Seattle Transit Blog| Link | https://seattletransitblog.com/ |
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| Updated | 2025-04-20 15:02 |
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by Martin H. Duke on (#2VTFV)
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 […]
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by Guest Contributor on (#2VQM1)
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 […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#2VGC2)
Michael Elaison introduces the concept of Baugruppen, a model for cooperative housing and living from Germany.
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by David Lawson on (#2VC7R)
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 […]
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#2VBZ7)
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 […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2V9J4)
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 […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#2V8S3)
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 […]
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by Brent White on (#2V2KK)
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 ORCAâ€. 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 […]
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by Lizz Giordano on (#2TZK6)
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 […]
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by Brent White on (#2TWWT)
Mayor’s Race City Council Position 8
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by Lizz Giordano on (#2TV1P)
The Sound Transit Board approved a $10 million settlement agreement with Mercer Island after residents lost special access to Interstate 90 due to the expansion of light rail. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, a Sound Transit board member, cast the only dissenting vote during the board’s June 22 meeting. “As a fiduciary of this organization I’m not […]
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by Frank Chiachiere on (#2TS45)
Martin takes the TGV Fundraiser update (8:50) I-90 goes two-way (10:00) One Center City options (13:30) Access audit (27:40) MHA and displacement (41:10) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_040.mp3
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by Lizz Giordano on (#2TRE9)
Eastside bus riders, feeling the slow-down from traffic congestion, have already begun taking advantage of the quick ride the Link Light Rail offers, transferring to the train at the University Washington Station to head downtown. “It’s just six minutes from UW to Westlake on the train,†said Ted Day, a transit planner for King County […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#2TP3R)
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways mayoral forum tonight, hosted by Erica C. Barnett and sponsored by STB and many other orgs, is sold out, but you can watch the live stream City and WSDOT settle lawsuit over waterfront roadway width. Snohomish Executive Dave Somers to head the PSRC ($). More assaults on Spokane Transit drivers. Central District […]
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by David Lawson on (#2TN57)
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, […]
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by Guest Contributor on (#2TFRP)
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 […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#2TF60)
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 […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2TBV1)
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 […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#2T9P5)
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by Brent White on (#2T7N2)
A recent presentation on One Center City / Convention Center expansion construction plans teased the possibility of an off-board payment zone on 3rd Ave all the way from Jackson St to Denny Way Ave, with all-door boarding. King County spokesperson Scott Gutierrez quickly threw cold water on the tease by pointing out that the plan […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2T20H)
The One Center City plan for handling near-term disruption in Seattle downtown transit and traffic grinds forward. Anticipating the end of bus operations in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, staff are narrowing down the options. At last week’s advisory group meeting, we learned several project elements that are moving forward, and some that are not. […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#2SYR4)
Erica interviews Mayoral hopeful Jenny Durkan. Self-driving car testing ($) coming to Washington, thanks to Gov. Inslee. Seattle Upzone DEIS ($) is public. Bob Hasegawa clarifies that he supports ST3, doubles down on governance reform and other controversial stands. Semi rear-ends Route 150 ($), injures 11. Audit slams Access Transit ($) for higher-than-normal costs, poor […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2SVGT)
Several open houses are scheduled for the public to learn about new service on the SR 520 corridor. The first is on Wednesday evening in Kirkland, with others to follow through the rest of the month. A particularly interesting opportunity is the open house at UW Husky Stadium on June 19. As well as the […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2STGC)
East Link to Downtown Redmond is scheduled to open in 2024, and the Sound Transit Board will update its preferred alternative on June 22. “Concept refinements†are now being considered. These are minor updates to the alignment including changes to station locations and the vertical profile of the guideway. Redmond last week approved a letter […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#2SK58)
Small lots with straightforward and flexible zoning allows a diversity of housing types, mixed with retail and offices, that are affordable to more people. The video creator made a correction on statistics but his point remains valid.
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by Brent White on (#2SGMS)
Coleman Ferry Dock / photo by SounderBruce Washington State Ferries just released its 2017 first quarter boarding statistics, revealing another milestone for Link Light Rail: For the first quarter of a year ever, Link Light Rail had more boardings than Washington State Ferries did. Washington State Ferries had 4,960,373 boardings among all its lines for […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#2SDAW)
Easier car-free getaways to the Olympic Peninsula begin Saturday, June 17 when Clallam Transit inaugurates the “Strait Shot†daily direct bus service between Port Angeles and the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal. STB previously covered the service in detail, which is a 75-mile route using 40-passenger transit buses making five intermediate stops. There will be a […]
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by Brent White on (#2S9EM)
King County Executive Dow Constantine and Metro General Manager Rob Gannon order electric buses for Metro. Photo by Atomic Taco / flickr Governors and mayors must do a lot more than tweeting against Trump to fight climate change and housing crises. Councilmember Kshama Sawant pushes a simple and awesome mandate on landlords to provide voter […]
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by Bruce Englehardt on (#2S5K6)
The City of Everett is looking to join the wave of cities absorbing our ever-exploding population growth by writing two key long-range plans over the coming months, one for downtown land use and one for citywide transit. The “Metro Everett†plan, which will try to accommodate an expected 60,000 new residents and 40,000 new employees […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2S1N5)
Last evening, Metro and Sound Transit released service change concepts for revised bus service on SR 520. This kicks off the second of three rounds of public input, including an online survey and several open houses in mid- to late June. Because these are service concepts, they do not describe capital improvements in Montlake or elsewhere could […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2RXJ7)
A familiar story is playing out in Kirkland’s Houghton neighborhood. The Houghton-Everest Business Center is a collection of strip malls and small offices, mostly over 40 years old. Retail spaces are antiquated and undersized. The pedestrian environment, dominated by curb cuts to parking lots, is unsafe. But it is just a block from Google’s office, less […]
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by Oran Viriyincy on (#2RTW5)
A brief Los Angeles transit history lesson.
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by Eric Wright on (#2RR1X)
There’s been a good deal of recent attention to Seattle’s continued growth spurt. The Upshot column in the New York Times points out that we’re also one of the few cities that is growing denser as we add population. In fact, Seattle is already cited as the 8th most dense of the 50 most populous U.S. cities. I’ll expand […]
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by Brent White on (#2RMHB)
From now on, board the third car if you want to avoid crowds like this. Photo by SounderBruce Sound Transit will be rolling out increased capacity on Link Light Rail beginning Monday, featuring twelve 3-car trains from opening of service to at least end of PM peak, seven AM peak-only 2-car trains, and seven 2-car […]
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by Dan Ryan on (#2RHZS)
Mercer Island has reached agreement with Sound Transit on access to I-90. The agreement means the express lanes can close permanently to auto traffic as scheduled this weekend. A planned hearing this morning in King County Superior Court on Mercer Island’s injunction to prevent the closures is now cancelled. The agreement includes $10 million in […]
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by Martin H. Duke on (#2RCDE)
Erica interviews Jessyn Farrell. Metro running a survey about I-90 trailheads. Vision Zero making progress, but is it enough? The first reviews are in for Pierce Transit Route 15 (Tacoma-Pt. Defiance) The indispensable Heidi Groover interrogates Bob Hasegawa’s views on transit. Is it too early to allow private bikeshare in? One Center City group collecting […]
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