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 Councilmember Bob Kettle has asserted that projects intended to improve traffic safety can negatively impact emergency response. The data to back it up is not there.
Shoreline has seen significant growth in housing around its two light rail stations, but this week the Shoreline Council showed clear reluctance to allow increased density throughout the rest of the city.
To prevent a 19-story apartment building long in the works, a group of Belltown residents are trying to stop code updates to Seattle's Living Building pilot program. The purported risk of bird deaths headline the group's laundry list of concerns.
Carrying nearly 20% of King County Metro boardings, the trolley fleet has been a workhorse of Seattle transit for 84 years. But oddly, trolleybuses have not been a focal point of Metro's plan to electrify its fleet.
Seattle's long anticipated bike path along a newly remade waterfront won't open until this winter, even as other elements come online. The Overlook Walk is poised to open early this fall.
With the loss of the SoDo Busway for Sound Transit light rail expansion, 4th Avenue S in SoDo will have to accommodate dozens of additional buses per hour. The Seattle Department of Transportation is pushing for a plan that won't worsen safety on the street.
A "Safe Systems" motion from King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci would prompt county government to harness the power of every department to help reduce deadly and serious-injury traffic crashes.
A 2.2 acre strip mall property purchased by Kirkland in 2022 is seen as a big opportunity for the city to create community space and expand housing while serving as a catalysis in a neighborhood oozing potential.