Midweek Roundup: one step closer

Recent Transportation Headlines at The Urbanist:

• SDOT To Unsnarl Westlake Avenue Transit Pinch Point
• Sound Transit Breaks Ground on Stride Electric Bus Base in Bothell
• Sound Transit's 2 Line Is Even More Popular Than We Thought
• Op-Ed: PCC Provides Model for State Rail Ownership in Washington State
• Shoreline Makes Good on Pledge to Stop Mandating Car Parking Citywide

Other Transportation:

• An interview with Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine (KUOW, audio-only)
• King County Metro's fall service change will add over 900 weekly bus trips (Metro Matters)
• WSDOT is one step closer to getting new ferries (WSDOT Blog)
• Freeway construction costs are increasing faster than inflation, just like transit projects (Eno Center for Transportation)
• Parked cars, especially those with dark paint, contribute significantly to the urban heat island effect (Carbon Copy)
• The future is cloudy for Amtrak's ambitious plan for state-supported rail lines (Railway Age)

Land Use & Housing:

• The Seattle Office of Housing is proposing a revision to its MFTE program, which (among other things) would focus the program toward providing housing affordable to those making 40% to 90% of Seattle's medium income (PubliCola)

Commentary & Miscellaneous:

• The federal government should support for transit operations again, like it did in during the oil crisis in the 1970s (Transportation For America)
• Pedestrian bridges are hostile architecture, actually (For The City Girls, $)

This is an Open Thread.