by Oran Viriyincy on (#4DH2E)
The connection between peoplemovers and Disney. This is an open thread.
Seattle Transit Blog
| Link | https://seattletransitblog.com/ |
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| Updated | 2025-06-07 13:02 |
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#4FD1S)
On May 14, 1969, the final section of Interstate 5 opened between Everett and Marysville, forever changing life in the Puget Sound region and completing a new road link to Vancouver, British Columbia. The last of some 276 miles of concrete and asphalt that had been laid down in sections for twenty years had opened … Continue reading "Interstate 5 Turns 50 and Shows Its Age"
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4FB7Z)
Longtime readers know that the Mt. Baker Station area, full of design flaws since Link opened, has long had a plan to improve vehicle flow through it. While there have been some incremental improvements in the transfer between train and bus, the “bowtie†plan might have made a bigger dent in some problematic transit vehicle […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4F8M5)
Sound Transit committee proposes a “preferred alternative†for Ballard West Seattle, punts difficult decisions at West Seattle Junction, Ballard, Chinatown. The full board is next. WSB has a great summary of some of the friction between those worried about “impacts†and those trying to get it done. Tariffs make ORCA more expensive, agencies eating the […]
by Garrett Wedam on (#4F6A0)
Mayor Durkan recently announced that Seattle will be looking into how to safely welcome scooter share. Scooters arrived in Portland, Oregon, for a pilot program last summer, and hoo-boy did they get talked about around that city. And ridden. And dumped in the Willamette River (there was a website tracking how many: 6 at one […]
by STB Editorial Board on (#4F3JV)
As expected, the State Legislature declined to pass Tim Eyman’s $30 flat car tab initiative, so it is headed to the November ballot. Check out the full list of cuts at the No on I-976 campaign website, as well as Permanent Defense’s campaign flyer. Sound Transit would suffer a revenue loss of about 12%, threatening […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#4F1AY)
In March 2020, Metro will implement a restructure of service in the North Eastside. Most attention will focus on the truncation of Metro 255 to connect with Link at UW station. Another key element of the improved Metro network is route 250. This new route connects downtown Bellevue to Kirkland and runs through to Redmond. […]
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#4EZGM)
In March, Transportation Choices Coalition hosted a panel discussion on the longstanding effects of Link light rail on our region. Link turns ten this July. This is an open thread.
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4EY3K)
Michael Andersen has the news: Rahmani said last week (speaking only for himself) that TriMet’s staff members are making the case for surface lots instead of multi-level garages at several stations along the new rail line through Portland, Tigard, and Tualatin, except at the end of the line near Bridgeport Mall. Their theory is that […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4EW80)
State budget sends some cash to HSR studies. Disability groups urge you to take care ($) when leaving your bikeshare. Court-ordered salmon money only a trickle, but they sure funded a bunch of new highways. Metro finalizes stops for RapidRide H (Delridge). Survey results are great, but everyone knows that everyone who got here after […]
by Frank Chiachiere on (#4ESPC)
Mayor Jenny Durkan, writing at GeekWire: We can bring scooters to Seattle with a thoughtful, well-planned pilot. In the coming weeks, we will begin drafting the next iteration of the bike share permit that will be approved by Council this fall. In conjunction, we will be working to stand up a scooter share permit pilot. […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4EQ87)
After a bumpy start, the Move Seattle levy is slowly starting to spend significant funds, SDOT staff told the Council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee on Tuesday. The meeting began with advocates from the MASS coalition giving testimony on the need for prioritizing buses in a time of climate crisis. Committee Chair Mike O’Brien agreed, noting that […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4EMXQ)
In last week’s article on Via, I was pleasantly surprised by a projected cost per rider of $16, and early results suggesting a rate of $13. This rate is certainly not as good as the best bus routes, but competitive with some less effective ones and way better than other services like paratransit. Classifying Via […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4EKD8)
Via Move All Seattle Sustainably (MASS): We think the City needs to be more ambitious about prioritizing public transit on our roads. Buses carrying scores of riders shouldn’t get stuck behind a sea of single-occupancy vehicles! Last December MASS published a vision for bus priority in Seattle, including 20 stretches where we think dedicated lanes […]
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by Brent White on (#4EJG9)
As the candidate filing deadline approaches next week, the only urbanist-y candidate running for Seattle City Council District 1 (West Seattle and South Park) has withdrawn. Jesse Greene was cognizant that the housing crisis is at least partially a supply-side problem, a position that rankles neighborhood activists. He submitted his withdrawal papers last week, leaving […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4EFBN)
At the last Sound Transit Board meeting, on April 25, WSDOT head and Sound Transit Board member Roger Millar caught my attention when he mentioned the potential of East Tacoma or Fife stations as something other than freeway-limited park and ride stops. Millar proposed making the East Tacoma station the end of a bike trail […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4EDGV)
