Seattle Transit Blog

A new trail segment has opened connecting the first two phases of the Lake to Sound Trail in Des Moines and SeaTac, as reported by Mara Mellits in the Seattle Times. The Times article has a map of the trail and its relationship to the Green River Trail, Interurban Trail, and Cedar River Trail. Today's ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Des Moines Trail"

Local Transit News: Other Transportation: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread. Do you read a story you think should be in next week's roundup? Share it with us!

By JASON LI This is part 2 of a 3-part series on route 8. Part 1. As the only arterial connecting Seattle's second and third densest neighborhoods, Denny Way is one of the most important streets in the city. But as all locals know, it doesn't work well for anybody right now, including drivers. It's ... Continue reading "Fix the L8: Redesigning Denny Way"

Once again, Sound Transit is reconsidering its priorities as economic realities clash with its ambitious service expansion program. The Sound Transit Board recently attended a retreat focused on understanding the challenges facing the agency, including a brainstorming session to come up with ideas for cutting costs in order to afford the many projects planned under ... Continue reading "Brainstorming Fixes for ST3"

Los Angeles has a new metro station closer to LAX airport, and a new north-south K line serving it. (Erik Em) Erik rides the C line from downtown Los Angeles west to Expo/Crenshaw station, and the new K line south to the airport. Here are system maps to show how the lines relate to the ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: Los Angeles Airport Metro Station"

There's been some discussion about past plans such as Forward Thrust (1970s). However, many other plans were debated. The Link light rail could have ended up as a very different variant of light rail. This article will provide a brief overview of the past plans and some light commentary. PSCOG 1986 The general alignments in ... Continue reading "Past Plans 1980s ~ 2000s"

Over the next few days, King County Metro is implementing Phase 2 of the East Link Connections route restructure. This phase includes updates to Dial-A-Ride-Transit (DART) routes 204, 930, and 931. Phase 1 changes started when the 2 Line extension to Downtown Redmond opened on May 10. Additional East Link Connections changes will launch August ... Continue reading "Summer 2025 Metro Service Change"

In April 2025, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) painted the Phase 2 bus lane for its Rainier Ave S Bus Lane project. This lane conversion extended the northbound bus-only lane from S Walden Street to S Grand Street. While the bus lane is the project's flagship feature, SDOT is also repairing the sidewalk in ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Rainier Ave S Bus Lanes"

Local Transit News: Other Transportation: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread.

Another Link reduction comes this weekend, to repair a section of rail that was identified in an inspection. The section is near Westlake station on the 1 Line. On Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22, trains will run from Lynnwood to Capitol Hill every 15 minutes approximately, and from SODO to Angle Lake every 15 minutes. ... Continue reading "Link Reduction June 21-22"

Toronto's GO commuter rail electrification and expansion has been downscaled and delayed. (RMTransit) Deutsche Bahn was going to make it like an S-Bahn, with all-day frequent service on several lines with electric trains, but the contract was canceled. This is a 24-minute rambling rant but there are several parallels with Pugetopolis and other American transit ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: Toronto Setback"

Bicycle Weekends are underway for Summer 2025. This year, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is hosting ten Bicycle Weekends between May 17 and September 21. During a Bicycle Weekend, Lake Washington Boulevard between Seward Park and Mount Baker Park's Beach is closed to cars from 10am on Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. The Boulevard is ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Lake Washington Boulevard Bicycle Weekends"

Seattle is hosting six FIFA Club World Cup games between June 15 and June 23. These games are expected to draw 100,000 to 150,000 visitors to the City. Sound Transit and King County Metro are providing additional service around these games to ensure both visitors and residents can get where they need to go. In ... Continue reading "FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Transit Service"

2025 Seattle Elections: Candidates for Mayor and city council debated housing and transportation issues last week: What transit questions would you ask this year's candidates for Seattle City Council, Mayor, and King County Executive? Local Transit News: Other Transportation: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread.

How housing became unaffordable. (City Beautiful) And a followup to last week's series: Seattle to Los Angeles on the Coast Starlight (AdamDoesNotExist) This is an open thread.

