Ryan Packer
Ryan Packer has been writing for The Urbanist since 2015, and currently reports full-time as Contributing Editor. Their beats are transportation, land use, public space, traffic safety, and obscure community meetings. Packer has also reported for other regional outlets including BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
Seattle is missing thousands of blocks of sidewalks. But the lower-cost sidewalk alternatives being advanced by the Seattle Department of Transportation don't always live up to what's expected in neighborhoods that have lacked basic infrastructure for decades.
Transit riders and elected officials alike celebrated light rail's arrival in South King County, as Sound Transit held a grand celebration to tout its three new stations and cut the ribbon in Federal Way.
At first glance, the deal appears to be heavily lopsided in favor of Sound Transit, which will trade aging Skoda streetcars for ones that are essentially brand new. But the Brookville cars leaving Portland experienced significant issues that could follow them to Tacoma.
The three stations of the eight-mile Federal Way Link light rail extension open December 6. Here's your guide to the new line and the opening day festivities.
Sound Transit's four new members join other reappointments and board members whose terms are not up for renewal. This new freshman class will not have much time to get adjusted before being faced with major decisions around the future of the region's transit system.
Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson's request would bring an emergency action to require facade preservation along Main Street as a condition of future development, while the city considers permanent regulations. While there was majority support for retaining the character of the area, some councilmembers cast doubt on the urgency and emergency framing.
Sound Transit gave reporters a sneak peak at the three new light rail stations set to open in Kent Des Moines, Star Lake, and Downtown Federal Way. Check out the station designs and their custom artwork ahead of the grand opening Saturday at 11am.
Corridor-wide bus revamps have been hitting delays and are often taking ten years to deliver, or more. A new King County Metro report released this fall outlines the myriad reasons RapidRide lines fall behind, as the overall program faces an uncertain future.