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 idea of how the Sound Transit board can reset with a greater emphasis on making decisions through a regional lens was one of the primary topics at this week's Sound Transit board retreat.
The Seattle Transportation Plan, shows a lofty vision for the next two decades of city investment in transportation. The hard part comes next with funding it and effectively implementing it — plus, aligning it with a delayed comprehensive plan for land use.
Large highway signs that prompted pushback from nearby residents when they were installed last year around SR 520 in Montlake are getting a second look. The state has $750,000 in tweaks planned that would scale back the size of new road signage.
$3.1 million for additional water taxi runs between Downtown Seattle and Vashon Island is set to be allocated by the legislature to make up for lost state ferry service to Fauntleroy.
A popular neighborhood cafe bill that sailed through the Washington House has run into problems in the Senate, mostly dealing with the question of local control. The Association of Washington Cities and the City of Bellevue have lobbied against the bill.
The WOSCA site is a publicly owned five-acre scrap next to the south portal of the SR-99 tunnel, left over from that project. It will remain an undeveloped scrap for the time being with a temporary use during the 2026 World Cup and a permanent redevelopment envisioned thereafter. Mayor Harrell is seeking bids from private developers.
State House leaders want to delay a freeway lid and multi-use trail in order to bring the overall SR 520 bridge replacement project under budget. Building those elements later would ultimately cost more and risk them being abandoned altogether.
Franz Loewenherz, a longtime employee of Bellevue's transportation department, has been cleared of wrongdoing after an ethics investigation into his work on Bike Bellevue. The complaint was made by a project opponent, who did succeed in causing a minor delay.