The shift to restricting vehicle access on just three days a week through March has drawn criticism as a retreat on the path toward a more pedestrian-oriented Pike Place. Ahead of its unanimous approval vote, the proposal was framed as a compromise on the path to a permanent solution.
SDOT is weighing a plan that would fully reopen Pike Place to cars Monday through Thursday from October to March. Here why that approach is wrong and how the Market will thrive with year-round pedestrianization.
The university’s planned campus design overhaul includes more community-focused green space, space for 5,000 more students, and a residence hall at the heart of campus in downtown Tacoma.
Thru traffic would be diverted off Pike Place only on weekend days from October to March, under SDOT's latest proposal for the pedestrian pilot's next phase. The recommendation came from vendor surveys conducted by UW's Urban Freight Lab, and appears to be based more on anecdote than actual data.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson wisely put a stake in the ground for using World Cup hosting success as a springboard for further cityscape improvements, such as pedestrian zones and transit investments. Policymakers should heed the call and make it happen.
Two public restrooms near 1st Avenue S and Charles Street will be relocated by early August after SDOT settled with a nearby property owner who filed an appeal. Cederstrand Rentals called the use "incompatible" with the standards of the Pioneer Square historic district.
While other cities struggled to handle World Cup 2026 crowds, Seattle thrived, with pedestrians happily exploring and transit records being broken. Good planning and an urban stadium location was key to Seattle outperforming its American peers.
National publications have ranked Seattle at the top of the list among World Cup 2026 host cities, commending the city's centrally located, well-integrated stadium next door to a bounty of urban attractions.
"Rerouting and reclaiming" State Route 99 through South Park would unlock 100 acres of space for ecological restoration, housing, and businesses. While three other options for transforming the highway were considered, removal rose to the top.
In the wake of news of increased sales across Pike Place Market after a pedestrian pilot was implemented, the advocacy group Friends of the Market is attempting to poke holes in that data. But the evidence for "worrisome trends" is paper thin.
On June 27, King County Metro is launching a new summer-only bus route connecting beachgoers to Golden Gardens Park, temporarily closing a hole in the agency's bus network thanks to Seattle Transit Measure funding.
Seattle just celebrated the grand reopening of Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks, with upgrades fueled with $56 million in private donations. The overhaul included several nods to the land's Indigenous people and their Salish culture.
The seven-year levy renewal will invest around $68 million into the Seattle Public Library every year, providing more than a third of the department's budget. Library supporters see the measure as essential to provide library services to a growing city.
Hundreds of Seattleites turned out Saturday to celebrate the start of the 2026 Bicycle Weekend schedule, scaled back up by Mayor Katie Wilson after being stifled under the previous administration.
Direct service between light rail stations in Seattle and Bellevue and several major Eastside trailheads starts Saturday, and runs on weekends and holidays through August 30. Seattle's transit funding measure provides a big source of the dollars to operate the shuttles.
Seattle's "number 1 and number 2 priority" is being addressed with four new public bathrooms opening in Pioneer Square. Officials cut the ceremonial toilet paper on Friday.
King County should expand its wildly popular Trailhead Direct transit shuttle service. Here are a handful of ways to enhance service and get even more hikers and bikers to regional trailheads.
To unlock a novel funding source intended to fund 15% of the cost of a new pedestrian bridge, Bellevue needed five different levels of government to sign off. This week, the final vote at the King County Council put the City on the path to approval.
Seattle Public Schools' options to expand athletic fields at Woodland Park all have major drawbacks, and neighbors are pushing a “Community Alternative” repurposing a gravel parking lot. Weigh in via SPS’s public survey by May 9.
The former entrance to the Battery Street Tunnel could become a gathering spot in one of Seattle's densest neighborhoods, but funding hasn't yet been identified to pay for construction of a full park yet.
Seattle should convert its Arch Convention Center to a public commons where residents can gather without the need for an overpriced ticket and box lunch. With convention business limping along, the city must get better use out of this space.
All signs point to Seattle's pilot program limiting car access to Pike Place being a success: sales were up 6.5% in 2025 compared to 2024, and the number of local visitors jumped by 5.6%. As the City considers permanent changes, a pedestrianized Pike Place still has its detractors.
Steps from Shoreline North Station, a hodgepodge of publicly owned properties are being eyed by neighborhood advocates as a badly needed community gathering space. With City and State support, the idea is quickly taking shape.
