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.
Expectations are high for longtime board member Dow Constantine's new job as Sound Transit CEO. Here's what The Urbanist's newsroom has at top-of-mind in the months ahead.
Hearing Examiner Ryan Vancil dismissed all appeals of Seattle's growth plan. Despite a myriad of issues raised by six appellants, the proposal will move forward thanks to a recently passed state law intended to prevent predatory delay of housing plans.
The changes being considered by the Bellevue Planning Commission right now would go further than the minimum state mandate, allowing up to six units in many more areas and with considerable flexibility.
After considering a full halt on multifamily development, tourist-focused Woodinville is set to add a 10% affordable housing requirement months ahead of a full analysis of potential affordability programs. Whether it's an earnest attempt at boosting affordability or a proxy for a building moratorium is anybody's guess at this point.
A newly adopted vision statement and guiding principles set the stage for future negotiations between Issaquah and Sound Transit over what the city's light rail station will look like and whether it will be surrounded by a parking crater or a vibrant, walkable neighborhood.
Washingtonians in the market for a new e-bike can qualify for the chance to snag a $300 or $1,200 instant rebate starting Wednesday. The state will distribute about 10,000 rebates via a lottery system following a two-week sign up period that ends April 23.
A rally Saturday in Lake Forest Park served to highlight the threats to the SR-522 bus rapid transit project, which will connect Shoreline to Bothell. In order to open in 2028 as planned, construction needs to start this year.
In 2020, Rob Saka advocated against proposed safety infrastructure along a critical greenway in West Seattle. This week, the issue resurfaced, and Saka, now a city councilmember and chair of the transportation committee, again railed against traffic diverters.