Olympia considers higher fines for HOV cheaters ($). Metro’s #MeToo reporting push results in more reports of misconduct ($). Issaquah discusses the growth plan. Heidi Groover tells you how the legislative session turned out ($) for transportation. Special Sounder Train to Everett for a Storm game. What’s going wrong with CAHSR, part 100. The State […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4EB48)
From the agencies’ joint press release: “This agreement sets the stage for continuing Sound Transit’s fruitful partnership with Metro as Link continues to serve more riders,†said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff. “We appreciate Metro’s readiness to partner with Sound Transit by controlling some costs immediately while pursuing further efficiencies going forward. The professionalism and […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#4E8QP)
Express an interest in transit at just about any cocktail party in the Rainier Valley, and you’ll hear how what Sound Transit really needs to do is provide a shuttle to get people to the stations. Inevitably, people are proposing a solution to their specific problem without much awareness of scale or efficiency. Much like […]
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by Arthur Domby on (#4E6GV)
Nine years ago Martin looked at the general problem of I-5 buses terminating at Rainier Beach. However, removing buses from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel provides an opportunity to review if there are cost savings or efficiency improvements by truncating routes formerly in the tunnel and forcing a transfer to Link. Truncating is a […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4E41D)
The next generation of ORCA cards should be available by 2023 at the latest, according to the contract transit agencies will execute with the company selected to roll out the card with retailers. The Sound Transit Board signed off on a contract with Ready Credit Corporation at a meeting on April 25. A memo summarizing […]
by Brent White on (#4E2BS)
TV Washington’s The Impact covered several of the transportation bills that were considered by this year’s legislative session. Watch it on their website if the above video does not work. This is an open thread.
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by Brent White on (#4E15J)
Update 1: Y’all wanted to know why Sen. Saldaña proposed her amendment exempting transit from citations. The answer is at the bottom of the post. I promise you won’t have to click 10 times to get to it. Update 2: Sen. Saldaña has submitted a striker amendment, with the effects listed below. Update 3: Sen. […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4DZVE)
Seattle and King County elected officials have asked Sound Transit to remove a moved bridge in Ballard from future Link plans. They also urged Sound Transit to ditch the elevated “Orange Line†alignment in West Seattle, which would require large numbers of homes to be demolished. In other areas, the officials mostly declined to endorse […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4DZEW)
Mini transit report card: Ireland Via transit pilot (2:30) Free transit on snow days? (24:14) West Seattle and ST3 (29:33) Why doesn’t Seattle have scooters? (38:12) Speculation on the delayed congestion pricing report (45:33) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_76.mp3 Download link
by Martin H. Duke on (#4DYSN)
Washington and Nevada celebrated Earth Day by joining the clean energy bandwagon. The Washington Legislature’s Earth Day party also included final approval of phasing out hydrofluorocarbons($) (a greenhouse gas) in industrial equipment such as refrigeration units. Final passage of a bill to ease restrictions on tiny homes was also party of the party. Final passage […]
by Martin H. Duke on (#4DWBS)
This week, King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles introduced legislation to eliminate Metro fares whenever Metro activates the Emergency Snow Network. It’s early in the process and there is no cost estimate at this time (press release here). This legislation continues the process of chipping away at the fare structure without taking the financial hit of […]
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#4DT12)
The start of construction for Lynnwood Link is only weeks away, just over a decade since the project was approved by voters as part of the Sound Transit 2 package in 2008. The first inter-county Link trains are scheduled to arrive in July 2024, traveling on 8.5 miles of elevated and surface tracks along the […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4DQA7)
Elevated light rail alignments in West Seattle have a unique problem. Unlike any other part of the system so far, they run through a built-up, residential area. Planned or existing lines are lie mostly in existing right-of-way, or tunnel into their own. Sound Transit has had to demolish some housing for other projects, mainly at […]
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by Brent White on (#4DN8E)
Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1793, having been revived last week and passed out of the House, now faces a showdown in the Senate Transportation Committee, where it must be heard and voted out Wednesday morning. At time of publication, the bills to be heard at the meeting were not publicly listed yet. The bill allows […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4DKMJ)
Alternate link This is an open thread
by Martin H. Duke on (#4DJ60)
Metro adds shuttle vans to Link stations, early review is positive. Washington’s clean energy bill makes at least one wonk happy. The use of urban space for golf courses is questionable, but it’s subsidized too? City’s congestion pricing report has disappeared into a “black hole†($) after delivery to the Mayor. Lizz Giordano takes the […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#4DG9S)
WSDOT is preparing for the Rest of the West, the remaining phases of construction on SR 520 between Lake Washington and I-5. First up is the Montlake Project, where construction may begin as early as May. For transit riders, this means the Montlake flyer stop and the transit-only lanes on the Montlake Boulevard exit will […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4DEMA)