Riders will get a sneak peek of the new trail for a few hours on the first day of cruise ship season, providing a detour around Pier 66. The full stretch opens next Tuesday, providing a wide, comfortable path between downtown and the Olympic Sculpture Park.
Seattle's only annual open streets festival along the South Seattle waterfront will run every single weekend this summer outside of Seafair. Wilson's changes are a bold reversal of her predecessor's scaling back of Bicycle Weekends.
All day for three Saturdays in May and June, one block of Seattle's University Way NE will become pedestrian-only, as a first step toward implementing a goal that advocates have been pushing for decades.
Mayor Katie Wilson's library levy proposal would maintain services, but advocates contend significant needs would go unmet without more funding. At least one Seattle councilmember has drawn a hard line against increasing the levy size, but others are pushing to go bigger.
Sakura is upon us, and the cherry blossoms are all around us. Our interactive map of all 45,000+ of Seattle's documented flowering stone fruit trees is your guide off the beaten track to find hidden gem blossom spots.
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is seeking to add a new football/soccer hybrid field for Lincoln High School in Lower Woodland Park, but has chosen a plan that prioritizes parking over accessibility and events, scrapping a recently rebuilt soccer field and historic trees to cram two fields into a footp
Seattle’s Summer Safety Plan and its earlier closing time for city parks is bad news for people who count on evening park access, including artistic communities. Crime data does not support the claim that most parks are trouble spots, but they are vital spaces for many communities.
Cities should overhaul their approach to plazas to create places where people can really belong and linger, argues urban researcher Jae Seong Cho, who points to the shortcomings of Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Plaza and Los Angeles’ Grand Park to illustrate his point.
Occidental Avenue is the first major “People Streets and Public Spaces” project to move forward under the new transportation levy. Potential improvements have been mostly shaped by conversations with downtown power players behind closed doors.
Today, John Feit’s Shoreline Street End series visits South Lake Union. In previous posts, he’s explored street end park spaces all over the city, often hidden gems.
The Union Bay Natual Area is 74 acres of public open space with miles of trails, but the University of Washington has rebuffed advocates pushing to remove a fence and add a trail to improve access. Here’s why they should reconsider.
CityNerd host Ray Delahanty recently visited Seattle and made a video with food blogger Kenji López-Alt while he was in town, focusing on what makes Pike Place Market great. Obviously, the pedestrianization of Pike Place came up, with the duo noting program has created more space for people walking
While the primary debate over the remade Seattle waterfront has focused on the size of Alaskan Way, a whole slate of potential public space improvements also ended up on the cutting room floor. Those include a festival pier, a pool barge, and a pedestrian street.
Is Everett’s plan to move the AquaSox from aging Funko Stadium to a brand new downtown stadium an economic jolt or a costly gamble? The City of Everett will be leading financing on the project projected to cost at least $82 million.
Two leaders lay out the case for approving King County Parks Levy, which is on the primary ballot this summer.
The 50,000 square feet of park space includes a turf lawn, restored fountain, seating space, and the true star of the show: a new playground featuring a 25-foot jellyfish climbing structure.
How the City of Tacoma uses planting strips along its streets tells a tale of haves and have-nots, and of our differing standards. The City has gone out of its way to exclude homeless people from this space with $163,000 worth of boulders.
As the city prepares to celebrate the grand opening of the full Seattle Waterfront revamp, the only planned direct connection between downtown and the waterfront is set to remain uncompleted. At the center of the issue is an antiquated traffic signal.
Former Seattle permitting director Nathan Torgelson will lead the new city department, intended to advance an ambitious plan for a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-405. One of the largest capital projects in city history, it’s also intended to be a major placemaking project.
King County celebrated the opening of a new 2.2-mile segment of the Lake to Sound Trail in SeaTac earlier this month. When complete, the 16-mile non-motorized trail will stretch from the southern tip of Lake Washington in Renton to the shores of Puget Sound in Des Moines.
In May 17th grand depart, 138 people attempted a 700-mile mountain bike route from La Push to Tekoa, Washington, dubbed the Cross-Washington or XWA bikepacking race.
The kiosks, scattered around downtown and eventually other busy business districts, would provide ad revenue for groups like the Downtown Seattle Association. Last year, the Seattle Design Commission rejected the proposal as half-baked and suggested a smaller pilot instead.
For more than 20 years, Paragon has stood as a striking piece of public art along the Duwamish River. But the City of Seattle is moving forward with dismantling it, citing deterioration. Artist Don Fels details how things got to this point.
