Seattle Transit Blog

CT is happy with early ridership numbers from new routes 109 and 209, at 250 and 180 riders per day, respectively. Dow Constantine is one of eight figures nationwide to win “Public Official of the Year.” We’re lucky to have him. Fresh off downzoning their downtown, Mercer Island considers removing the only bike lane through it, in favor […]

Welcome everyone to the return of Link Ridership posts. I took a bit of break and what do you know, ST went and opened up a couple new stations. Turns out they are quite popular and not only are running at 2018 projections for ridership, but they appear to have broken the previous pattern. We’re […]

TBM Cutterhead Lift 120516 30s from Sound Transit Video on Vimeo. Though Sound Transit’s Tunnel Boring Maching #1 (formerly ‘Brenda’) reached UW station in September, Sound Transit only retrieved the cutter head yesterday (because football). TBM #1 has been a true workhorse for Sound Transit, completing 6 of the 10 tunnel segments for University Link […]

The story of building London’s Victoria Line in the 1960s. It featured new construction techniques, like tunnel boring machines and freezing the ground to stabilize it. There were challenges like retrofitting existing stations for interchange with the new line, including diverting trains into new tunnels by constructing a new underground track junction around an operating tunnel. The line also introduced […]

Seoul report card Waterfront highway Listener mailbag Olive Way Mt. Baker TCC and SeaSub http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_030.mp3

New regulations from the Federal Railroad Administration could open up exciting new options for passenger rail in the Northwest. These updates have been in the pipeline for some time now and are finally ready for public review. The first of the new rules creates a new “Tier III” for high-speed passenger rail. Tier I covers speeds […]

Port of Seattle will enclose the Link/airport walkway soon within 3 weeks, eyeing plans to add a moving walkway. Pronto will die in April 2017. There will be no bikeshare in Seattle for at least a few months. But Cascade Bicycle Club is taking a victory lap for the overall bike component of the budget. […]

Whenever I visit Portland, about 10 minutes before arrival I always buy a Trimet Day Pass for $5 on my phone. This enables occasional users like me to use transit at will without giving a second thought to fare media. Well, Seattle is finally catching up. On Thursday, King County Metro and Sound Transit […]

Frank and I will tape a podcast soon. If there’s a question you’d like us to answer, please leave it in the comments over the next couple of days.

Back in January 2015, Sound Transit announced a $1.3B federal loan for East Link, the largest single disbursement in the history of the “TIFIA” program. Taking advantage of the continuing low cost of capital in the wake of the 2008-2009 recession, the loan provided favorable repayment terms and a rock-bottom interest rate (2.38%). Well, here comes […]

The ST3 program is widely viewed as disappointing for Kirkland. The city wasn’t quite passed over: I-405 BRT will serve Totem Lake and NE 85th St in 2024, and rail will extend to South Kirkland in 2041. But most observers focus on the missed opportunity to connect Downtown Kirkland via the Eastside Rail Corridor. Why did […]

Why is Roosevelt development so far ahead of Northgate? 165 new units in Downtown Kent. Restricting development is incompatible with progressive politics. So of course, some unions and immigrant groups are fighting development. HALA Briefing for West Seattle comes up with lots of excuses for why development can’t occur in particular stretches. U-District upzone meeting […]

Lakewood Station finally gets a reverse-peak commuter trip from Seattle … on Black Friday only. Photo from Sound Transit on flickr Many transit agencies close down for Thanksgiving, and a few reduce service the day after. Sound Transit is continuing its tradition of providing at least some Sounder service the day after, with two morning […]

Mesmerizing visualization of 24 hours of bus service across King County circa 2014. You can see the huge influx of buses into downtown Seattle in the morning, the thinning of service later in the evening, and the pulses of buses departing transit centers among many activities. The buses move in straight line between stops, so […]

Sound Transit has unveiled the first designs for its stations on the Lynnwood Link Extension, a 8.5-mile light rail project that will continue the current line north past Northgate to Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. While there were several open houses this week where comments were taken, the public can also use an online open house to […]

On Wednesday, the Seattle City Council passed a budget that includes a small pilot project for a parking benefit district (PBD). The PBD pilot is the result of several years’ work by the Capitol Hill Eco District and the City Council, and were a key recommendation of the HALA report. The pilot project is notable because […]

Zach sits in for Martin this week to ST3 passes while Trump prevails Votes by precinct Passenger Rail in Eastern WA Kitsap foot ferries http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_029.mp3

Mike Lindblom reports on how light rail will change Downtown Lynnwood ($). But is its 196th St going to be too wide? New Alaskan Way FEIS up to nine lanes wide in places. Car ownership is expensive ($). More on Spokane Transit’s win. Utility work begins for Center City Connector; full funding not entirely lined […]

These are the preliminary results for races in which STB endorsed a candidate. STB endorsees were 16-6 in first results last night, and are bolded below. Despite the national results, it was a good night for progressive and urbanist local government, and especially good for transit and streets measures. Local/State Measures We endorsed all 8 of […]

Tweets by @SeaTransitBlog Local results won’t come in for another hour, but this is your open thread to discuss local results as they arrive. If you still haven’t voted, you have until 8 pm to deposit your completed ballot at a ballot drop box, or to get in line at a walk-in voting site, such as […]

We’ve written about almost every big angle in the ST3 debate, but a smaller one hasn’t really come up outside comment threads. The property tax component raises howls from “fixed-income” retirees who state that the property tax bill will overwhelm their incomes, presumably forcing them to move. The ensuing comment war is not a credit […]

High-capacity grade-separated transit doesn’t make traffic jams go away. It just adds capacity and gets transit riders out of them. Photo by SounderBruce / flickr On the eve of what is likely the most important election of this decade, expect one last really, really busy evening rush hour on the newly-expanded Link Light Rail system, […]