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 Capitol Hill Seattle, BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
The new pedestrian connection, park, and gathering space all in one was envisioned as a key component of Seattle's new waterfront since work started on the project over a decade ago.
A plan to expand the number of school zone speed cameras has been in the works for nearly two years. But Councilmember Rob Saka is raising questions about the idea and funds allocated to make it happen.
Despite significantly increased costs, the Sound Transit board is full steam ahead on advancing West Seattle Link to full design. What could that mean for the entire Sound Transit 3 plan?
If approved, Initiative 2117, repealing 2021's Climate Commitment Act, would put $2.39 billion in funding for transit agencies across the state over the next 16 years at severe risk of evaporating.
Under the budget for the next two years proposed by Mayor Bruce Harrell, around half of the JumpStart funding originally earmarked for affordable housing and other investments would instead fund Harrell Administration priorities.
New housing, hotel, and research science developments in Seattle's downtown core will be exempt from the onerous design review process for three years. Only Councilmember Cathy Moore voted against the proposal.
London's Pavilion Road, fully pedestrianized in 2021, represents a strong contrast with Seattle's plans to reduce pollution by transforming streets, still stuck in the planning stage despite nearly seven years of work.
King County Metro's entire trolleybus fleet is set to get upgrades to their batteries that will allow them to remain off-wire three times longer.