Midweek Roundup: early Christmas gift

Displays within Link light rail trains got a facelift recently: they now show the station number and travel direction (photo by author). Local Transit & Streets:

• Sound Transit is preparing for a possible early opening of the Federal Way Link Extension - as early as this year (The Platform). The Crosslake Connection" of the 2 Line is still expected in early 2026 with live wire testing scheduled to start this week. ST Boardmember and King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer: After years of getting coal in our stocking, I am hopeful that South King County will get an early Christmas gift".
• Dogs on leashes are officially allowed on Sound Transit vehicles (The Seattle Times, $)
• Pike Place Market's two-month car-free pilot", kicked off by utility work, has been extended through next Spring (The Seattle Times, $).
• The Bremerton Fast Ferry's weekend service is back to summer-only, with WSDOT no longer funding Saturday trips during Kitsap Transit's winter sailing schedule (The Urbanist). The Fast Ferry's boosted weekday service is funded through August 2026. Additional coverage by The Seattle Times ($). Announcement from Kitsap Transit.
• Seattle has teamed with the Open Mobility Foundation to build a system to notify autonomous vehicles of emergency road closures and other incidents self-driving cars may not detect during operations (KUOW).

Other Transportation:

• Seattle now has a dedicated bike route along its entire downtown waterfront (Smith Cove to the Duwamish Waterway) for the first time in its history (Seattle Bike Blog).
• The Transportation Choices Coalition led a Walk and Talk" down Division Street in Spokane last week to discuss potential improvements to the dangerous stroad (Range Magazine).
• Predictably, reports show the Trump administration is funneling transportation grant dollars toward freeway construction instead of transit or multi-modal projects (Streetsblog USA).
• Giving pedestrians a head start crossing the street reduces deaths at crosswalks by 33% (US News, $).

Commentary & Miscellaneous:

• Learn transit network design from the best: Jarrett Walker is offering a two-day intensive course October 30-31 (Human Transit)
• The Aurora Reimagined Coalition says SDOT is failing to imagine an Aurora Avenue that isn't a bleak, dangerous, car-dominated highway (Op-Ed; The Urbanist).
• Seattle's Transportation Levy made big promises of improving Rainier Avenue - will it deliver? (The Urbanist)

This is an Open Thread.