Over the past two weeks, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has updated signs along Aurora Ave N to convert the existing peak-hour bus lanes to 24/7 bus lanes. This change was introduced to help mitigate expected delays from increased travel on SR-99 as the result of WSDOT's Revive I-5 project. While some of the ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: 24/7 Bus Lanes on Aurora Avenue"

From June 7th to August 28th, 2025, Pierce Transit will operate its seasonal route 101 in Gig Harbor as the Gig Harbor Waterfront Connector. The service will run from the commercial center in Uptown Gig Harbor, crossing State Route 16, and winding its way up to Downtown Gig Harbor and the waterfront. Fares cost the ... Continue reading "Seasonal Gig Harbor Waterfront Connector Begins June 7th"

Another East Link connection disruption: From 10pm on Saturday, June 7, through end of service on Sunday, June 8, 1 Line service between Capitol Hill and SODO will be replaced by shuttle buses operating every 10-15 minutes. Trains north and south of downtown Seattle will run every 15 minutes. Tonight: The Urbanist and other orgs ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Buzzword Salad"

In this Sunday Movie installment, Adam (aka AdamDoesNotExist) travels from San Francisco to Seattle using only local transit. No Greyhound, Amtrak, plane, or car. A three-day journey in three parts. Part 1: From San Francisco via the Pacific coast corridor to the California-Oregon border. Part 2: North along the southern Oregon coast, then east to ... Continue reading "San Francisco to Seattle by Local Transit"

Welcome to the first installment of Friday Roundtable. Each week, this column will discuss a route proposal, provide an infrastructure project update, dive into a piece of Seattle's transit history, or just share a cool map. If you have an idea for a topic to discuss, please reach out or let us know in a ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Graham Street Route Idea"

Local Transit News: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread. Contact us if you'd like join the volunteer writing staff of the Blog.

Memorial Day transit information is below the movies. The evolution of Green Man/Red Man (walk/don't walk display) in Britain. Includes a square-dance song at 9:51. Comparison to US at 15:58. (Chris Spargo) Are American hawk crossings better than regular pedestrian crossings? (Evan Edinger) Memorial Day transit service on Monday, May 26: Sunday schedule for Metro, ... Continue reading "Sunday Movies: Green Man"

Local Transit News: Other Transportation: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread. Contact us if you'd like to add your perspective on Puget Sound-area transit and land use issues to the front page of the Blog.

The etymology of railroad and transportation terms. (Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess Zefarris) This is an open thread.

King County Parks has announced that Trailhead Direct is returning in 2025 on weekends from May 24 to September 1. Additionally, the service will run on a few holidays, specifically: Memorial Day (Monday, May 26), Independence Day (Friday, July 4), and Labor Day (Monday, September 1). Trailhead Direct consists of two routes, one from Capitol ... Continue reading "2025 Trailhead Direct Routes"

Redmond Link Extension: Local Transportation: Other Transportation: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread.

Sound Transit operates two express routes between Redmond and Seattle. Route 542 travels inbound from Redmond Transit Center to the University District. Route 545 travels inbound from Bear Creek P&R to downtown Seattle. To celebrate the downtown Redmond Link extension opening on Saturday, this article takes a look at the ridership patterns for the Sound ... Continue reading "Ridership Patterns for Sound Transit Routes 542 and 545"

I was going to try to make the opening ceremony yesterday, but I'd walked extensively Friday so I did a shorter excursion in the afternoon. I haven't heard anything about how the ceremony went, how many people attended, or how full the buses were getting to it. To compare my trip to normal ridership, usually ... Continue reading "Impressions of Redmond Link"

The downtown Redmond Link extension opens today, May 10. This will extend the 2 Line from Redmond Technology station to two new stations: Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond. The ceremony starts at 10:30am at Downtown Redmond station. The ribbon-cutting will be around noon, and then train service will start. Between noon and 4pm there will ... Continue reading "Welcome Redmond Link"

This article is for comments on topics other than the Redmond Link extension. There will be no Sunday Movie this week; instead we'll have a follow-up article on Sunday after we get back from Redmond. This is an open thread.

Yesterday, Sound Transit invited members of the media to preview the two-station Redmond Link extension, which is on track for a grand opening this Saturday, May 10th. Coming online will be Marymoor Village and Downtown Redmond stations, which will be the first of the ST3 stations to open. On hand at the preview ride was ... Continue reading "A sneak peek at Redmond Link"

3 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens this Saturday, May 10! Sound Transit has more opening day details. Local Transit News: Other Transportation: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread. Do you (yes, you!) want to help fill our front page? Contact us! We are 100% volunteer - your voice ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Deadmond" to Redmond"

Community Transit operates three bus rapid transit routes under the Swift branding: Blue, Green, and Orange. These routes provide fast and frequent transit between key destinations in Snohomish County. On August 30, 2024, Sound Transit opened the Lynnwood Link Extension (LLE). The 8.5 mile light rail extension connects south Snohomish County with Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport, ... Continue reading "Swift Ridership with Lynnwood Link"

They took sledgehammers to sidewalks." How curb cuts originated. (PBS American Experience) Big box stores. Why they exist, and how they're becoming more urban friendly. (City Beautiful) The Target at 6:49 appears to be the one in downtown Seattle. This is an open thread.

