Midweek Roundup: NIMBYs in a corner

Local Transit News:

• In a special" media appearance on the Seattle Nice podcast, Mayor-elect Wilson said she wants to put BAT lanes on Denny (PubliCola)
• Amtrak ridership between October 2024 and September 2025 broke records in the PNW (The Urbanist)
• Sound Transit's possible light-rail cost-cutting options floated at full-house West Seattle forum (West Seattle Blog)
• Sound Transit 2 Line Testing Enters a New, More Visible Phase (The Urbanist)
• Staffers Say Sound Transit Refused to Bargain on Return-to-Office Policy, Use of Consultants (PubliCola)
• SDOT's seasonal street parking fee update puts parking in Pike-Pine at a premium (The Seattle Times, $). More details on the SDOT Blog.
• For sale: Two retired state ferries. Dreamers need not apply (KUOW)
• How Mayor-elect Wilson Can Hit the Ground Running, Walking, Rolling, and Biking (The Urbanist)
• Extended Rainier Ave Bus Lane Offers a Seamless, More Reliable Trip for Thousands of Daily Riders (SDOT Blog). SDOT also finished its refresh of the Ballard Bridge and 15th Ave NW including taking away a traffic lane, adding pedestrian signals, and red paint.
• Tale of Two Cities: Why Vancouver (BC) and Seattle Downtowns Look So Different (Post Alley)

Further afield:

• America is still building fewer homes than it was before 2008 (NYT, gift link)
• Is There Really More Freedom' in a City That Depends on Cars? (Streetsblog USA)
• The Housing Strategy That Has California NIMBYs in a Corner (NYT, gift link)
• How Trump's Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public (ProPublica)
• Data shows Waymo's self-driving cars only have passengers in them for about half the miles they drive (The Driverless Digest)
• Safe streets advocates need compelling stories, not just data, to make change happen (Fast Company)
• One tangible economic benefit of transit funding: Every $1 billion invested in public transit creates and supports more than 50,000 jobs (OtherWords)
• The Rise and Fall of Electric Trolleys (Gary's Substack)

This is an Open Thread.