From 7:00 to 8:30pm this evening (June 3), at the Haller Lake United Methodist Church (13055 1st Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125), Colleen Echohawk will facilitate an election forum featuring Position 8 candidates Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Saunatina Sanchez, and interim incumbent Tanya Woo. The forum will focus on both highly localized issues related to the 130th Street station, a new Lake City Community Center and safety on the Aurora Avenue, to citywide concerns like affordable housing, public safety, homelessness, and climate change. The forum can be viewed in person or on Zoom. You c ..read more

Several buses have been rerouted because of last night’s storm. This is causing delays as well as skipped stops. Check the Metro service advisory page to see if your bus is effected. This is a developing story, but here are the reroutes I am aware of: 10 — rerouted off of 15th Avenue E between E Galer Street and E Aloha Street due to downed power lines. 322, 372, 982, 986, 987, 988 and ST 522 — fallen tree near NE 92nd Street & Lake City Way NE 73 — rerouted off of 15th Avenue NE between Pinehurst Way NE and NE Northgate Way due to downed power lines. 75 — fallen tree near 20th Avenue NE ..read more

As formally announced on Friday, previewed by The Urbanist on Thursday, and briefly reviewed on PubliCola on Saturday, Seattle City Council Transportation Committee Chair Rob Saka (District 1) is proposing an amendment to the 2024 Transportation Levy adding $100 million across several categories for a total levy amount of $1.55 billion over eight years, and adding more oversight processes. Tomorrow, the Seattle City Council’s Select Committee on the 2024 Transportation Levy will meet twice to discuss the proposed levy and this amendment: first at 9:30am, and then again at 4:30pm for a Public H ..read more

This is an Open Thread ..read more

This post is the fifth and final in a series, adapted from an article I wrote for my blog, Transportation Matters, a Pacific Northwest-flavored blog that discusses railway planning, urban planning, and related politics. The previous post described four proposals for improvements to Pierce Transit. This article proposes three improvements corridors to conclude the series: Make Targeted Bus Corridor Improvements Implement New Buslines that Connect More Local Centers Electrify the Core Local Buslines Make Targeted Bus Corridor Improvements Pierce Transit should exclusively seek corridor infrast ..read more

This post is the fourth in a series, adapted from an article I wrote for my blog, Transportation Matters, a Pacific Northwest-flavored blog that discusses railway planning, urban planning, and related politics. The previous post described three proposed improvements to bus transit in Tacoma. This article proposes four improvements for Pierce Transit: Secure a Sales Tax Increase for Pierce Transit Increase More Busline Frequencies to 15 minutes or Better Invest in a Pierce County Bus Transit Grid Expand the Pierce Transit Service Area into Greater Pierce County Secure a Sales Tax Increase for ..read more

Countdowns: Lynnwood Link (August 30). Transit Updates: This weekend (June 1-2) has several Link reductions. Columbia City station will be single-tracked. Every other train will terminate at Stadium and not go further south, giving 10-minute frequency north of Stadium and 20-minute frequency south. Link will be closed between SeaTac and Angle Lake stations; passengers can use RapidRide A as an alternative. Additional work at SeaTac is ongoing through June 25. This all is to connect the East Link and Federal Way Link segments to the mainline, and to repair tiles at Columbia City station. The Ja ..read more

This post is the third in a series, adapted from an article I wrote for my blog, Transportation Matters, a Pacific Northwest-flavored blog that discusses railway planning, urban planning, and related politics. The previous post described five proposed improvements to the T line. This article proposes three improvements to the bus system in Tacoma: Dramatically Improve the Transfer at Pacific/24th Send Regional Buses to Pacific Avenue and/or Downtown Tacoma Replace the MCI Vehicles of the ST Express Dramatically Improve the Transfer at Pacific/24th A major connection point of the Pierce Count ..read more

This post is the second in a series, adapted from an article I wrote for my blog, Transportation Matters, a Pacific Northwest-flavored blog that discusses railway planning, urban planning, and related politics. Pierce County is a place of long-standing corridors and urban centers that need straightforward transit investments and services. Those investments and services should be rooted in the same best practices that help develop quality transit everywhere in the world. Following on the introduction, this article proposes five investments in Tacoma’s T Line: Commit to Downtown Tacoma and Inte ..read more

This post is the first in a series, adapted from an article I wrote for my blog, Transportation Matters, a Pacific Northwest-flavored blog that discusses railway planning, urban planning, and related politics. Introduction In this environment of service cuts and stalled transportation projects, it can be difficult to envision a future when Pierce County has a comprehensive transit system that just works. Such feelings are coarsened when it is accepted that the future we work toward is incongruent with the needs of the area, as Transportation Matters has observed for nearly 10 years. However, c ..read more