Plans and Policy

Top Urbanist Action: Keep Pushing for the Employee Hours Tax

Support A Progressive Tax To Help End Homelessness: The tax proposal would raise $75 million a year, nearly twice the annual amount of the...

Op-Ed: Correcting the Narrative about Seattle’s Tree Ordinance

Fellow Seattleites, I have good news: Our city's trees are not doomed. Despite what you may have heard, Seattle’s recently passed tree ordinance will not...
A view of Stone Way from the 38th crosswalk. Nothing is cleared but one car travel lane in each direction.

Seattle Needs a Truly Multimodal Snow Clearance Plan

Puget Sound cities cannot continue to neglect sidewalks, bus routes, bike lanes, and multimodal trails when winter storms hit. Today King County Metro finally (mostly)...

Seattle 2035 Approved, Move-In Fee Reform Held Back

Seattle's multi-year process to update the city's Comprehensive Plan has come to its conclusion finding unanimous consent and approval from the City Council. A...

Transportation Impact Fees Chugging Ahead with Lame Duck Council

The Seattle City Council is set to take a major step toward implementing a transportation impact fee program, following a public hearing on the...
An elevated light rail line over a city street with midrise buildings on the sides.

Help Snohomish County Shape Future Communities Near Light Rail

On August 3rd, Snohomish County returned with a Summer Survey to continue their light rail planning process. When we last covered Snohomish County's Light...

University District Rezone Proposal: A Deeper Look At Urban Design Requirements

Last week, draft recommendations on the University District rezone and urban design proposal were released. We provided a high level overview for many of...
Seven passengers wait to board a Sound Transit bus. (Photo courtesy of Sound Transit)

Policy Lab: Shifting Transportation Habits with Cold, Hard Cash

From e-bike rebates to congestion pricing, policy should incentivize healthy, eco-friendly choices. These six ideas can achieve a dramatic mode shift away from driving and toward transit, biking, walking, and rolling.