Doug Trumm
Doug Trumm is publisher of The Urbanist. An Urbanist writer since 2015, he dreams of pedestrian streets, bus lanes, and a mass-timber building spree to end our housing crisis. He graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2019. He lives in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and loves to explore the city by foot and by bike.
King County Executive Dow Constantine continues to tease development plans for the County's large campus in South Downtown, but few firm details have emerged.
On Friday, agency officials celebrated the start of pre-revenue testing for the Lynnwood Link light rail extension. A countdown clock has ticked down to 80 days and counting to the line's grand opening on August 30.
New York had been all geared up to become the first American city to implement congestion pricing later this month until Governor Kathy Hochul announced a stunning reversal, saying she intended to shelve the program on Wednesday. Transit riders and climate advocates are fighting back and aiming to block the move.
After pushback, Councilmember Maritza Rivera backed off a push to pull back funding for the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) but the episode spoke volumes about the city council's current goals.
Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz is out as the allegations against him pile up. Mayor Bruce Harrell announced Sue Rahr would be his interim replacement. Diaz faces numerous investigations for an alleged pattern of gender and racial discrimination in his office and sexual harassment.
Moves to cut the minimum wage for gig workers and squeeze Equitable Development Initiative projects for funding will have to wait for a future Seattle City Council meeting after their sponsors tabled the votes.
Today, Sound Transit ruled out late-breaking South Lake Union station alternatives for Ballard Link. Major business lobbied hard for the late "shifted west" additions, but it wasn't enough to win over the board.
The Sound Transit Board is set to vote on betterments policy reform, limiting local jurisdictions' ability to foist costs on the agency. But some boardmembers are accusing the agency of "bullying" and are seeking to water down the proposal.