Transportation

With three “downtown” stations and counting, Sound Transit must overhaul its station naming policy and name its stations less confusingly so that riders can easily navigate a growing system.

Homebuilding activity is anemic near the three Sound Transit light rail stations opening this month in South King County. The Urbanist reviews the 3,000-plus homes in the development pipeline, and explores the obstacles standing in the way.

Sound Transit's four new members join other reappointments and board members whose terms are not up for renewal. This new freshman class will not have much time to get adjusted before being faced with major decisions around the future of the region's transit system.

A trove of documents obtained from City of Seattle through public disclosure requests shows work is proceeding gradually but steadily inside the transportation department to take advantage of Washington State's new Shared Streets Law. Pedestrianizing a number of streets could be around the corner.

Sound Transit gave reporters a sneak peak at the three new light rail stations set to open in Kent Des Moines, Star Lake, and Downtown Federal Way. Check out the station designs and their custom artwork ahead of the grand opening Saturday at 11am.

Corridor-wide bus revamps have been hitting delays and are often taking ten years to deliver, or more. A new King County Metro report released this fall outlines the myriad reasons RapidRide lines fall behind, as the overall program faces an uncertain future.

With several vacancies opening up on the 18-member Sound Transit board, a West Seattle Link "visioning event" this week looked to many like an audition. Facing huge cost pressures, the project could use a champion among the board's ranks.

Electric trolley buses remain the premier zero-emissions bus technology. They outperform trendy, newer battery electric buses for several reasons that Nathan Vass lays out.