Midweek Roundup: Fresh Concrete

A team builds a concrete street in Seattle on June 5, 1929 - specific location unknown. Item 3446, courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives.Transit Service & Projects:

• Mass Transit: Amtrak awards construction contract to PCL Construction Services to upgrade King Street Yard; the upgraded yard will service new Airo trainsets set to start rolling in 2026.
• Westside Seattle: Sound Transit Board to vote on adoption of final route for West Seattle Link Extension on October 24.
• King County Metro Matters: Work underway to correct RapidRide G Line shelters; also covered by the Seattle Times ($)
• Community Transit: Community Transit proposes lowering reduced fares
• Sound Transit: Auburn Station Parking & Access Improvements Project broke ground last week
• Sound Transit: Ballard Link Extension EIS scoping comment period is delayed. The Draft EIS is expected to be published in Late 2024"; process delays at this point are... interesting.
• King County Metro Matters: Use transit to get to Climate Pledge Arena and help Release the Kraken'
• Community Transit: Switch Your Trips this October and participate in Washington State Ridesharing Organization's (WSRO) latest initiative,Switch Your Trips.

Streets & Public Space:

• The Urbanist: Overlook Walk Finally Opens as the New Seattle Waterfront's Centerpiece; the concrete stairway is arguably Seattle's first truly new public space in decades. Also on KUOW.
• The Seattle Times ($): King County adds traffic safety measures at crash site near Renton
• The Urbanist: Transportation Chair Saka Questions School Zone Camera Expansion Plan
• Sightline Institute: The State of Parking Mandates in Washington, which are arbitrary, excessive, and extremely expensive.

Land Use & Housing:

• The Urbanist: Mercer Island Plans to Densify Town Center... With a Big Catch
• Notes from the Emerald City: The budget fight over affordable housing continues as questions surface about 2026
• The Seattle Times ($): 250 tiny houses built by volunteers are available for free but governments haven't gotten around to deploying them.
• The Seattle Times ($): Seattle churches wanting to build affordable housing face testing times
• KING5: Zip Code in Mountlake Terrace (98043) has nation's hottest housing market, data shows
• Bloomberg CityLab: The Corner Store Comeback. Corner stores (as in, stores in otherwise residential neighborhoods) are illegal to build in most cities; Seattle may legalize corner stores in residential neighborhoods, but only if the lot is literally on a corner.

Commentary:

• Seattle Bike Blog: Proposed 2025 Seattle budget shows why passing the transportation levy in November is so important
• Seattle Now & Then: Washington Motor Coach crash of June 24, 1946
• The Urbanist: Op-Ed: Wallingford Can Build a Brighter Seattle of the Future'
• Slate: How to Fix America's Dangerous Roads
• Otherwords: Public Transit is Essential - We Need to Fund It Now

This is an Open Thread.