10 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens on May 10. Sound Transit has more opening day details. Seattle ST3 Project Updates: Other Transportation: Taxes and Tolls: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread. Do you want to help fill our front page? Contact us! We are 100% volunteer - your ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Nervous"

Shenzhen Metro, staggering powerhouse. (RMTransit) Shanghai Metro, the world's largest. (RMTransit) This is an open thread.

17 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens on May 10. Opening day details. Local Transit & Streets: Other Transportation: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: 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 ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Crosswalk Hack"

A walk around Zurich interviewing transportation engineering professor Norman Garrick. (Active Towns) Two rides on very different funiculars at 2:05 and 52:23. The first part of the video is the old town and, at the other end of the first funicular, a university. The middle part after that is a walk through a cemetery, which ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: Zurich Walk and Funiculars"

24 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens on May 10. Sound Transit recently announced opening day details. Local Transit News: Land Use & Housing: Commentary & Miscellaneous: This is an Open Thread.

Where gondolas make sense and where they don't, La Paz and London edition. (Wendover Productions) The Seattle Gondola Blog continues.... This is an open thread.

As expected, Line 1 Line service through Downtown Seattle will be severely disrupted starting Monday as crews work to replace a cracked rail between International District/Chinatown Station and Pioneer Square Station. This work will require closure of the southbound tunnel between Westlake and Stadium Stations for 10 days. Previously, Sound Transit has handled single-tunnel closures ... Continue reading "Link 1 Line in Downtown Seattle reduced to shuttle train" April 14-23"

King County Metro announced today that the bus stops on the Montlake lid over SR 520, which are the last element of the Montlake interchange and lid to be completed, will open on Saturday, April 12th. Prior to 2019, when it was permanently closed for construction of the lid, there had always been a freeway ... Continue reading "Montlake Lid Bus Stops Opening April 12th"

In preparation for the upcoming openings of Sound Transit's Downtown Redmond Link Extension and full East Link Extension, King County Metro has outlined the planned changes to its Eastside network. Full details of the changes were previously covered on the Blog. Most of the changes in this restructure will take effect when the full 2 ... Continue reading "Ridership Patterns for East Link Connections"

31 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens on May 10. Sound Transit recently announced opening day details. WSDOT opened the state's first e-bike rebate lottery today (Seattle Bike Blog). The state will award about 10,000 rebates at random. Households earning less than 80% of their county's median income can get $1,200 off a qualifying e-bike; ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Save Curby"

Driving from Mercer Island to downtown Seattle in 1973. (Mark Tyrrell) Seattle Now & Then article on the video. There's one mistake in both the video and the article. US Highway 10 had been renamed to I-90 earlier, even though the road wasn't renovated until the late 80s. I moved to Seattle a year before ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: I-90 in the 1970s"

38 daysuntil theDowntown Redmond Link Extension opens on May 10. Sound Transit recently announced opening day details. As Seattle pulls out of the Big Dark, SDOT has travel guides for getting to events at the Climate Pledge Arena and seeing the cherry blossoms at UW. The Urbanist mapped out Seattle's more than 17,000 cherry trees ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Fix the L8"

The Seattle Times ($), Trains Magazine, and The Urbanist are reporting that Amtrak is rearranging cars from its national fleet to restore service to Amtrak Cascades over the course of this week. This is in response to Amtrak's sudden recall of Horizon rail cars nationwide last week which severely impacted Cascades service. Amtrak is ferrying ... Continue reading "Amtrak Cascades service recovering this week"

The Transit Riders Union alerted us to important legislation in Olympia that could use your help. The Urbanist covered this bill earlier in the legislative process, which seeks to improve service on Amtrak Cascades. To achieve these goals, WSDOT would likely implement upgrades described in the most recent service development plan. The following is largely ... Continue reading "Action Alert: Sign in Pro" for Amtrak Cascades bill by Tuesday 3pm"