Best Side Cycling gets on-the-ground at Pike Place Market to explore recent access changes that urbanists around the region are celebrating, a big step toward making Seattle’s biggest tourist destination more people-centric.
With a major dog park set to be a transit-accessible amenity along the Sound Transit light rail network, the agency is on track to reconsider its current policy that bans dogs and cats that aren’t in containers.
Seattle’s waterfront bike path from Expedia Park to Myrtle Edwards Park is closed for renovations through August. A detour to the waterfront pedestrian path is offered, but people biking must yield to pedestrians. The pedestrian path will be closed for renovations after the bike path work is complet
Car access to Pike Place’s main corridor will be restricted to loading vehicles, emergency access, and people accessing ADA parking. The Market is calling the move a “test and learn” opportunity that could open the door to long-term pedestrianization.
Our map of cherry blossoms hotspots covers more than 44,000 flowering stone fruit trees across Seattle. Check it out to plan your flower tour.
The 1.2-mile bike lane restores a connection along the central waterfront that hasn’t existed in years, and is sure to turn into one of the city’s most highly-used bike facilities.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell teased a few urbanist-minded initiatives as he delivered his annual state of the city speech on Tuesday, putting support behind a push to pedestrianize Pike Place and launched a new “Northern Lights” vision to remake Aurora Avenue. Exactly when either change would occur r
On Tuesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine unveiled his $1.5 billion proposal to renew the King County Parks Levy, which expires at year’s end. The levy funds parks and regional trail expansions, educational programming at partner organizations, and operations and maintenance.
A $5.2 million project overhauling two blocks of Bell Street adds a protected bike lane and pedestrian upgrades, but stops short of full pedestrianization.
The Denny Regrade, completed between 1897 and 1930, changed the face of Seattle’s downtown forever. This video from Seattle’s municipal archives breaks down how it happened and why.
The idea of slowing drivers along one of the city’s most scenic waterfront routes had been seen as the compromise position, in the face of competing visions for Lake Washington Boulevard. But behind-the-scenes, the upgrades have been under attack.
City Beautiful reviews Seattle’s new Overlook Walk pedestrian bridge on the revamped waterfront and really likes what they saw.
Bike and scooter riders have been waiting a long time for the separated pathway along Downtown Seattle’s waterfront to open. The wait is set to continue for another few months.
John Feit’s street end tour visits four “incredible ready-to-visit spots on Union and Portage Bay.” These pocket parks make the most of spare public shoreline right of way.
A robust public transit network for Mount Rainier National Park could unlock trailheads and attractions to more visitors, while improving environmental sustainability. Rather than grousing about the park’s timed-entry system, let’s improve access for all.
Plans for a new connection between Wilburton and Downtown Bellevue are coming into view, as the City starts to look at how it can keep the project moving forward.
The privately funded project to upgrade pedestrian and bike facilities in Seattle’s north downtown waterfront has reached final design. Here’s what’s planned.
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.
Activating public spaces is a worthy goal, but it takes welcoming people in with placemaking and guardianship, not banishing those deemed undesirable.
In voting against the IKE digital advertising kiosks proposal, the Seattle Design Commission cited concerns about clutter and a lack of public buy-in. The Seattle City Council may ultimately approve the program even without that recommendation.
Renton wants to spur development around the planned Sound Transit bus rapid transit station in South Renton. But considerable hurdles stand in the way of creating a truly multimodal neighborhood in that location.
Traffic safety improvements including crosswalks and speed cushions are coming to Lake Washington Boulevard. But they stop short of the transformation many Seattle residents want to see in the corridor.
A year into announcing its ambitious Downtown Activation Plan, the Harrell Administration is touting successes. But so far those are primarily spot improvements, with many big initiatives in limbo or on hold.
A bike and pedestrian tunnel underneath 10th Avenue E has been restored after advocates fought a cost-costing move to drop it from highway lid plans in North Capitol Hill,
Offering a bold vision for Downtown Seattle that could include as many as 7,800 new homes, King County has released a full strategic plan for how it might redevelop its civic campus.
Sound Transit’s 2 Line stations in Redmond are not just commuting stops. There’s a lot for an adventurous urbanist to discover around the stations.
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.
In 1873, Tacomans considered laying out their fledgling city according to a unique Frederick Law Olmsted plan. The city ultimately discarded most of the plan, walking away from a greener, more park-oriented Tacoma.
Since its April grand opening, the renovated Be’er Sheva Park features a new community stage, artworks, a restored shoreline, picnic tables, and benches, with a second phase of improvements in planning. The park hosts a weekly Chocolate Sunday celebration of Black culture.
