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by Dan Ryan on (#3GGT8)
As Sound Transit steps up planning for I-405 BRT, WSDOT is preparing to extend managed HOT lanes from Bellevue south to Renton. Meanwhile, a political consensus in favor of tolling has solidified. After an unsteady start, managed lanes have grown more popular with the public. Eastside cities are recognizing both the benefits in managing traffic […]
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Seattle Transit Blog
| Link | https://seattletransitblog.com/ |
| Feed | https://feeds.feedburner.com/seattletransitblog/rss |
| Updated | 2024-11-22 22:45 |
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#3GEFV)
On Tuesday night, Sound Transit put on an open house in West Seattle that was well attended (a little crowded, at that) and seemed to generate good ideas. It had all the standard fare: a looping video of the project alignment; some rollplots with maps that vaguely showed the alignment over some aerial imagery; boards […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3GE0T)
Seattle’s $50M yearly investment in additional bus service has helped deliver frequent transit service to a majority of households in the city. After three years, the percentage of families living near routes with transit service every 10 minutes has more than doubled, SDOT says. Now a driver shortage could limit the extra service Seattle can […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#3GB8C)
Last week The Stranger published a wide-ranging interview with Governor Inslee, whose stated purpose was to drum up the grassroots for his carbon tax proposal. He doesn’t criticize legislators directly, but you certainly get the impression speaker Frank Chopp (D-Capitol Hill) isn’t exactly out in front of the climate activists. “Any solution on this has […]
by Brent White on (#3G8M2)
This post was updated at 6:20 2.20.18 to include testimony and information from comments. In a disappointing legislative session marked by mostly defensive effort to protect the Sound Transit 3 project list from cuts, there has been one bright light: Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5288, allowing Thurston County Intercity Transit to add an additional 0.3% […]
by Bruce Englehardt on (#3G6JN)
A look at the preliminary project alignment for the West Seattle and Ballard Link extensions, shown by Sound Transit at the recent open houses for the early scoping process. Online comments are still being accepted at wsblink.participate.online until March 5.
by Oran Viriyincy on (#3G4RQ)
Fifty years ago this week, February 13, 1968, 50.8% of Greater Seattle voters voted yes to the Forward Thrust rapid transit proposition. The construction of a 49-mile rapid transit system modeled after BART and the Washington Metro needed voters to approve $385 million in general obligation bonds. The remainder of the $1.15 billion cost would […]
by Bruce Nourish on (#3G2AR)
Sizeism: Why small homes belong in Fremont and Seattle-wide. Doug at the Urbanist pushes back on that awful Times op-ed ($). And here’s Heidi at the Stranger. A 14-story hotel at the entrance to Pike Place Market? Not so fast, say opponents ($). As an architecture critic remarks, “The zoning for it has been in […]
by Lizz Giordano on (#3G0A6)
As Seattle is entering the “period of maximum constraint,†with downtown becoming even more inundated with construction projects, more workers in that area are leaving their cars at home and riding transit. Last year, the drive-alone rate hit an all-time low of 25% of downtown commuters, even as 15,000 jobs were added to the area, […]
by Guest Contributor on (#3FZK3)
You know a city becomes mature when its citizens begin to celebrate their transportation history. London, New York, San Francisco: these are all cities that have been pioneers in the field of transportation and have all embraced their own unique histories of moving people and goods. Seattle is one such city—and while we are probably […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3FWQH)
Thursday, the Sound Transit Capital Committee approved funding for project development for two bus rapid transit routes. As part of the ST3 package, the projects will add 45 miles of BRT to the region. One BRT route will run between Lynnwood and Burien along I-405 and State Route 518, with 11 stations in between. The […]
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by Seattle Subway on (#3FSQC)
This week Sound Transit is kicking off ST3 planning for the Ballard and West Seattle Link extensions with community meetings in West Seattle, Ballard, and Downtown Seattle. The basic alignments have been chosen, but there are still a lot of big decisions to be made before Sound Transit selects the preferred alignment for each segment. […]
by Guest Contributor on (#3FQ2B)
by CASCADIA RAIL You Deserve Faster. A few years ago, some activists thought to start a group to urge aggressive expansion of the Seattle-area transit system. And guess what…it worked! But let’s face it. Because our entire region is popular and globally competitive, more is needed to support the growing population across the Cascadia region […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#3FMSN)
Video explaining Translink and the Mayors’ Council 10 Year Plan.
