Open Thread 42
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.