Open Thread 43
Seattle Transit Blog
by Mike Orr
2d ago
Community Transit ridership increased 23% in 2023. A third of total riders were on the Swift Blue and Green lines. Apply to the one of Seattle’s transportation advisory boards by April 15 if interested. What’s happening with the 520 reconstruction project in Portage Bay. Efforts to lid I-5 in more of downtown Seattle continue. Activists have been working on this since 2010. One concept would lid from Madison Street to Thomas Street, aka the library to Seattle Center. How WSDOT designs maps to show event and road-closure congestion bottlenecks throughout the state on busy summer weekends. Natio ..read more
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Improve Buses on the East Side of Green Lake
Seattle Transit Blog
by Ross Bleakney
1w ago
Three buses currently serve the east side of Green Lake: The 20, 45 and 62. As soon as Link gets to Lynnwood, the 20 will go away. There are aspects of the 20 that should be adopted by the other routes. However, this will require the help of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). Here are the things that SDOT and Metro can do to significantly improve transit in the area: 62 The 62 was created with the U-Link restructure. It replaced part of what was then the 16. I don’t have a link for the route but you can see it on Oran’s old map (it went from Northgate to downtown via Aurora and G ..read more
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Open Thread 42
Seattle Transit Blog
by Nathan Dickey
1w ago
This week (March 17-23) is Transit Appreciation Week! Be sure to thank your bus driver or other transit operator for the hard work they do. Sound Transit Announcements: New initiatives to reduce crowing when Lynnwood link opens; reviewed by The Urbanist. Link 1 Line single-tracking for late-night station maintenance for the next month: Trains will run every 15 minutes after 11pm March 17 to 25, and every 20 minutes after 11pm April 2-17. News Roundup: Port Townsend turns parking mandates into “recommendations” (Urbanist). “Year of Housing 2.0” mostly died in the Senate (Urbanist). Bi-annual st ..read more
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The Comprehensive Plan Must Do More
Seattle Transit Blog
by Nathan Dickey
1w ago
Seattle’s much-delayed Comprehensive Plan update was released last week by the Office of Planning & Community Development (OPCD). Coverage of the broad points of the plan was quickly provided by The Seattle Times ($), The Urbanist, The Stranger, and Crosscut. The primary takeaway image is the “Future Land Use Map” (FLUM), here: Coverage of subsequent disappointment from housing density advocates was then provided by The Urbanist and The Seattle Times ($). The plan itself is full of florid prose describing how it supposedly expands housing opportunities across the city, meets equity g ..read more
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The rush to reach West Seattle
Seattle Transit Blog
by Martin Pagel
2w ago
Last week Sound Transit revealed more details about three grandiose new stations in West Seattle, one hugely upgraded SODO station, and a big cable-stayed (“suspension”) bridge over the Duwamish. On Thursday the System Expansion Committee will discuss early land acquisitions. This seems to indicate that the Board takes approval of the extension for granted though the final EIS is not expected to be released until June. In the meantime, the target opening of the Ballard extension has been pushed out from 2035 to 2039, partially due to lack of funding. What would happen to land already acquired ..read more
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Open Thread 41
Seattle Transit Blog
by Nathan Dickey
2w ago
State Legislature to allocate $200M from the Climate Commitment Act toward hybrid ferries, assuming the Act isn’t repealed by I-2117 in November. Free carpool parking permits are returning to the Angle Lake Station parking garage. King County Metro has broken ground on its interim electric bus base in Tukwila. The movement to add density to suburban neighborhoods transcends political boundaries (New York Times gift article). March 11 [today]: Seattle YIMBY is organizing a silent protest at City Hall to support more density than proposed in the draft Comprehensive Plan. March 12 and March 14: S ..read more
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SDOT Ideas for Aurora
Seattle Transit Blog
by Nathan Dickey
2w ago
Since 2021, SDOT has been working under a Pedestrian and Bicycle program grant from WSDOT to “reimagine” Aurora Avenue North from the northern end of the SR-99 Tunnel to 145th street. Based on community input provided during a series of meetings last summer, SDOT has released concept art depicting four potential general corridor concept designs: “Walkable Boulevard”, “Bike Connection”, “Center-Running Bus Lane”, and “Maintain Capacity”. Since Aurora varies in width along its route, there are versions of each graphic for a 90-foot roadway and a 106-foot roadway. The Aurora Project is split into ..read more
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Link Single-Tracking March 9-10
Seattle Transit Blog
by Mike Orr
2w ago
[Correction: an initial version of this article listed incorrect single-tracking times. We regret the error.] Link will be single-tracked this weekend, March 9-10 from 10pm to the end of service and from the start of service to 9am, according to Sound Transit spokesperson John Gallagher. Trains will run every 12 minutes between Angle Lake and UW, and every 24 minutes between UW and Northgate. Just in case you were nostalgic for the recent 3-week reduction. The southbound track will be closed for maintenance. [Update 2: All trains will terminate at UW Station.Passengers continuing further will ..read more
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No More RapidRide
Seattle Transit Blog
by Mike Orr
3w ago
Stephen Fesler has an intriguing article in The Urbanist saying Metro should move away from RapidRide in its next expansion phase. That sounds like potentially a very good idea. This would not decommission current lines or those that are under construction or in late planning that have already received grants, but it would redirect resources beyond that more regular bus service and incremental improvements instead of additional RapidRide lines. Metro’s long-range plan is called Metro Connects. It has two concepts: an Interim network for ST2, and a 2050 network for ST3. Current revenue trends c ..read more
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Open Thread 39
Seattle Transit Blog
by Mike Orr
1M ago
Seven Link disruptions in four days ($) last weekend. Five were from external causes (collision, blockage, shooting, two power outages), two from unknown causes. Five people were stabbed or struck by objects in 2023 on ST or Metro, while there have been seven unsolved shootings on King County freeways n the first seven weeks of 2024. (And more solved shootings?) February 28: South Downtown Hub workshop (aka CID/N and S station area) and the Seattle Transit Advisory Board monthly meeting. Tell Sound Transit that good Link-to-Link transfers are critical for a downtown hub, and its downtown align ..read more
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