City of Shoreline: The City of Shoreline has been busy developing the preliminary design to update 145th Street (SR-523) from Aurora Avenue North to I-5. This new design will improve safety and ensure that this critical corridor can effectively serve Shoreline and the growing number of travelers who rely on it every day. The timing is planned to […]
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by Brent White on (#4DE1W)
The Everett City Council voted Wednesday night to approve a new low-income fare category for Everett Transit, and set the fare at $1.50. ET Transportation Services Director Tom Hingson presented data from a fare survey that also included the option of not having a low-income fare, and the option of consolidating all reduced fares at […]
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by Brent White on (#4DBH8)
Today is the last day for most bills in Olympia to get voted out of their second chamber, by 5 pm. Many important bills have already passed both houses or died. Two sit on the bubble, waiting to get voted on today in the Senate, or to die for lack of making it to the […]
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by Brent White on (#4D941)
Addendum: Ryan Packer live-tweeted the floor debate. The State House voted 57-41 Monday to pass Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1793, which would allow automated camera enforcement of various traffic laws, including bus-only lanes. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D – Burien). The bill was amended in the House Transportation Committee to be […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4D6HC)
Letters from businesses, government agencies, and community groups show a citywide desire for the West Seattle and Ballard Link extensions to be almost entirely tunnels. Troublingly for Sound Transit, businesses on the Duwamish Waterway made conflicting demands about where to build the bridge that will cross the river mouth, which means a costly legal fight […]
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by Brent White on (#4D4TP)
This is an open thread.
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4D3CK)
Amazon going big in Bellevue Relatedly, East Link is “50% complete†which is I guess an important milestone? Video Overview of PSRC’s latest long-range plan TriMet (Portland) eliminating paper tickets next year Transpo budget clears the state senate, still has lots of highway widening Rashomon in Wedgwood – a great piece of writing Cool transit maps […]
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#4D16V)
Trailhead Direct begins its second full year of service on Saturday, April 20, with expanded routes to two new trails with assistance from the county and state parks departments. Last year, King County Metro used additional funding from the Seattle Transportation Benefit District to run from April to October on three routes between Seattle and […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4CZ6T)
Crossing 4th and 2nd Avenues South at their intersections with Jackson Street is a harrowing experience. The intersection is wide—four busy lanes plus a little extra—and the signal is short. Crossing the both intersections on the same signal cycle is hard, unless you’re jogging. That intersection is right in the middle of one of the […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4CYWM)
I am totally tempting fate here by posting this, so sorry if I anger the gods, but I wanted to take a moment to recognize that there were no mudslide-induced cancellations on Sounder North this year. Sound Transit’s Bonnie Todd noted it at the last ST ops committee meeting (video – skip to the ~13 minute […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#4CW4A)
The free WiFi in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel is no more. Readers asked us what happened, so I followed up with Metro and Sound Transit to find out. “Our networking team reported that the equipment was past its end-of-life and was expected to be taken down after March 23rd when Metro exited the tunnel,†[…]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4CSZF)
When it comes to commuting, we may be winning the War on Cars in Seattle proper, but pretty much everyone else in the Puget Sound region is still driving to their free parking at work every day. According to the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), 63 percent of commuters drive to work alone. The figure […]
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by Brent White on (#4CQAA)
Community Transit’s Board of Directors approved a proposal Thursday afternoon to create a low-income fare category, and make the fare half the regular fare, rounded down to the nearest quarter. The new fare category will take effect July 1. CT will be only the second agency in the ORCA pod where low-income ORCA users will […]
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#4CNV8)
The 830 Northern Dalesman is an inter-city bus route in the Yorkshire Dales of northern England. It takes two hours to complete its 40-mile journey from Richmond to Ingleton, and the BBC decided to film one of its daily runs. This is an open thread.
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by Peter Johnson on (#4CKV4)
Mayor Jenny Durkan wants Sound Transit to study more alignments in the West Seattle and Ballard extensions. The City asked for “additional study, problem solving, and refinements in West Seattle, Chinatown/International District, SODO, and mid-town segments†in a letter to Sound Transit signed by Sam Zimbabwe, the new director of SDOT. Chinatown/International District (CID) residents […]
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by Peter Johnson on (#4CHP6)
Sound Transit is pushing ahead with fare enforcement reform. At last week’s Board meeting, CEO Peter Rogoff announced that the agency has formed a working group that will study changes to the existing fare enforcement process. He updated a Board committee on the goals of the working group in comments at a meeting yesterday. “[We] […]
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