Seattle Transit Blog

One of the distinctive features on the new Link “Series 2” trains are the light strips on the doors. Not only do they add a colorful flair to your ride, they serve the purpose of indicating the state of the doors. With one tweak they could be more informative for a speedy exit. In their … Continue reading "Link’s Series 2 Train Doors Light Up"

Community Transit has put out a set of options for its upcoming Lynnwood Pilot, with the aim of improving mobility around popular destinations in Lynnwood. The options include two microtransit routes, and a community van program. Community Transit is seeking feedback on the options with a survey, open until June 18th. Community Transit’s vision for … Continue reading "Community Transit considering microtransit in Lynnwood"

Heidi Groover takes a break from the scary ” home” price beat to point out that it isn’t all that hard to buy a condo in Seattle ($). There is a lot of media directed at people shopping for single family homes, but the number of possible houses within a certain distance of Seattle is … Continue reading "The future is condos"

New Link trains! NE 43rd Street looks amazing PSRC selecting comment on 7 transit projects SDOT’s got new mobility study results ST still arguing about realignment Trailhead Direct ($) resumes June 5th PSRC hosts a session on equity in planning ST survey on a TOD opportunity in Des Moines Minneapolis eliminates parking requirements — get … Continue reading "News roundup: do better"

With the Sound Transit 3 program realignment continuing to evolve and adjust to new revenue projections, Sound Transit is evolving its realignment scenarios. Now is the time to get serious about prioritizing projects. I believe that Sound Transit’s Stride BRT lines are strong candidates for prioritization, and should be completed as soon as possible. The … Continue reading "Prioritize Stride BRT in realignment"

Metro rehiring 200 part-time operators Meet Kitsap’s newest oldest ferry Metro gearing up ($) for near normalcy Will U-Pass suspension continue through the summer? Northgate Link service change formally approved ($) by King County Council; only Dembowski against Ferry Wenatchee will be broken for months Jetty Island ferry ($) returning July 5th Seattle VLF will … Continue reading "News roundup: part 2 of 2"

Move Seattle has a public dashboard TCC is hiring Also a quarterly report on Reconnect West Seattle Judkins Park gets Jimi Hendrix themed art Comment on the Federal Way station design There’s going to be a new bus layover facility on Eastlake Avenue Sen. Joe Nguyen (D-West Seattle) will challenge Dow Constantine for King County … Continue reading "News roundup: part 1 of 2"

SDOT and Metro gave a presentation (PDF) to the Transit Advisory Board this week after this month’s online open house. According to the presentation, the planning phase is wrapping up and we’ll start design soon. Good to see so many of the ideas from last year’s work still on the agenda. Sound off in the … Continue reading "Route 40 planning almost done"

The Port of Seattle: The Port of Seattle Commission approved funds for a Pier 86 Public Fishing Pier restoration study, in partnership with Expedia Group and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Cost and Feasibility study will allow the Port and its partners to determine the technical requirements and potential costs of construction … Continue reading "Smith cove ferry service?"

Joe O’Sullivan, at The Seattle Times, on the state’s first carbon cap-and-trade system: SB 5126 creates a system to cap carbon pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and sets specific limits for individual businesses, according to a news statement. Those businesses would have to then purchase credits for allowed emissions. Businesses emitting fewer greenhouse gases than … Continue reading "Legislature passes a carbon cap"

From our partners at Move All Seattle Sustainably: The Move All Seattle Sustainably (MASS) Coalition urges the Seattle City Council to follow the outreach process it mandated when passing a $20 vehicle license fee (VLF) in November 2020. The Seattle Department of Transportation engaged stakeholders and struck a careful balance in its spending proposal that … Continue reading "MASS statement on the Seattle VLF"

Letter from Claudia Balducci, Dow Constantine and Jenny Durkan to the Sound Transit board: One year ago, in 2020, the problem the Board was tasked to address stemmed from a massive revenue shortfall due to a pandemic-induced recession; now, the overwhelming problem is unforeseen cost increases. With this change, we may need to reevaluate our … Continue reading "ST board members want more time for realignment"

April 30th is the deadline for the public to comment on Sound Transit’s various options to make up for the current mismatch in projected costs and revenues for ST3. Here’s where we stand: There is no effect on the Sound Transit 2 projects (Link to Lynnwood, Redmond, and Federal Way) and these are expected to … Continue reading "Public input on ST3 realignment this week"

You have until April 30th to tell ST what to prioritize during “realignment” A long and nuanced look at the MHA program Stephen Fesler says to cut Paine Field from Link and run BRT instead Artists will design limited-edition ORCA cards Amtrak restoring local trips next month Wayfinding updates at ST Legislature passes ban on … Continue reading "News roundup: limited edition"

Seattle could have a complete Seattle Subway network, but only if the City of Seattle has a plan to champion that future. Currently, Seattle is marching into the future without a plan for a fully connected city. Even when ST3 is complete, nearly 60% of Seattle’s built-up areas will still not be served by light … Continue reading "Please Tell Council: Don’t Leave Us Behind!"

This is an open thread.

