Our Most Popular Articles in 2018

It's time to look back at the top articles of the last year. The major themes should be no surprise: ST3 and high-speed rail dominated. But our series on East Link and how it's shaping the Eastside was popular as well.

1. Introducing Cascadia Rail by Cascadia Rail (Feb 12, 2018). The launch of a new organization advocating for state-wide HSR.
2. Seattle Metro Rapid Map "circa" 1990 by Oran Virincy (Feb 17, 2018). Oran's retro-fantasy map shows what Forward Thrust-powered Seattle rapid transit might have looked like at the dawn of the grunge era.
3. ST3 Level 2 Planning - Time to Make Decisions by Seattle Subway (Sept 21, 2018). The Ballard-West Seattle options begin to narrow.
4. ST3 Must be Built for the Future by STB Editorial Board (Feb 7, 2018). We argue the Ballard line should be built with expansion in mind.
5. Reimagining Bellevue for Light Rail by Lizz Giordano (Apr 9, 2018). deep dive on Bellevue's transformation around the train.
6. How much would high-speed rail actually cost? by Alon Levy (Jan 17, 2018). A critique of the high costs in WSDOT's initial high-speed rail study.
7. ST3 Plan needs to put riders first by Seattle Subway (Nov 29, 2018). Feedback as the Ballard-West Seattle process moves toward the "preferred alternative"
8. An Opportunity to Make Light Rail Exceptional by Seattle Subway (Feb 13, 2018). Seattle Subway's opening gambit.
9. Redmond Waits for Light Rail by Lizz Giordano (Feb 5, 2018).
10. 14th Avenue is the Wrong Spot for a Ballard Station by Frank Chiachiere (Oct 17, 2018). Explaining why 14th is substantially worse than 15th.

And here are the most commented ones:

1. The Center City Connector and the First and Yesler Stop by David Lawson (Aug 29, 216 comments). Nothing divides the community like streetcars, even when they're really light rail. Perhaps a former bus driver's perspective can help.
2. 14th Avenue is the Wrong Spot for a Ballard Station by Frank Chiachiere (as above, 177 comments).
3. 5 Questions About the Streetcar Halt by Martin H. Duke (Mar 31, 174 comments). The announcement was the strongest indication that Mayor Durkan was not going to pursue her predecessor's transportation agenda.
4. Elected Leaders Bail on First Hill Station by Frank Chiachiere (May 19, 159 comments). Always a longshot, the particular way in which Sound Transit dismissed the concerns of its most vocal advocates was shabby and dishonest.
5. Snohomish officials: Seattle needs to rein in potential light rail spending by Peter Johnson (Nov 2, 154 comments) Intraregional rivalry, combined with skimping on high-ridership corridors to make sure the low-ridership ones are well-funded.
6. ST3 Must be Built for the Future by the Editorial Board (as above, 149 comments).
7. ST Level 3 Recommendations, Criticism of Chinatown Plans by Peter Johnson (Oct 9, 146 comments) A grab bag of looming ST3 decisions to complain about.
8. Link Plans Part 3: West Seattle by Peter Johnson (Sep 18, 142 comments) and Kirkland's NE 85th BRT Station by Dan Ryan (Apr 30, 142 comments). At its best, STB takes a seemingly small issue and elevates it to gain wider media attention. Dan accomplished that here.
9. 10. ST Exploring New Escalator Strategies by Brent White (Apr 30, 140 comments). Another smallish issue that riders have to deal with all the time.