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by Brent White on (#3FK1N)
While the state legislature has shifted from prioritizing wealthy new car owners over carbon-footprint reducing electric mass transit to prioritizing both over education, the bill to allow automatic camera enforcement on transit-only lanes is still getting a chilly reception. Substitute House Bill 2403 got out of the House Transportation Committee back on January 17, and […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3FGPC)
Looking for ways to accelerate the delivery of light rail, Sound Transit is considering using private-public partnerships (P3) for ST3 projects. But to take advantage of potential savings, CEO Peter Rogoff warned the Board it “would have to cede some decisions to a private vendor that it customarily reserves for itself.†P3s are a procurement […]
by Frank Chiachiere on (#3FE8W)
Bruce Nourish joins Frank to discuss: Future-proofing ST3 (4:13) Amtrak (33:17) Free transit (46:56) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_055.mp3
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by Bruce Nourish on (#3FDR1)
Apps are not transforming the urban transport business. If you read only one thing out of this list, make it this. The per-ride costs incurred by some startup flexible-route/microtransit services are staggering, to say nothing of the (as yet unknown) year-on-year losses incurred by Uber, Lyft etc. A future free of congestion thanks to driverless […]
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by STB Editorial Board on (#3F6ES)
Sound Transit 3 is the biggest investment in pedestrian mobility the Pacific Northwest has seen since the coming of the railroads in the 1890s. Like what that generation built, the capital projects we’ve committed to build will be around for decades. We can’t know with certainty what the future holds, but for reasons of both […]
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by Brent White on (#3F99M)
The Senate Transportation Committee completed the first half of its work for this session with its final meeting to pass out senate bills this afternoon. The only bill among the ten on the agenda that didn’t get bipartisan unanimity to move forward was Substitute Senate Bill 5955, dealing with Sound Transit motor vehicle excise tax […]
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by Brent White on (#3F80Z)
Senate Bill 5955, Sen. Patty Kuderer’s (D – Bellevue) car tab relief bill, has been added to the list of bills scheduled for action in the Senate Transportation Committee today. Today is also the last day for bills to get out of committee, unless they are necessary to the budgets. The committee meets this afternoon […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3F58K)
Before Sound Transit began planning light rail expansion east to Redmond, the city’s then-mayor, Rosemarie Ives, was already eyeing a congestion-free trip via public transportation from her city to Seattle. Many are glad Ives, who served as mayor from 1991 to 2007, never got her way and a 60-mile monorail system crisscrossing the region was […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#3F2MA)
A look ahead to Seattle’s near future. This is an open thread.
by Bruce Englehardt on (#3F0NM)
In the last few months, Community Transit has been hard at work on the Swift Green Line, the new bus rapid transit line linking Everett’s Paine Field area to the future Mariner Link station, Mill Creek, and Canyon Park. Last week, they celebrated the opening of a new bus-only lane on 128th Street SW near […]
by Lizz Giordano on (#3ESG2)
In an effort to improve the speed and reliability of southbound buses along Interstate 5, late last year the Sound Transit Capital Committee approved funding for a bus-only shoulder lane between the Lynnwood Transit Center and the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center. The Committee also approved funding for a feasibility study that would identify other potential […]
by Bruce Nourish on (#3EVBQ)
A walking cure for Sarcellitis: can trails unite Paris’s city and suburbs? Utah legislators propose radical changes for transportation, transit — including a tax hike. Instead of a wall, why not a binational border bikeshare? In Colorado, a glimpse of renewable energy’s insanely cheap future. After 5 years, walk-bike bridge design for Northgate light-rail station […]
by Martin H. Duke on (#3ES16)
The stats suggests that a few of you are interested in the Ballard to West Seattle light rail alignment in ST3. Your first shot to ask questions directly of agency staff is coming up in a couple of weeks. West Seattle: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Alki Masonic Center Ballard: Thursday, Feb. 15, 6:30-8:30 […]
by Guest Contributor on (#3ER62)
by ALEX BRONER Affordable housing near transit is win-win for both housing and transit. If we build enough of it, not only will residents of this housing have lower rents, but the housing market as a whole will stabilize and improve. Meanwhile, transit riders will benefit from the positive feedback of more riders leading to […]
by Lizz Giordano on (#3ENHR)
This post is the first in a series STB is launching to explore how suburban cities around the region are preparing for light rail. In 2017, the East Link Extension began taking shape as Sound Transit contractors prepared Interstate 90 for light rail and installed the first girders for the elevated track in Bellevue. This year, […]
by Lizz Giordano on (#3EK5W)
State Senator Steve O’Ban (R-Tacoma) continued his pursuit of a directly-elected Sound Transit Board, grilling lobbyists defending the transit agency’s current governance during a public hearing on Senate Bill 6301 Wednesday. But now that a Democrat chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, it’s not likely the bill will even get a vote in that committee. A […]
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by Brent White on (#3EJD5)
If you have been down to Angle Lake Station lately, you may have noticed signs attached to the ORCA readers announcing a new bus route: King County Metro Route 635, the Des Moines Community Shuttle. Starting today, the new route runs between Angle Lake Station and the Des Moines Marina District, picking up westbound at […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#3EG85)
Follow the path of Link tunnels under the UW from Husky Stadium to U District Station.
