Oversight is not always enough when it comes to Seattle's public safety departments, which consume a majority of the City’s General Fund. SPD and SFD often get special privileges, allowing them to play by their own rules.
Progressive Nilu Jenks has won a Seattle City Council seat based on the decisive 17-point lead she ran up on election night. She laid out urbanist-minded goals in a victory speech.
Democrats are on course to pick up more seats in the Washington State Legislature, even in former Republican strongholds. The popularity of the millionaires tax seems to have helped Democrats and hurt Republicans hoping to turn it into a wedge issue.
Voters signed onto public transit funding measures in both Seattle and Pierce County Tuesday night, with both passing handily. The two measures represent big wins for Pierce County leaders and for Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
When Seattle City Light's eight-stall EV charging lot was first proposed in 2022, a completion date before year end seemed within reach. After design, procurement, and quality control issues, its timeline has slipped to September 2027.
Facing dimming political prospects in the near-term, corporate leaders and conservatives moguls are spending more than ever to swing election outcomes and make elected officials think twice about aggressive action. It's not clear if it's working, as a recent tirade from Governor Bob Ferguson shows.
Nilu Jenks is the frontrunner in a special election in Seattle Council District 5, but conservatives are trying to take the wind of her sails with attack ads and land on a broader strategy to cling to power in 2027.
A parking battle ignited a controversy along a sleepy stretch in Queen Anne, with the Seattle Fire Department pushing for change after getting repeatedly stuck on the narrow roadway. A new pilot tests a compromise, one that could involve turning a blind eye to illegal parking on the curb.
CityNerd's Ray Delahanty recently visited Philadelphia and he had a lot to say about Philly's impressive walkability and rapid transit access.
Recent data shows Link light rail ridership is down from its June peak, but still maintaining at a high level. Eight of the 10 busiest stations are in Seattle.
City and County leaders celebrated the gains that will come to transit riders and nearby residents as they cut the ribbon on Route 40 upgrades, which include three miles of bus lanes. But the path to get there was a long one.
Join us for a canvass for Seattle City Council candidate Nilu Jenks on Sunday, a social with House Our Neighbors on November 12, and our Winter Holiday Party!
Following the death of cyclist James Phillips along Bellevue Way SE on October 15, the issue of safety on Bellevue streets is now top of mind. Over the coming weeks, city leaders will be deciding how much new funding to put to traffic safety over the coming decade.
Mayor Katie Wilson cut the ribbon Tuesday on the Cloverleaf Tiny House Village in South Park, with space to house about 100 people. Her administration expedited the project as part of her push to tackle the homelessness crisis.
As the total estimated cost for new facilities at Harborview sails past the $3 billion mark, the 700-stall garage at Ninth and Alder will be the first project to break ground. At a County Council meeting Tuesday, the question of that phasing was put front and center.
Located on the C and H Lines, Youngstown Flats is close to a future West Seattle light rail station. This acquisition marks the fledgling social housing developer's second purchase intended to preserve existing housing stock.
Ultra-wealthy conservatives are spending big to back their slate of right-wing state Supreme Court candidates, hoping to block efforts to tax the rich and level the playing field for working families.
A bill amended to give SDOT more authority to implement changes relating to traffic safety within Seattle's eight historic districts currently sits in limbo. Without a final vote scheduled, preservation advocates have continued to push against the change.
Join The Urbanist for our end of year party and fundraiser. Hear from urbanist electeds, mingle with local advocates, and celebrate The Urbanist's work!
There is latent value in university-owned swimming pools, but those institutions would need to stop cordoning those resources off to the general public to unlock it. As it stands, public pools are expensive to build are rarely added.
Central Puget Sound is ahead of its overall established growth target by around 16,000 housing units, according to data from earlier this year. But that regional target was eclipsed thanks in large part to homebuilding happening in just a few cities, with 26 out of 40 cities falling short.
Three harmful statewide ballot initiatives, which seek to block the millionaires tax and curtail the rights of queer and transgender kids in Washington state, are an effort to distract and divide us. Don't fall for it.
Seattle voters face a choice to renew the Seattle Transit Measure on November 3, ramping up even more King County Metro bus service within the city. Transit advocates Ashwin and Zachary lay out the reasons voters should say yes.
A retrofit to build a new mass-timber addition above the Doyle Building at 2nd Avenue and Pine Street has added six floors since the Seattle Landmarks Board saw it last year. That change is only likely to intensify opposition from historic preservation advocates and nearby residents.