After initially announcing an expanded schedule for Bicycle Weekends, Seattle Parks walked it back. Internal emails reveal why.
The newly transformed section of Beach Drive SW has turned walkers and rollers into priority users while still allowing vehicle access. Meanwhile, a coalition allied around parking concerns continues to plot a way to undo the safety project.
The opportunity to redevelop nearly five acres across from Lumen Field is pitting competing interests against each other. Some hope to see housing, but industrial stakeholders are pushing back.
Last week, King County celebrated the start of construction on a $37 million project to upgrade Bellevue’s Wilburton Trestle and create one of the most pivotal and scenic spans of the Eastrail. The Eastside walking and biking trail will ultimately stretch 42 miles between Renton and Woodinville.
Monuments can help cities tell their history and forge a culture. But to do a good job of it requires telling the whole story of the region, not just elites and colonizers. And the monuments need to be front and center.
BelRed combines a nascent South Lake Union, SoDo, and the International District. Spring District Station has a South Lake Union feel with tech offices emerging from a large light industrial presence. Both have some hidden gems.
Special shuttle services launch this week with the return of the Waterfront and Discover Park shuttles. Both shuttles will run at least through Labor Day weekend, with the Waterfront shuttle starting on Friday, May 24 and the Discovery Park shuttle starting on Saturday, May 25.
Melanie LaPlant Dressel Park opened on April 11 as a beautiful park far away from the rest of the city. An elevated, wide ribbon of concrete — the roaring I-705 freeway — separates the park from its users. Tacoma should remove this barrier.
King County’s popular Trailhead Direct weekend shuttle service between Seattle and Eastside hiking hotspots returns on May 25 with two separate routes to choose from. The last two seasons, the County offered just one route.
Following the successful implementation of a pandemic-prompted street patio in Columbia City, a group of community members formed Friends of Ferdinand Festival Street and are trying to find a way to make it permanent.
If you’re detraining at Downtown Bellevue Station and looking for entertainment and sustenance beyond malls and without burning a crater in your wallet at a high-end restaurant, this is the guide for you. Of course there’s a gem or two in the malls, but we’re going
A UW student is seeking to spark a community conversation about finally pedestrianizing The Ave after decades of dreaming.
A long-vacant Target store is set to become home to around 1600 homes by the early 2040s under an agreement moving forward in Federal Way.
Whether the city should stay out of the business of making Pike Place Market’s main corridor more pedestrian friendly was put front and center this week by Councilmember Bob Kettle, who proposed an amendment seeking to starve the idea of funding.
Eleven “Street Ends” along the south shore of Salmon Bay and the Fremont Cut offer great recreational opportunities. SDOT and volunteers from Friends of Street Ends work to maintain and expand these mini parks.
A new aquarium and “Overlook Walk” to Pike Place Market headline a revamped Seattle Waterfront just one year away from its grand opening, all made possible by tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
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.
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 se
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.
Activate underused parks with soccer pitches and courts for basketball, pickleball, and tennis to bring people out and foster social cohesion. RAVE is building 26 community fields around the metro in time for the 2026 World Cup. But we shouldn’t stop there.
Ray Delahanty of CityNerd came home for the holidays and revisited Pike Place Market. In doing so, he highlighted what makes the market so great and authentic, and how it nearly avoided its demise. Delahanty, however, also documented the unbalanced use of Pike Place itself, which is brimming with pedestrians
Holiday merrymaking should involve more whimsy, less rigmarole, and less price gouging. Seattle still hasn’t cracked the code to create a true Christmas market that doesn’t feel as if it was designed by the Grinch: cordoned off from the rest of city, hard to reach, the vibes are
The move could be a jolt to a long-delayed plan for the decommissioned site, spreading infrastructure costs across more homes — if the bid succeeds. The saga of building affordable housing at Fort Lawton had been shaping up to be a never-ending tale, but today Mayor Bruce Harrell revealed
The term “urban art” describes visual art forms that are created by and representative of city dwellers. While you may see pieces in galleries, urban art installations are primarily integrated into the landscape. They’re on buildings and street features. There’s increasing recognition of how vital urban art installations
All urban design and architecture is implemented with a particular goal in mind — often to shape people’s behavior in a particular direction. Hostile architecture, also known as unpleasant or exclusionary architecture, or defensive urban design, is a type of design which “uses elements of the built environment to guide