Since Sound Transit has announced that Northgate Link will open on October 2nd, which is a few weeks behind a widely anticipated September 2021 opening, King County Metro has also changed the Northgate bus service restructure to occur on October 2nd as well. When we reported on Metro’s scaled back plans for restructuring service for … Continue reading "Metro service change moves to October 2nd, STBD changes unveiled"

West Seattle bridge privileges are slowly expanding WSDOT restriping northbound I-5 chokepoint through downtown Federal Way track construction underway I’ve always wanted the gondola people to get traction but am sad it took rail skepticism to get them there Oregon congressman to insist on light rail across the Columbia This is an open thread.

On Friday, Sound Transit announced that Northgate, Roosevelt, and U-District stations will open for service on Saturday, October 2nd. There is no word about any celebration for what, with luck, will be a nice symbol of our emergence from the pandemic. We might not get one, with ST having endured bad-faith critiques about marketing expenses … Continue reading "Northgate Link opens Oct. 2nd"

My idiosyncratic habit of scanning the Daily Journal of Commerce headlines paid off this week when I noticed a piece by Brian Miller about plans to replace The Rainier Valley Lowe’s with an Amazon warehouse and shared it on Twitter. It caught my eye as I’ve been a frequent shopper at that Lowe’s since before … Continue reading "On (ware)housing in Mt. Baker"

Metro: King County Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) have been working in partnership on the Route 40 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project. The goal of the project is to reduce bus travel times by 5-10% during peak periods, improve transit service reliability, and make it safer and easier to access transit. Lots of … Continue reading "Route 40 online open house"

Feds send $60m for RapidRide G — in theory they can finally start construction in 2021 and open in 2024 $37m for the Swift Orange Line, too Legislature about to remove obstacles to ST implementation of a less punitive fare enforcement system Metro gets fresher air Monorail gets updates ($) before they release the Kraken … Continue reading "News roundup: fresher air"

As Sound Transit grapples with escalating costs for ST3, one emerging option focuses on delaying parking construction to prioritize transit. In the past month and a half, we have: WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar’s most righteous February 25th letter demolishing the importance of parking to a transit system The Sound Transit Board reviewing a “Delay Parking … Continue reading "Delay ST3 parking to save the rest?"

If you live in or near the Skyway neighborhood, King County Metro is seeking feedback on the future of transit in the area. Some of the services Metro is considering in the area include “van services, on-demand programs, greater access to reduced fares, or infrastructure improvements that will make it safer and easier to travel … Continue reading "Metro wants feedback on transit in Skyway"

Comment on the equity aspects of Northgate Link Alon Levy explains why Pacific Northwest HSR is marginal based on the return on investment BLM buses Longer pedestrian signals ($) ST contractor was defrauding its workers Here’s a good primer on there is no substitute for building more units Shoreline apartments popping up everywhere Metro’s survey … Continue reading "News roundup: return on investment"

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington), along with six other senate Democrats, introduced a bill Thursday that would boost funding for Sound Transit as reported by The Seattle Times. The bill would partially offset the financial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing an additional 30% of the cost of the Federal Way and Lynnwood Link … Continue reading "Patty Murray is seeking $1.9 billion for Sound Transit"

House Bill 1304 for grade-separated transit is now unlikely to pass this year and its last hope is a long shot: inclusion in a larger transportation package. As a reminder, the bill updates the antiquated language in the CTA law so it can be used for rail expansion now. Though we’re disappointed that HB 1304 … Continue reading "A true Seattle Subway requires a citywide plan for the future"

SDOT has prioritized its spending plan for the new $20 Vehicle License fee; comment by 3/30 Maybe the feds will bail us out on the West Seattle Bridge New startup will let you lease an e-scooter Surprise: anti-rail Washington Policy Center doesn’t like bus improvements either PT service ($) starting to recover Hilltop Tacoma Link … Continue reading "News roundup: access"

Seattle’s Clean Transportation Electrification Blueprint (via the Seattle Times): Seattle will lead the transition to an electrified economy, supplying residents with clean electricity via a reliable, carbon free electric grid. In this fossil-fuel free future, the air is clean. People will take electric buses, ferries, or light rail to work, shopping and other destinations. A … Continue reading "Seattle’ ambitious electrification goals"

Southworth Ferry starts March 29th Transit workers vaccine-eligible on March 17th Speed limits falling on Seattle’s state routes Feds will send $800m ($) to Puget Sound transit agencies Link to your vaccine appointment is free Seaway TC receives green award Mercer Island still suing ST over getting too many buses Land use bills advancing to … Continue reading "News roundup: vaccine-eligible"

In the final twice-a-year planned service change before the Northgate Link restructure transforms north Seattle bus service this fall, King County Metro is keeping it simple and not making many substantial changes to the bus network. Certain routes are gaining or losing a handful of trips, and bus bay assignments at Auburn Station are changing. … Continue reading "Metro’s March 2021 service change makes minor adjustments"

Speed limits dropping to 25mph Cascades Talgos off to the scrap heap “Suspicious device” closes TIBS for a while Safe access to Judkins Park Station Finally, the highway-industrial complex steers towards maintenance ($) Comment on OMF South — should ST pay to clean up a toxic site, or focus on transit? Here’s a writeup of … Continue reading "News roundup: to the scrap heap"

East Link might open in as little as 18 months. Like any rail opening of that magnitude, there are many opportunities to reorganize bus service to reduce redundancy, improve access, and serve new priorities. Metro and Sound Transit are creating a citizen sounding board for these changes, and they’re paying $50 per hour: “Are you … Continue reading "Join the East Link Connections Mobility Board"