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by Martin H. Duke on (#3EE94)
Over the last few years, transit agencies have created incentives to take transit to New Years’ celebrations. Trains run later, and in 2017 Metro was free for the first time. While it’s worthwhile to provide attractive, safe alternatives for people, I’m sad to say that these improvements haven’t shown up in the accident data, courtesy […]
by Bruce Nourish on (#3EBC9)
The Automotive Liberation of Paris. TL;DR: even with the best urban fabric known to the developed world, car traffic will go up until you make a multi-generational effort to reverse it. Seoul’s answer to a pollution crisis: Free public transit. The kicker is that it may not be very effective at dissuading people from driving, […]
by Lizz Giordano on (#3E8G6)
In a 60 to 37 vote Wednesday, the Washington House of Representatives once again passed legislation to lower car tab fees, reducing funding for Sound Transit. The bill adjusts the rate of the motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) Sound Transit collects. ST3 uses an MVET schedule from the 1990s, which critics say inflates the value […]
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by Brent White on (#3E5NC)
Back in 2016, I wrote a couple petulant whines about the failure to make optimal use of escalators at Capitol Hill Station and UW Station. My screeds have so far gone unheeded. Last Saturday morning, as thousands of march attendees took the train to Capitol Hill Station, the up escalators leading out of the station […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#3E28T)
Sound Transit and the MVET issue (1:58) Automatic transit lane enforcement (23:25) High Speed Rail(25:57) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_054.mp3
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by Brent White on (#3DZ6G)
Sound Transit has rolled out a survey offering 2 options for restructuring ST Express bus fares. Both options would institute flat reduced fares ($1.50 for low-income and youth riders and $1 for Regional Reduced Fare Permit holders), getting rid of the de facto county line surcharge for each of these payer categories. This is the […]
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by Brent White on (#3DTPN)
While many in the State House have been in a rush to assuage car drivers angry at being taxed more, and trample on Sound Transit’s ability to build the ST3 capital program, one Republican representative has offered a bill that uses some of the lenses we’d expect from Democrats to craft a more economically-progressive twist […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3DQTP)
King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit released the September 2018 service changes to I-90 bus routes, prompted by the closure of the Rainier Freeway Station. Construction of Judkins Park Link Station, part of East Link, requires the closure of the Rainier Freeway Station and the I-90 bus ramp that connects buses to the Downtown Seattle Transit […]
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by Bruce Nourish on (#3DNE3)
In response to growth, Chinese cities choose metros. Highway 99 tunnel in Seattle will open to traffic this fall ($), the state and contractors say. Morning Crank: Resolutely Pro-Housing. Here’s a PDF of PSRC’s funded 2017 Transportation Alternatives funding. Podcast ($): As Seattle faces an even worse traffic nightmare, do officials have a plan or […]
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by Brent White on (#3DMNF)
Last week, State Representative Joe Fitzgibbon introduced House Bill 2403, which would add transit-only lane enforcement cameras to the list of automated traffic safety cameras authorized for use in the state. The bill provides the process for enacting local ordinances for transit-only lane cameras, but sticks to existing language governing the use of such cameras. […]
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by Alon Levy on (#3DHNF)
Earlier this year, Seattle Transit Blog covered possible routes for high-speed rail (HSR) to Vancouver. Zach Shaner wrote the first two parts, and I wrote the last two. In December, Washington State DOT (WSDOT) released a study about the possibility of HSR in the Pacific Northwest. The study is bearish on HSR, with high cost […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#3DF19)
Here’s the idea in a nutshell. Revise the valuation schedule for the MVET, per HB 2201, so that the ST3 MVET (0.8%) is levied on the more accurate 2006 schedule. Pay for it by extending the Sound Move MVET (0.3%) that is otherwise scheduled to expire in 2028. The extended 0.3% MVET can use the […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3DE9N)
Democratic legislators are reexamining legislation that would lower car tab fees, reducing funding for Sound Transit and potentially delaying the expansion of light rail around the region. According to the News Tribune, State Sen. Marko Liias, (D-Lynnwood) said the party is looking at a range of ways to lower car tab fees, but also limit […]
by Brent White on (#3DBQ2)
Say what you will about State Sen. Steve O’Ban’s package of bills and investigations attacking Sound Transit, but at least he’s not circumventing the normal legislative process. When he didn’t get his way last session, he didn’t wait to catch his opponents off guard and strike fast. He took his show on the road to […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#3D8ZN)
Spokane’s building a High Performance Transit network.
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#3D6RR)
The new SR-99 tunnel has a problem. No, Bertha isn’t stuck again. This time, problem is financial: setting the toll rates. The initial results of an investment-grade analysis of tolling options, performed by a consultant for WSDOT, show that setting a price point for the new tunnel continues to be as tricky a proposition as […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#3D42S)
To “promote safety and deter crime,†King County Metro Transit recently began testing two new safety features: driver shields and public viewing monitors, the agency announced in late 2017. For one pilot project, Metro plans to install public viewing monitors on the 33 buses serving the RapidRide A (Tukwila to Federal Way) and F (Burien […]