Midweek Roundup – Open Thread 63
Map of Traffic Flow in the City of Seattle, 1925. Courtesy of the Seattle Municipal Archives, item #2045. Note plans for highway (SR99) between Echo Lake and Everett; proposals for a highway tunnel under Beacon Hill, a Stone Way Bridge" (Aurora Bridge), and new streets including 29th Ave SE, 6th Ave in Downtown, Holman road, and others .Countdowns:Lynnwood Link (Aug. 30, 11am);RapidRide G & restructures (Sept. 14)
Transit Updates:Ride the bus to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Aug. 22-27 and Aug. 29 - Sept. 2.
Pierce Transit will change schedules on all 27 routes on Sept. 1, two weeks before Sound Transit, Metro, Community Transit, and other Fall service changes on Sept. 14.
Sound Transit to expedite work on the At-Grade Crossing Program (pdf)
Two retired state ferries sold for $100,000 each to a recycler in South America. Seattle Times ($) discusses.
Unusual summer storms knocked out power to Rainier Valley on Sunday, temporarily interrupting Link service (Seattle Times, $)
South Shoreline Light Rail Brings Suburban Retrofit with Thousands of Homes
Your voice can be part of the future of Metro's paratransit services
Local News:The Urbanist: Trail Tunnel Added Back to 520 Lid Plans After WSDOT Reversal; also on Seattle Bike Blog
SDOT seeking open-ended feedback on the Missing Link project (which includes adding bus lanes on Market Street). See the Seattle Bike Blog for feedback advice.
(Puget Sound Biz Journal via SPL proxy) Downtown Seattle bustled in July, stepping closer to 2019 benchmark. Article summarizes data from the Downtown Seattle Association's Economic Revitalization report, and quotes the DSA: In July, downtown averaged more than 90,000 workers per weekday - the second-highest figure since March 2020. This represents a 14% increase from July 2023 and 62% of the daily worker foot traffic seen in July 2019."
Other News, Special Interest, and Opinion:Seattle Now & Then: Smith Tower turns 110
The other Madison BRT (Wisconsin) will open in September. It will also feature all-electric, dual-side boarding buses like our own Madison BRT.
Found on Twitter: The First Amtrak Cascades Airo train car rolls off the production line.
Should Seattle keep funding the lightly used South Lake Union streetcar? (Seattle Times; $)
Seattle's Aurora Avenue can't climb out of its cut-rate economy (Seattle Times; $). Doesn't seem to be a zoning problem. Also see PubliCola regarding the City's proposed solutions. KUOW compares Aurora in Seattle and Shoreline.
Spokane Just Ditched Parking Mandates. What's Stopping the Rest of Washington?
What Happened to the Bus Lanes New Yorkers Were Promised?
How India electrified 45% of its railway network in just five years
Upcoming Events:August 30, 6-8pm: Join The Urbanist's Lynnwood Link Opening Celebration at Hemlock State Brewing
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This is an Open Thread.