Monthly Archives: September 2025

This fall, The Urbanist is running our seasonal subscriber drive, with the return of The Urbanist beanie and a bike scavenger hunt next weekend.

People on bikes can finally connect from Little Saigon to Jefferson Park in their own protected lane, with future connections planned to the north and south. Concerns about lost parking on 15th Avenue S almost doomed the project.

A thriving Mount Baker Transit Center requires pedestrian upgrades, a revitalized commercial district, and plenty of housing nearby. Unfortunately, the City of Seattle is investing elsewhere, with North Rainier an afterthought.

Last week, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the City’s new AI Plan, which looks to harness the current artificial intelligence boom in the tech sector by integrating AI into the City’s operations, public services, and civic engagement. But critics worry about the ethical implications of AI use in public services, as well as its potential impacts on workers and environmental harms.

Assuming bottomless motorist demand and no mode shift to transit made the Seattle Department of Transportation's study of Denny Way bus lanes effectively worthless. Route 8 upgrades deserves real consideration.

The Seattle Department of Transportation is eyeing seven neighborhoods with high rates of pollution, low car ownership rates, and high collision intersections, such as South Park, Lake City, and Capitol Hill, for its low-pollution pilot program. The list will ultimately be whittled down to three program sites.

The Urbanist sat down with Steffanie Fain, who is running for King County Council’s District 5 seat and facing off with SeaTac City Councilmember Peter Kwon. Both position themselves as tax-averse fiscal hawks, but Fain expressed marginally more openness towards raising new revenue to tackle the numerous challenges facing King County.

Costs are going up on all Sound Transit 3 projects, with West Seattle Link now expected to cost up to $7.9 billion, Everett Link $7.7 billion, and Ballard Link more than $20 billion. Sound Transit has been able to identify cost-saving opportunities in Everett, but Seattle is in a tough position.