This is a small room with passages to the east, northeast and south, and a forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches (perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls. A troll, brandishing a bloody axe, blocks all passages … Continue reading →

This is a circular room with passages in all directions. Several have unfortunately been blocked by cave-ins. > go southeast Last time we implemented the state transition function; it takes in a zchar and a state, and produces a string … Continue reading →

In the race to pander to people that object to any genuine escape from congestion, Jay Inslee’s latest entry is more of the same old thinking ($): He is advocating two projects: • Adding a lane on I-405 at Highway 520 to Northeast 70th Place in Kirkland, where it would become an exit-only lane. Costs might […]

[Update 11:30am: WSDOT responded that the MyNorthwest link reporting Good2Go identity theft is a 2013 issue that has been resolved. We’ve uploaded WSDOT’s full statement here.] I-405 HOT lanes saving bus riders an average of 7 minutes during peak. Othello Station is my favorite in terms of food available. Mason Transit GM resigns under a […]

MRN’s almost ready in Ballard #seattlenewconstruction #seattlerealestate #mrnhomes A photo posted by Kelly Deen Morse (@seattlenewconstruction) on Jan 11, 2016 at 11:37am PST A few interesting articles on housing and land use caught my eye recently. First up, Nick Fitzpatrick in Forbes: An Axiometrics study of two metropolitan areas – Dallas and the San Francisco […]

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You are at the periphery of a large dome, which forms the ceiling of another room below. A wooden railing protects you from a precipitous drop. > tie the rope to the railing The rope drops over the side and … Continue reading →

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Daniel Hertz, writing at City Observatory: Land costs are also part of why yearning for the old days of moderate-cost bungalows is unproductive. A century ago, in most cities, it was possible to find relatively cheap land within commuting distance of downtown—partly because the invention of streetcars had just radically expanded the definition of “commuting […]

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For our next podcast, which will air sometime next week, Frank and I plan to select some questions from readers. So if there’s any subject you’d like us to discuss or questions you’d like us to answer, put it in the comments below before Sunday evening and we’ll consider if we have anything remotely interesting to say about it.

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This is a large domed temple. A piece of rope descends from the railing of the dome, about 20 feet above, ending some five feet above your head. On the east wall is an ancient inscription, probably a prayer in … Continue reading →

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I’ve seen more than one news article recently that has someone discovering a family treasure of letters, books, postcards and memorabilia. And it made me realize how much of family history will be increasingly lost in this digital age. Oh sure, we can save a bagillion terabytes of data on a fingernail sized device, but […]

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Martin and Frank discuss housing shortages, potential early wins for ST3, community feedback, water taxis, and dive into the reader mailbag. https://media.blubrry.com/seattletransitblog/s3.amazonaws.com/stb-wp/wp-content/podcasts/STB_podcast_011.mp3

This looks like an Egyptian tomb. A stair ascends to the west. The solid-gold coffin used for the burial of Ramses II is here. > take the coffin Your load is too heavy. > drop the sword Dropped. > take … Continue reading →

Big project at Othello breaks ground; rent starts at $450/month. Sound Transit restores funding for preliminary engineering to central Federal Way and Redmond, a previous casualty of the recession. Metro aiming for cameras on 100% of buses by 2021. Rough early counts suggest 3,000 FHSC boardings per weekday. Councilmembers O’Brien, Sawant, Johnson, and Juarez for saving […]

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Standing by the temple’s altar, you can see a small hole in the floor which leads into darkness. The rest of the temple is north of here. On the two ends of the altar are burning candles. On the altar … Continue reading →

March is nearly here, bringing with it the arrival of spring, minor and major service changes, two new Link stations, and the return of Major League Soccer after the winter off-season. Sound Transit is continuing its annual tradition of offering special weekend Sounder round-trips to and from King Street Station in Seattle (a short walk from […]

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a glance at some of the bikeish stuff floating around the web. First up! Lots of people in the world’s most populous city bike despite few bike lanes: The Gaman Spirit: Why … Continue reading →

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Starting April 22, you’ll be able to ride RTD’s A Line, an electric commuter train, from Denver International Airport to Union Station in 37 minutes, every 15-30 minutes, 22 hours a day, at speeds up to 79 mph.

Paths lead into the forest to the west and northwest. Also, a well-marked path extends east. > go west Forest This is a dimly lit forest, with large trees all around. > go west Behind House > enter the white … Continue reading →

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You are atop the west wall of a great canyon, offering a marvelous view of the mighty Frigid River below. Across the canyon, the walls of the White Cliffs join the mighty ramparts of the Flathead Mountains. To the north, … Continue reading →

SDOT scrapping caps on short-term car rentals. Hurrah. The mechanics of a potential Local Improvement District for the First Hill Streetcar extension. Two teams bidding on Lynnwood Link contract. Kitsap Transit resolves labor trouble. Stats about crimes on buses in 2015. Local unions ask UW to contain U-Pass charges for employees. Passing buses rattling houses […]

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You are on a small, rocky beach by the Frigid River, below the falls. A rainbow crosses over the falls to the east and a narrow path continues to the southwest. > go east Can you walk on water vapor? … Continue reading →

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Toronto’s regional transit authority and their big transit plan. They sure loved shots of our Link trains.

You are near the top of Aragain Falls. The only path leads north. A solid rainbow spans the falls to the west. > go north Sandy beach You are on a large beach on the east shore of the river, … Continue reading →

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This is a sand-filled cave whose exit is to the southwest. > dig in the sand with the shovel You seem to be digging a hole here. > again The hole is getting deeper, but that’s about it. > again … Continue reading →

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Martin and Frank talk Kirkland light rail, infill stations, and car sharing services. https://media.blubrry.com/seattletransitblog/s3.amazonaws.com/stb-wp/wp-content/podcasts/STB_podcast_012.mp3 Subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast player. Like the show? Leave a review.

This was once an artist’s studio. The walls are splattered with paints of 69 different colors. To the west is a doorway (also covered with paint). A dark and narrow chimney leads up from a fireplace; although you might be … Continue reading →

[UPDATE: In a development inconvenient for my thesis, Save Our Trails utterly rejected the compromise proposal today, for reasons good and bad.] If the numerous corridor studies have shown anything, it’s that a small transit capital investment in transit for Kirkland wouldn’t be a disaster for the region. Projected ridership just isn’t that high. Despite interest group […]