Seattle Transit Blog

The long-awaited second generation of Link light rail trains has arrived at Sound Transit’s OMF in SoDo. The Siemens-built S70 car was put on display for local media on Wednesday, giving a small look into the future of our light rail system. The display car, number 202, is the first of 152 Siemens light rail … Continue reading "Sound Transit shows off new Siemens light rail vehicles"

I recently returned from a week-long trip to three of Canada’s great cities, of which two have already been covered by previous Transit Report Cards (Vancouver and Montreal). While I may return to write about the latter, which has since undergone some significant changes in wayfinding, today’s transit report is focused on the third and … Continue reading "Transit Report Card: Ottawa"

Earlier this year, the King County Council ordered a review of funding options for Metro Connects. This Wednesday, the Regional Transit Committee receives a status update on the effort. It considers a $220 million increase in annual funding for Metro, enough to get Metro to its long-range service goals. Metro Connects is Metro’s long range … Continue reading "A funding plan for Metro Connects comes into view"

It appears Seattle may finally allow various types of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) in most of the city. These units generally provide inexpensive rental opportunities, but are frequently illegal to build. For a summary of where we stand today, you can’t do much better than the City’s onepager. (A somewhat longer summary is here.) The … Continue reading "ADU legislation moves along, with new wrinkles"

The Moving All Seattle Sustainably Coalition held a candidate forum for the Seattle City Council’s 3rd District on May 29, 2019. Rooted in Rights made the video, and provided a transcript. Candidates attending included, from left to right: Logan Bowers Zachary DeWolf Pat Murakami Ami Nguyen Egan Orion Kshama Sawant (incumbent) The forum for District … Continue reading "Sunday Open Thread: Seattle District 3 MASS forum"

There are two possible futures for Cascade rail service. Are they mutually exclusive? It’s been a whiplash-inducing year for intercity passenger rail in the US. The “Green New Deal” suggests the possibility of sweeping high speed investments at the same time as California’s project is retrenching. Colorado, a growing Western state where the population is … Continue reading "Which Way for Washington’s Intercity Rail Program?"

The Moving All Seattle Sustainably Coalition held its forum for Seattle District 2 city council candidates on May 28, 2019. Rooted in Rights made the video. Go to their website if the above video doesn’t work on your platform. Rooted in Rights also provided a transcript for the forum. Candidates attending included, from left to … Continue reading "Seattle District 2 MASS forum"

Michelle Baruchman in The Seattle Times, on Metro’s new 5-year contract with MV Transportation to provide Access service: Advocates in King County say they have raised concerns about Access for more than a decade, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the county began planning for an audit of the service, said Deputy King County Auditor … Continue reading "A new contract for Metro’s Access program"

The original genius (or sin, if you prefer) of the legislation that created Sound Transit was that it yoked together the region’s high capacity transit needs. The suburbs and the cities had to work together to get what they wanted, or no one would get anything, like a municipal prisoner’s dilemma. The West Seattle – … Continue reading "West Seattle – Ballard Link staggers towards the EIS"

Overview of the current state of high speed rail in the United States. This is an open thread.

The draft ST3 plan in March 2016 extended rail beyond Lynnwood in two steps. The first, in 2036, would bring service to North Lynnwood, serving stations at West Alderwood Mall, Ash Way, and Mariner. The second, in 2041, extended around the SW Everett Industrial Center (Paine Field) and north to Everett Station. When the plan … Continue reading "Could Link to Mariner open early?"

Seattle’s Congestion Pricing Report looked at ten different schemes that could reduce the volume of cars in congested areas, from variations on a toll, to bans on non-electric or non-autonomous vehicles, to allowing only certain license plate numbers on a given day. After considering environmental impacts, congestion reduction, equity, and feasibility, SDOT ended up with … Continue reading "The congestion pricing report"

For the past two weeks, the American Planning Association has been running a Transit Bracket Challenge, pitting the largest transit agencies in the U.S. against each other in a popularity contest. King County Metro has so far quashed its competition, namely San Francisco’s Muni and the Maryland Transit Administration, leaving us as the sole West … Continue reading "Metro Needs Your Help Toppling Other Metros"

By BRAD HAVERSTEIN Bellevue may have decided to make the 108th Ave NE bike lane it built last year permanent, but when it comes to expanding the city’s downtown cycling network the Bellevue Transportation Commission seems to be at odds with City Council. On May 23rd the Commission split 3-3 over whether to add bicycle … Continue reading "The Bellevue Transportation Commission is stalling on downtown bicycle lanes"

Everett starts its e-scooter pilot ($). Plans to “transform” the Mountlake Terrace station area. Seattle Children’s is hiring three transportation planning interns (1, 2, 3). Cascade hiring a Policy Manager. New Flyer buying a double-decker company. ST selling parking permits for Angle Lake starting July 1. Pierce Transit releases its 2018 annual report. The News … Continue reading "News Roundup: Hiring"

by JOSHUA NEWMAN, Candidate for Seattle City Council District 4 Once upon a time, it was easy to get around Seattle. Hop in the car and in 15 minutes, you were downtown; and outside of downtown, parking was easy. At least, that’s how many long-time residents remember Seattle. Congestion was infrequent and parking was plentiful. … Continue reading "Thinking outside the car"

If done right, congestion pricing can reduce pollution and improve mobility. by HESTER SEREBRIN, Policy Director, Transportation Choices Coalition Seattle has a traffic problem. According to the 2018 Global Traffic Scorecard, Seattle is the 6th most congested city in the country, robbing people who drive 138 hours and nearly $2,000 annually. Congestion also contributes to our … Continue reading "How Seattle can shape an equitable congestion pricing plan"

Follow up: Via (2:48) Congestion pricing report (7:56) Amtrak NTSB hearing (24:37) West Seattle – Ballard preferred alternative (32:57) OMF South (43:47) Scooters (50:03) Download link

The interior layout of a train car has a direct effect on capacity. Here is some interesting research on riders’ preferences and optimizing layouts. This is an open thread.

Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times: More than 50 Talgo railcars that have served the Amtrak Cascades line since 1998 will be replaced “as soon as possible,” the state announced Wednesday, a day after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the lightweight vehicles didn’t adequately shield passengers in the 2017 fatal Amtrak crash near DuPont. … Continue reading "What makes a train safe?"

[Update: corrected an error in the matrix of travel times at the end of the post, where the matrix previously miscounted the transfers in the representative project. Also updated the associated text in the paragraph just above]. Work has begun on SR 522 BRT, with the first BAT lanes in Bothell coming online in late … Continue reading "Reevaluating Woodinville BRT"

The National Transportation Safety Board held a hearing yesterday on the fatal December 2017 Amtrak derailment on the Point Defiance Bypass. The Seattle Times, Trains, and Curbed have reports. Here are a few takeaways, after watching the briefing: Responsibility for safety was diffused, but the buck stops with Sound Transit. Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, Sound … Continue reading "7 Takeaways from the Point Defiance NTSB Hearing"

The Sound Transit board will likely vote on Thursday not to include a controversial Federal Way Kent site on its short list for a South Sound maintenance base. The system expansion committee voted unanimously on May 9 to remove the site, which hosts several auto-oriented retail businesses including a newly-opened Dick’s Drive-In. It was controversial not only … Continue reading "Three sites remain for a south light rail maintenance base"

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"

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 […]

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. […]

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]