Seattle Transit Blog

Eyman returns (00:35) Analyzing our endorsements (08:40) Bike share is back (40:35) Transit wins in Olympia (47:25) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_042.mp3

Angle Lake is LEED Gold. 216 badly needed housing units in Tacoma, falling apart due to a squabble over parking. It’s a hot real estate market down there. Sound Transit needs new volunteers for the Citizen Oversight Panel. 300 units coming to Downtown Kent. Bikeshare is up and running again. Push-to-walk buttons often don’t do […]

State Legislators have already approved the use of automated traffic cameras to monitor speeds and discourage drivers from running red lights. Why not also use this technology to ticket cars using transit-only lanes? The efficiency of transit-only lanes hinges on keeping cars out. All it takes is a one impatient car blocking a bus to […]

Last week SDOT released new designs and introduced legislation seeking funding for Roosevelt RapidRide. A culmination of two years of process, the Locally Preferred Alternative SDOT is taking to Seattle City Council, and soon thereafter the FTA, represents some wins and losses for transit riders compared to the design shown at last year’s open houses. The […]

On Thursday, the Sound Transit Capital Committee passed its recommended names for Lynnwood Link’s four stations, until now known as NE 145th, NE 185th, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. The recommendation will be up for final board approval later this month, giving the public a chance to comment one last time on the names. The proposed names […]

This is the first year of the City of Seattle’s new Democracy Voucher program, created by the City and passed in a 2015 referendum. You should have received in the mail four vouchers, each worth $25 to a recipient candidate. You can give as many of your vouchers as you want to each eligible candidate, […]

Eastside mayors want Metro and Sound Transit to relocate bus stops to improve bus-rail transfers before implementing service changes. The proposed restructuring would funnel Eastside bus commuters heading downtown to light rail at the University of Washington Station. That transfer requires riders to cross the busy streets of Montlake Boulevard and/or Pacific Street or use […]

Two bikeshare companies are ready to go, pending permits. But the foolish helmet law could mess it all up. Here are some do’s and dont’s. Details coming in on Amtrak derailment. Tim Eyman launches another anti-transit initiative. The impact would be devastating. Affordable housing coming to Mt. Baker. Metro and Sound Transit have to fill […]

These are Seattle Transit Blog’s endorsements for the August 1, 2017 primary elections outside Seattle. The primary is only relevant in races with more than two candidates, so we restrict our attention to those. As always, we choose candidates entirely based on their positions and record on transit and land use. 45th Legislative District, Senate: […]

by REP. JOE FITZGIBBON The 2017 legislative session was a difficult, defensive session for transit. None of the Legislature’s transit advocates expected this after the unequivocal mandate for Sound Transit 3 in November 2016, but the combination of MVET sticker shock and inaccurate vehicle valuations forced us into difficult positions as we fought to fulfill […]

This is a sponsored post Seattle Children’s nationally-renowned Transportation & Sustainability Department is seeking a Transportation Planner who specializes in data analysis, shuttle system design, and strategic planning. In conjunction with colleagues, this position is responsible for designing, planning, and implementing TDM strategies and programs that support the organization’s goal of reducing drive alone commute trips […]

On a cloudless Thursday morning, Community Transit was joined by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Boeing Vice President Elizabeth Lund, State Senator Marko Liias, representatives from WSDOT, and members of the press at a corner of the Boeing Everett assembly plant to break ground on the Swift Green Line. The groundbreaking happened at the future site […]

One of the pieces of infrastructure on the bubble for being part of One Center City is a protected bike lane (PBL) on 4th or 5th Ave downtown. Unfortunately, it is being played off against bus travel time along those corridors. A 4th Ave PBL is expected to cost buses trying to transit 4th Ave […]

Kitsap Transit is about to launch their passenger-only “fast ferry” service between Bremerton and Pier 50 in Seattle on Monday, after a decade-long saga of lawsuits, studies, funding crises, and ballot measures. The Rich Passage 1, built in 2010 in Bellingham, will make six daily round-trips between the two cities on weekdays (during peak periods), and […]

Cascades derails in Steilacoom; no serious injuries, no obvious cause. Metro killing Route 99, wants your feedback. $50m federal grant ($) arrives for City Center Connector. Remarkably, Seattle’s population growth ($) exceeded the rest of King County in absolute terms. We’re doing something right! I-90 Link construction begins with the pontoons. SDOT rolls out regulatory framework for […]

by Jonathan Hopkins As readers of the blog are likely aware, transit usage in the Seattle area is booming. The greater Seattle metropolitan area had the highest transit ridership growth in the country last year, and is one of just six major U.S. urban areas where transit ridership increased in 2016. Some of this growth […]

Michael Elaison introduces the concept of Baugruppen, a model for cooperative housing and living from Germany.

