Seattle Transit Blog

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

[Update 2:30pm: I originally misread the tweet below “another day” as “tomorrow”. We’re not sure when this is coming to vote, but it doesn’t appear to be today. Sorry for the error.] For obscure scheduling reasons, House Democrats delayed action on HB2201, which would take over $2 billion out of Sound Transit’s funding. It’s a good […]

2008-2018: Seattle’s transformative decade ($). Radical subway extension and development idea quietly tucked into Cuomo’s State of the State. Of course, the subway system has to actually work before you can sanely consider extending it. A closer look at Seattle’s rising transit ridership. SDOT justifiably toots its own horn. West Seattle light rail: Why you […]

On Monday Executive Constantine made five nominations to the Sound Transit Board. Each County Executive nominates their county’s delegation, subject to confirmation by the County Council. King County has 10 members, Snohomish 3, and Pierce 4, in proportion to their populations inside the Sound Transit District. The last member is the Washington Secretary of Transportation, […]

WSDOT’s recent study of high speed ground transportation in the Cascadia Corridor raised hopes that much faster rail connections to Vancouver and Portland may be in our future. The Governor has requested a more comprehensive study in 2018. Depending on the technology and alignment chosen, a high-speed rail service could cover operational costs by 2035. […]

The State Legislature returns today for a 2-month session, with formal sessions in both houses beginning at noon. The House Transportation Committee begins work at 3:30 p.m. with a presentation by the governor’s office on the state of state transportation, and a presentation of the governor’s proposed supplemental transportation budget for 2019. The Senate Transportation […]

Sound Transit laid out a new process to streamline project development for the Ballard and West Seattle Link Extensions, emphasizing the need for key decisions to be made this year to expedite the delivery of light rail. Major considerations include two water crossings, the configuration of the new downtown transit tunnel and the locations of […]

As Seattle works toward Vision Zero, data from SDOT’s annual traffic report found that collisions with fatal or serious injury jumped 16.5% in 2016, even as traffic volumes remained nearly unchanged. In early 2015, the city launched its Vision Zero initiative with the goal of ending all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030, with […]

The subway built New York; now it must be repaired at any price ($). Jonathan Mahler’s survey of the history and present of the New York subway is a tour de force. If you read only one thing this week, make it this. Transit riders in Wenatchee ($) can now use their smartphone to buy a […]

Amtrak derailment (1:46) Positive train control (4:56) Free Metro on New Years’ Eve (16:47) Jarrett Walker vs. Elon Musk (21:10) The Dangers of Elite Projection The most expensive mile of subway on Earth (24:58) Transit Riders Union, taxes, and advocacy (33:35) Streetcar turns 10 (42:22) Lynnwood Link garages (51:40) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_053.mp3

When we last left Lynnwood link, the light rail extension was $500M over budget. Now, per Mike Lindblom in the Seattle Times, that number has dropped to $300M: By nipping here and tucking there, a Sound Transit manager says his team located $200 million in potential savings to ease a budget crisis in the Northgate-to-Lynnwood […]

2018 is a planning year, not a big one for openings in the Puget Sound region. Openings On July 1st, Metro’s new $2.75 adult flat fare comes into effect. Also, the Regional Reduced Fare Permit — the senior / disabilities version of the ORCA card — will become free some time this year. Amtrak, BNSF, […]

2017 was not a great year, both worldwide and in our little corner of the universe. Here is our customary summary of the 10 most-read and most-commented posts of the past year: Most-Read 1. Mercer Island to Sue Sound Transit, WSDOT (2/13 by Zach Shaner) Mercer Island’s tantrum over HOV lane access was a fine […]

Metro recently released a summary of community feedback on its proposal to move a short segment of routes 3 and 4 from James St to Yesler Wy. As we’ve come to expect with proposals to change the oldest parts of Metro’s network, the feedback was deeply muddled. Metro’s Magic 8-Ball said: “Reply Hazy, Try Again.” Online […]

Seattle test will lead to regulations for dockless bike-share. What the Washington train derailment means for Cascadia high-speed rail. Speed control faces challenges ($), slowly gets rolling on Sounder trains. What Vancouver, B.C., can teach us about housing. When historic preservation clashes with housing affordability. Sightline’s Dan Bertolet catalogs several recent insane decisions from Seattle’s various […]

More and more of us are riding transit every day. But the numbers say we also drive cars ($). 81 percent of Seattle households (including my own) still own at least one car. Many of those who don’t own cars use car sharing from time to time. Cars aren’t a sustainable solution for the majority […]

Despite having all the necessary equipment for positive train control (PTC) operation installed between Everett and Tacoma, the safety system is not fully operational on all Sounder trips, Sound Transit said Wednesday. In a letter to boardmembers, CEO Peter Rogoff said that currently, due to technical issues associated with new deployments, only about 56% of […]

Over a year and a half after the new State Road 520 bridge opened to car traffic, pedestrians and cyclists will finally be able to cross Lake Washington using the floating bridge. The new 2.7-mile 520 bridge shared-use path, linking Seattle and the Eastside, is set to open at 3pm on December 20. Not […]

Amtrak Cascades #501 south from Seattle derailed this morning, while crossing over I-5 in the vicinity of Mounts Road, west of Dupont. There are at least three casualties, many injuries, and some carriages are a total loss. Our thoughts are with survivors, and the families of everyone on board. No root cause has been established, […]

Yellow shirts filled Seattle City Council chambers, holding posters with hundreds of hand-signed petition along the walls. Members of the Transit Riders Union were out in force to voice their opinions to councilmembers, but the topic this time wasn’t potential bus cuts or a push for a low-income transit pass. Instead, the grassroots organization was […]

This is an open thread.

Change is quickly coming to Bellevue as Sound Transit ramps up construction on the East Link Extension. Most recently crews on Monday night began work on the first elevated section of the 14-mile light rail extension, placing two girders that span 112th Avenue Northwest near the future Bellevue Downtown Station. These 117-foot precast girders are […]