Midweek Roundup: Nervous

10 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens on May 10. Sound Transit has more opening day details.

Seattle ST3 Project Updates:

• The Sound Transit Board is still nervous about the cost of the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions (West Seattle Blog)
• Meanwhile, Mayor Harrell has proposed legislation aiming to cut permit review times in half for ST3 projects in Seattle (Office of the Mayor)
• ... and the FTA officially approved the FEIS for the West Seattle Link Extension (Sound Transit Press Release).

Other Transportation:

• Photos and videos from Sound Transit's track replacement work that finished up last week (The Platform)
• Commute Seattle's latest survey (conducted in October 2024) shows commute patterns are still slowly climbing toward pre-pandemic levels (The Seattle Times, $). Also on Metro Matters.
• Mayor Harrell announced additional measures to cut the city's carbon emissions from transportation, including EV chargers and an e-cargo bike delivery program (KUOW)

Taxes and Tolls:

• Tacoma voters narrowly rejected a levy to fund its ambitious street safety package (The Urbanist)
• With Gov. Ferguson promising to veto any progressive taxes, the state legislature is increasing gas taxes and other fees to cover WSDOT project costs (The Seattle Times, $). More detail on the biannual budget hammered out last week (Cascade PBS)
• The current Trump admin says it was always against congestion pricing, but the record says otherwise (Streetsblog NYC). DOJ lawyers are questioning the Trump admin's tactics to take it down, too (CityLab).

Land Use & Housing:

• A review of the US Census Bureau's 5-year population estimates (averaging 2019-2023) reveal Seattle's densest neighborhoods (The Seattle Times, $). The U-District takes the lead, followed by northeast Belltown.
• The WA state legislature has passed a bill capping annual rent increases to 7-10% (The Urbanist)
• Montana's bipartisan legislative efforts are reducing red tape and lowering costs to build denser housing in the state (Sightline Institute)

Commentary & Miscellaneous:

• Tom Fucoloro says Real Seattleites Don't Honk (Seattle Bike Blog)
• Pope Francis (1936 - 2025) commented on the problem of cars in cities in 2025 (Human Transit)
• Why Car YouTuber Matt Farah Is Fighting for Walkable Cities (CityLab)

This is an Open Thread. Do you want to help fill our front page? Contact us! We are 100% volunteer - your voice could help drive the conversation on the Blog.