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.
The original 58 Sounder railcars, which have been in service since the launch of Sound Transit's first commuter rail line in 2000, will see a full refurbishment to extend their life. The overhauls come at a turning point for the future of Sounder.
Citing exponential increases in traffic congestion, the Seattle Department of Transportation says it can't implement additional bus priority along the busiest part of Denny Way. Transit advocates aren't giving up.
Work to close the 20-25% funding gap announced Thursday will likely have far-reaching implications on everything from system expansion projects to how Sound Transit delivers current service. The coming months will likely see assumptions long thought settled back on the table.
Federal Way Link will open on December 6, ahead of the previous plan for an early 2026 opening, Sound Transit announced today.
Cities around the region are starting to grapple with greater accountability for creating more affordable housing, in the wake of a far-reaching decision impacting Mercer Island. Bainbridge Island and Clyde Hill provide an early look at those conversations.
While the ability to run trains across the floating bridge continues to be a major impediment to getting the full 2 Line running, other issues along the existing 1 Line could pose even greater challenges to maintaining consistent service.
All but one councilmember asked the Low Income Housing Institute to come back with a design that eliminates around a quarter of the planned affordable homes, after intense criticism of the height and parking ratio of a 92-unit proposal.
Upgrades to speed up Route 40 through Fremont and Ballard, and to replace a 100-year-old water main, are well underway. But business advocates have continued to push for transit priority to be scaled back.