At last Thursday’s Growing Seattle candidate forum, moderator Erica C. Barnett asked the six participating mayoral candidates to perform a simple but revealing exercise: rank transit riders, pedestrians, cyclists, and car drivers in order of priority. The candidates’ answers varied widely. The answers of Jenny Durkan and Sen. Bob Hasegawa are notable, though, because they […]

After two years of government observance shenanigans, Independence Day is back to being a one-day holiday and has brought along some great gifts to those enjoying the nighttime fireworks show. Sound Transit will be running Link light rail trains every 30 minutes between midnight and 2 a.m. and Metro will deploy extra buses on 20 […]

This is the last week to take the survey on proposed revision to SR 520 bus service. The survey closes Friday midnight. With the planned closure of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, the transit agencies have offered two alternatives that would extricate SR 520 buses from anticipated congestion on Seattle surface streets. Both would require […]

Road pricing doesn’t get much love, but it eases gridlock ($). Notably, transpo chair Sen. Curtis King claims tolling should not try to “change the dynamics of what people want to do” despite that fact that all transportation infrastructure does precisely that. Battery bus maker Proterra shifts into higher gear ($), has competition. This interview with […]

The Regional Fare Coordination Board (ORCA Joint Board) has been working toward a new version of the ORCA product to be rolled out in 2021, currently dubbed “Next Generation ORCA”. As part of the new product, London-style daily caps on fares were high on the list of elements to be considered for development, with software […]

In a unanimous vote, Sound Transit board members moved forward a proposal to elevate the downtown Redmond Station, directing staff to complete an environmental review and preliminary engineering on the changes. The proposed design changes by the City of Redmond shift the Redmond Town Center station, previously proposed as an at-grade station near Leary Way, to […]

Mayor’s Race City Council Position 8

The Sound Transit Board approved a $10 million settlement agreement with Mercer Island after residents lost special access to Interstate 90 due to the expansion of light rail. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, a Sound Transit board member, cast the only dissenting vote during the board’s June 22 meeting. “As a fiduciary of this organization I’m not […]

Martin takes the TGV Fundraiser update (8:50) I-90 goes two-way (10:00) One Center City options (13:30) Access audit (27:40) MHA and displacement (41:10) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_040.mp3

Eastside bus riders, feeling the slow-down from traffic congestion, have already begun taking advantage of the quick ride the Link Light Rail offers, transferring to the train at the University Washington Station to head downtown. “It’s just six minutes from UW to Westlake on the train,” said Ted Day, a transit planner for King County […]

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways mayoral forum tonight, hosted by Erica C. Barnett and sponsored by STB and many other orgs, is sold out, but you can watch the live stream City and WSDOT settle lawsuit over waterfront roadway width. Snohomish Executive Dave Somers to head the PSRC ($). More assaults on Spokane Transit drivers. Central District […]

Together, Metro routes 3 and 4 form a critical bus corridor connecting the Central District, First Hill hospitals (including Harborview), downtown, Belltown, and Seattle Center. The segment between downtown and Cherry Hill is one of the highest-ridership parts of the Metro system, with standing-room-only buses running every 5 to 7 minutes during the day. Unfortunately, […]

By Josh Benaloh Last week I read with great interest Dan Ryan’s excellent post on the proposed refinements to the Redmond Link Extension that is expected to begin service in 2024. As a resident of Redmond and former chair of Sound Transit’s Citizen Oversight Panel, I have followed this process intently for more than a […]

When Sound Transit put together their plan last year, more South Sounder service was an important component of building a winning coalition. However, the number of train trips purchased for a certain amount of money is subject to negotiations with BNSF. Last spring, ST exec Ric Ilgenfritz was optimistic that there would be more specifics […]

For several months, a group of King County cities and other stakeholders have been meeting as part of a Regional Transportation System Initiative (RTSI). Their goal is to identify a funding solution for County roads and regional arterials in King County. A Technical Committee is working to define the scope of the regional roads network and its unmet […]