Seattle Transit Blog

On Friday, Sen. Patty Kuderer (D – Clyde Hill) submitted a bill that would offer a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET, or “car tab”) market-value adjustment to low-income car owners, for the portion of their car tabs going to Sound Transit. Senate Bill 5075 would offer a discount based on the difference between the MVET […]

Trams running though roundabouts can be found throughout Europe. Salt Lake City implemented one in 2003. Now the Phoenix area is getting one.

Good news: traffic deaths in Seattle were down significantly in 2018, according to SDOT according to the latest available data from SDOT. But we’re still far from Vision Zero. Update: Please note that collision data for 2018 is incomplete, as reporting is still in progress. We’ll continue to track the story, and post complete data when it becomes available. In future data stories, we’ll make important metadata like this much more prominent. The data in this story was released on December 19, 2018 and downloaded on December 25, 2018. The City’s internal data collection is ongoing. We’ll follow up with the definitive statistics when they become available. Ten people were killed in collisions this last year, down from 19 […]

When Sound Transit takes over the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) later this year, it will take over the DSTT’s escalators. It’s not yet clear whether Sound Transit will be responsible for making them work better. Sound Transit has had some trouble with escalators. Dramatic system failures crippled Sound Transit’s Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium […]

While 2019 will be a quiet year for transit openings, there’s plenty of upcoming events for transport aficionados to look forward to, whether we’re ready or not. January–February: The viaduct, the tunnel, and the apocalypse It’s been covered to death locally, ourselves included, but in case you’ve been under a rock for the past year: the long-overdue closure of the Alaskan […]

It’s time to look back at the top articles of the last year. The major themes should be no surprise: ST3 and high-speed rail dominated. But our series on East Link and how it’s shaping the Eastside was popular as well. Introducing Cascadia Rail by Cascadia Rail (Feb 12, 2018). The launch of a new […]

Here’s Greta’s longer TED talk. This is an open thread.

Correction: The post originally stated transit would be free after 7 pm on New Year’s Eve. Actually, only Metro buses and the Seattle Streetcars will be free during that period. BTW, Link Light Rail will be operating later hours after midnight New Year’s Eve. The last southbound train departs UW Station at 1:56 am. The […]

The failure of I-1631 has allowed Governor Jay Inslee to continue an annual tradition: he announced another climate action plan to great fanfare. The plan leaves plenty to be desired. The package’s proposed $129 million in “clean transportation” funding doesn’t invest in any land-based, local transit. There are some worthy items, but they miss the […]

Mercer Megablock is up for sale. Sen. Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens) trying to fund a new transportation package ($) with a carbon fee. Link escalators a disaster, but you knew that already. Redmond Mayor John Marchione is the new ST Board chair. He’s been pretty good on the board. Angst over Tacoma Link construction staging. Jan […]

Update: The post originally stated that Rep. Joan McBride was re-elected. Actually, she retired. The author apologizes for the error. On December 13, the House Democratic Caucus elected its new leaders and new committee chairs. Rep. Jake Fey (D – Tacoma) was elected the new Chair of the House Transportation Committee, replacing the retiring Judy […]

New SDOT director. GGW’s take. (2:00) How would ending 405 tolls affect buses? (15:30) Minimum density (25:55) The boring company’s new tunnel (38:29) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_71.mp3

The Swift Green Line will launch on March 24, 2019, bringing bus rapid transit service to Mill Creek and the new Paine Field passenger terminal. Community Transit’s second bus rapid transit line will have 34 stations and run from Seaway Transit Center on Airport Road, 128th/132nd Street, and the Bothell-Everett Highway (SR 527) to Canyon […]

Sounder North turned 15 years old on Friday. The line has four daily round-trips that carry an average of 1,750 people per weekday. This is an open thread.

Carpocalypse comes Monday, January 14, as the Alaskan Way Viaduct will shut down forever at 10 pm on the evening of Friday, January 11. That will leave up to 90,000 daily car trips trying to find other ways to get into and out of downtown for at least the following three weeks until SR 99 […]

In an extended press conference about the Seattle Squeeze on Thursday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, WSDOT, SDOT, and Metro laid out their plans to mitigate the planned mobility crisis. It’s a mixed bag. The coordinated government effort does include some promising transit benefits, but doesn’t go as far as it could—by the agencies’ own admission. […]

Your ORCA beep has changed. Peter Rogoff in line for a $16,000 bonus ($). Columbia River Crossing meetings try to get over hard feelings from Washington Republicans’ irresponsibility. Jay Inslee wants light rail on the new bridge. Judge sets back Burke-Gilman “missing Link” yet again; apparently environmental impact statements are also meant to assess if any […]

In a press conference yesterday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan named Washington, D.C. District Department of Transportation (DDOT) official Sam Zimbabwe the new Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). When Zimbabwe is confirmed by the Council—Durkan said she expects him to start work in “early January”—he will be SDOT’s first permanent director in a […]

That U.S. Census Bureau data says so probably doesn’t surprise you. However, the data pokes holes in the narrative that Silicon Valley transplants are the main reason for the Puget Sound’s explosive growth in population—and housing costs. More of the out-of-state newcomers to King County from 2012-16 were from California than the rest of the […]

On Dec. 10th Sen. Guy Palumbo (D – Maltby/Bothell) prefiled a bill to end the High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes on I-405. Although most transportation experts would line up to slay this bill, its passage — which is not likely — may actually be a good outcome for transit. The bill doesn’t return the highway to […]

This is an open thread.

