons from Vermont keep local agriculture alive?
• Democrats worry planned cuts to car-tab fees could endanger Tacoma light rail.
• Don't leave the rear end of your car blocking the sidewalk, people.
• Tampa Bay Transit: How rapid buses left light rail in the dust. A less hyperbolic headline would be "Regional leaders favor rapid buses over light rail for cost reasons."
• The Urbanist's 2018: Goals, Obstacles, and Resolutions. I'm a big fan of the first two.
• Drivers should pay more to drive more, report tells TransLink.
• Curbed thinks backyard cottages may be a big answer to the urban housing crisis. My advice is to curb your enthusiasm a bit.
• 80.7% of all humans live within an hour's travel of a city.
• House bill would require PTC by end of the year, and give the railroad industry a cool $2.6B ($) to achieve that.
• New Adidas trainers double as Berlin transit passes ($).
• Subway problems get headlines, but who's going to solve NYC's other transit crisis?
• California bullet train cost surges by $2.8 billion: "Worst-case scenario has happened."
• Elements of Access: A Friendly Guide to Transport Planning.
• A herculean effort is underway to reconnect wildlife habitat east of Snoqualmie Pass.

This is an open thread.