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.
It's official: Voters this fall will get to weigh in on whether Seattle should invest $1.55 billion over eight years to improve transportation infrastructure, with most funding allocated to road and bridge maintenance.
A long-planned RapidRide line on Rainier Avenue has been delayed to 2031, as Metro starts the process of identifying the next round of RapidRide lines to implement. Slow timelines are leaving a daily ridership boost of 19,000 on the table.
For decades, the Interurban Trail in North King County and in Snohomish County have been disconnected, with a state highway between them. There's new momentum to change that.
Transportation and housing organizer Saunatina Sanchez is making a case that her background in community makes her the best choice for the Seattle City Council seat currently held by Tanya Woo.
The transportation levy on Seattle ballots this fall won't grow beyond $1.55 billion, despite a push by transportation advocacy groups to go bigger. A Morales-backed amendment to increase the levy's size failed Tuesday.
With permit applications for new apartment buildings still down in Seattle, the Harrell Administration is hoping to hit the brakes on a planned ramp-up of additional energy efficiency requirements in new buildings.
Councilmember Tammy Morales offered a new proposal Thursday for a $1.7 billion transportation levy that increases spending across a broad array of programs. None of her colleagues have yet backed the proposal.
A proposed amendment to the next Seattle transportation levy pushes the city to build 500 blocks of new sidewalks in five years. However, SDOT says that goal likely isn't achievable without more funding and broader changes.