Add another workaround to the list of fixes for the Period of Maximum Constraint Seattle Squeeze Carpocalypse: King County is increasing the number of Water Taxi ferry sailings between West Seattle and Downtown. The Water Taxi is adding an additional vessel starting on January 14, which will allow the following service improvements between then and […]

Fort Lawton affordable housing push rumbles on ($). Renton ahead of Seattle on the backyard cottage front. Seattle booming, not adding cars. 3 finalists for SDOT director Mountlake Terrace planning its station area. The scooter ban is indefensible. Seattle Central College doesn’t want to build any more parking. Geofencing 3rd Ave. ST has a new […]

At the Sound Transit Board’s executive committee today, ST CEO Peter Rogoff said that Sound Transit will be the sole operator in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) starting March 23, 2019, as King County Metro vacates the tunnel. Rogoff also announced that ST will run trains in both directions on a single track for […]

This is the second of two Q&As drawing from Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff’s interview with STB. This post has been edited for length and clarity. Find Part One here, and an unedited transcript of the conversation here. STB: How is the takeover of the Downtown Transit Tunnel going, and what are the plans for […]

Various private transportation entities have caught on to the Big Deal that is the Period of Maximum Constraint, starting with the permanent closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Friday, January 11 at 10 pm, three weeks before the SR 99 tunnel under downtown opens. Lyft and Uber both rolled out $2.75 discount deals Monday […]

To help West Seattle residents and commuters cope with the upcoming closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the subsequent changes to the area’s bus routes, King County Metro is expanding its “Ride2” on-demand shuttle service to serve the Alaska Junction bus hub and the West Seattle Water Taxi terminal at Seacrest Park. Ride2, which […]

With the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct next month, the “period of maximum constraint,” now known, apparently, as the “Seattle Squeeze” is officially upon us. Five years of construction as we rebuild the Waterfront, expand the convention center, and (maybe? hopefully?) build a streetcar on First Avenue and bus rapid transit on Madison St. […]

Last week, Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff sat down for a wide-ranging interview with STB. We’re posting the first part of that conversation today. This post has been edited for length and clarity. We’ll post an unedited transcript of Rogoff’s remarks with Part 2. STB: Executive Somers and some other folks from Snohomish and Pierce […]

Last month, alert readers noticed that ST’s quarterly ridership report showed a steep jump in cost per boarding. With boardings up a bit and the number of trips essentially flat, this implied an alarming increase in ST’s unit costs. The good news is that a big chunk of this is a mere accounting illusion. The […]

The series in which STB writers travel around to other cities and make wild generalizations about their transit and land use is back, with a slight change in venue. I visited Columbus and Detroit in mid-October for a Wikipedia conference and spent plenty of time on the buses and bikeshare in the cores of both […]

Fare enforcement Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (1:10) ST3 Level 3 (STB, Seattle Subway) (17:51) JUMP Bike review (26:02) From the archives: Is bike share good business? Prospects for climate change legislation (31:33) Seattle TBD in review (35:08) Passenger rail (48:05) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_70.mp3

Single-family zoning is indefensible. Massive city report ($) goes into extraordinary detail about why. Council Candidate Shaun Scott reacts properly. SDOT delivered 4% (!) of its 2018 bike lane plan. Taking LimePods on a test drive. Mayor thinks scooters are too dangerous, auto carnage is just dandy. Private transit center near Expedia. Driver Nathan Vass […]

Mayor Jenny Durkan retained Anne Fennessy, of public affairs firm Cocker Fennessy, to represent the City of Seattle in planning for the final alignment of ST3’s West Seattle and Ballard Link segments. Durkan’s office also told STB that the search for a new, permanent SDOT director is “underway,” started “earlier this fall,” and that the […]

SDOT last week released its updated workplan (PDF) for the Move Seattle levy, the 9-year, $930m program that includes everything from streets and sidewalks to buses and bikes. While the original levy included 7 “RapidRide+” corridors, it became apparent in April that SDOT didn’t have the money to do all 7 and would be scaling […]

El Paso once had streetcars running across the border to Juarez.

Metro testing electric buses with 140-mile range. Between 80 and 91 low-cost housing units ($) coming to Lower Queen Anne. Seattle Transportation Budget: done. Rich Smith continues his quest for Light Rail signage that is comprehensible to humans. Apply for an opening on ST’s Citizen Oversight Panel. Trailhead Direct, now done for the year, served […]