County Councilmembers Joe McDermott and Larry Gossett kindly offered some reasons for supporting more bus service in southeast Seattle last Thursday. STB supports adding more service in southeast Seattle that delivers real improvements to riders, which means avoiding wasteful duplication. The councilmembers’ arguments failed to explain why these specific route restructures (in particular, the extension of route […]

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A 48-year-old man biking in Ravenna was critically injured in a collision with someone driving a King County Metro VanPool vehicle this morning on NE 65th Street near Ravenna Boulevard. Though few details have been released, Seattle Police say the … Continue reading →

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Everett contemplates redeveloping the Everett Station area. Pierce Transit’s public feedback form is a service planning game. Subjecting fewer projects to design review would be a huge improvement. The next iteration of ORCA sounds cool, but won’t arrive earlier than 2019. A review of the new Seattle 2035 draft. Closing the viaduct wasn’t a disaster, […]

Parking in ST3 (4:50) HOV3 Lanes (28:00) Kirkland light rail (34:55) Paine spur (41:15) SE Seattle restructure (43:20) Overnight Link bus (56:00) Metro’s long-range plan (1:02:10) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_016.mp3 As always, you can subscribe in iTunes. Also, if you like the show, leave us a review.

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a fascinating documentary from 50 years ago about the engineering and development of BART. They literally reinvented the wheel.

At the east end of this narrow passage, a ladder leads upward. There’s a strong draft from the west, where the passage narrows even further. There is a small pile of coal here. > take the coal Taken. > go … Continue reading →

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Gubernatorial candidate Bill Bryant (still!) opposes light rail on I-90, thinks WSDOT is too focused on transit (!). Kirkland leaders present their updated vision for ST3 and beyond. Sumner Sounder garage close to final approval. Mercer Island, building its case for least environmentally conscious city in the region, considers downzoning ($) around its light rail station. Seattle […]

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> look In the middle this room a small shaft descends into darkness below. Above the shaft is a metal framework to which a heavy iron chain is attached. There are exits to the west and north. A foul odor … Continue reading →

It’s been well over two months since our last listener mailbag. If there’s a question you’d like Frank and me to answer, put it in the comments and we’ll get to as many as we can. The podcast should air sometime next week.

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The first part of New York City’s long awaited Second Avenue Subway, 2 miles and 3 new stations, is expected to open this December.

Martin and I chat briefly about big ST parties, and then go through the reader mailbag. Topics include alternatives for ST3, the Seattle Process, zoning, improvements to STB, and much much more. http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_017.mp3 As always, you can subscribe in iTunes. Also, if you like the show, leave us a review.

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Pierce Transit asking really fundamental questions before service expansion. Data show I-405 HOT lanes are working, despite the complaining. Toby Nixon pushing a Willows Road Link routing ($) to keep rail off the CKC; somehow, the ideas keep getting goofier. Councilmember Lisa Herbold travels to U-District in solidarity with dedicated anti-density advocates like John Fox’s […]

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Today’s the big day. At today’s Sound Transit (ST) Board Meeting, the Board will offer amendments to the Draft Plan released in March. Today is the single most consequential day in shaping what will be the final plan adopted in June. Will timelines change? Will new projects be added or projects cut? We’ll be tweeting […]

Sound Transit 3 materials have not said a lot about the agency’s successful South Sounder service. Most of the attention in that subregion has gone into extending the light rail “spine” into Tacoma. Sounder will actually have a quicker running time from Tacoma to Seattle, although Link may have its advantages for somewhat spontaneous Tacoma-Seattle trips, […]

From signal lever boxes to computerized control rooms.

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Seattle Channel’s City Inside/Out produced a quality segment on the city’s recent bike plan cuts and the public protest against them. The episode begins with a five-minute intro report outlining how the cuts came about and what people protesting the … Continue reading →

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SEATTLE SUBWAY Last week Seattle Subway wrote about the importance of future proofing ST3 by including provisional projects in the plan. A provisional project is a project approved by the board and voters, but doesn’t have any budget. This would mean voters approve projects now and when funds become available they can immediately be used towards […]

This morning from 9am-12pm, the Sound Transit Board will hold a special meeting to finish up the substance of the ST3 System Plan, formally voting on a series of amendments reflected in last’s weeks Draft Plan Update ahead of a final vote on June 23. When live video is available, it will be linked live […]

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Puyallup parking garage negotiation not going well. Happy 40th Community Transit. Don’t pry open the ticket vending machines. Open House for Lander St. Bridge is coming. Sounder maintenance base will be in Lakewood. Logical critique of Seattle Times “war on cars” rhetoric is a category error, but KUOW argued it out anyway. Washington’s GOP platform […]

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A video explaining the advantages of a Communications-based Train Control (CBTC) system, which is being adopted by metro systems around the world. The case studies in their report their website is worth reading.

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It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Lots of good stuff floating around the web lately, so let’s get right to it. First up, Vox created a short and punchy video report outlining “how highways wrecked American cities.” Definitely worth … Continue reading →

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Backyard cottages (1:40), ST3 updates (17:30), Sounder (38:50), Link vs. ST Express (49:50), and the importance of a good plan (52:30). http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_018.mp3

District Councils not very representative. There’s a new bus from Camano Island to Everett. When I mentioned Tim Eyman had a new “We Love Our Cars” initiative, I neglected to mention that he had to abandon his narrower anti-car-tab, anti-Sound Transit initiative. Shoreline to discuss light rail permitting requirements. A history of our Union Station. […]

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I’ve been following the progress of .NET Core with a lot of interest, and trying to make the Noda Time master branch keep up with it. The aim is that when Noda Time 2.0 eventually ships (apologies for the delays…) it will be compatible with .NET Core from the start. (I’d expected to be able … Continue reading Tracking down a performance hit →

To most users, Pronto bikes are just a convenient way to cruise from point A to point B. But for BMX rider Steven Bafus, it’s that and so much more. Is BMX against the rules of Pronto? Probably (depends on … Continue reading →