A "neighborhood-centered, by-name" framework builds on success providing targeted services in Pioneer Square this summer. Taking the program citywide will only be possible thanks to Wilson's major push to expand shelter capacity.
The race to represent North Sound's 32nd Legislative District in the House hasn't been getting much attention, with Keith Scully and Danica Noble sharing positions on many issues. But comments at a recent forum provided more contrast.
At a town hall this week at Ballard's National Nordic Museum, Sound Transit walked through its path to be able to get to Market Street by 2042. That work involves needing to find $8 to $10 billion via cost savings, new revenue, or creative borrowing over the coming years.
Urbanist Socials and an opportunity to support Urbanist Endorsed Seattle City Council Candidate Nilu Jenks into office!
An $8 million allocation proposed by Rinck's office would target abuser accountability, survivor services, and violence prevention, filling in gaps left by a federal retreat on the issue. The proposal faces other competing priorities during budget deliberations.
More than four years after receiving a state commitment for $50 million to upgrade Seattle's deadliest road, planning remains underway on any potential overhaul. A recent email exchange involving Rep. Julia Reed brings frustrations around the city's approach to the project fully into the open.
Beaux Arts Village and its 310 residents might seem like an unlikely place for a state review of housing regulations. But the 2025 law giving Washington's Commerce Department direct oversight of growth plans isn't leaving out any jurisdiction, no matter its size.
Beautiful autumn weather might be giving you the itch to get outside. Bob Svercl's tour videos, featuring park destinations within a close walk of light rail stations across the region, are a great source of inspiration.
The newly completed $4 million overhaul of 4th Street in Bremerton has the opportunity to create a year-round central gathering space. But city leaders are on the fence about going all-in.
Against a backdrop of increased immigration enforcement nationwide, a new report from the University of Washington Center of Human Rights confirms ICE is still using state data to find targets in Washington.
A 7,800-square-foot site along E Yesler Way, which belonged to former House Speaker Frank Chopp, will become 20 units of social housing following a unanimous vote of the Seattle Social Housing Developer board Thursday night. It marks the developer's second overall residential project.
Compared to plans presented earlier this year laying out how the existing Route 7 would be converted into a RapidRide line, designs released this week only include two new bus stop pairs. That adjustment is unlikely to assuage concerns around decreasing access to transit in the Rainier Valley.
Washington's only non-profit appellate public defense law firm has historically been tasked with handling around 40% of public defense appeals. But without a new contract agreement, it could have to close its doors at the end of the year, throwing hundreds of active cases into jeopardy.
The Urbanist Elections Committee is thrilled to announce our 2026 general election endorsements. Be sure to vote by November 3.
For one Saturday, pedestrians took over The Ave in a demonstration of the demand for people-focused spaces in the heart of Seattle's densest neighborhoods. Building on an idea that has been around since 1955, the advocates who put on the event hope it can start a trend.
Between safety upgrades and proposed new bus route, one of Tacoma’s most dangerous roads may see a safer future. The changes are a long time in the making.
The new Connection Court program restores a non-carceral pathway that had been closed off by Erika Evans' predecessor. But King County public defenders are raising concerns about how the two programs are set to be implemented.
A ruling last month from a state hearings board is prompting additional work on the environmental review underpinning Seattle's twenty-year growth plan. While that update isn't set to change the plan's contents, any vote to update zoning remains on hold until it wraps up.
Pierce Transit's Prop 1 asks voters for a 0.3% sales tax increase to give local bus service a major boost. Tacoma transit advocate Cameron Johnson breaks down what the measure entails and what it could mean for transit riders across Pierce County.
Released as Sound Transit reaches 30% design on the future 3 Line, the new renderings show the full 3.9 mile line that will run between SoDo and Alaska Junction until connecting with the rest of the light rail network as soon as 2042.
Spending scenarios this week presented to the Bellevue City Council would put a potential 0.1% sales tax and new $20 car tab to use funding transportation investments. While the approach is framed as "balanced", business groups are pushing to maintain a focus on cars.
In a race that lost its clear urbanist standard-bearer, the two remaining candidates are honing their campaign pitches to urbanist voters in the 46th Legislative District. Incumbent Gerry Pollet is hoping urbanists see him as turning a new leaf after drawing flak earlier in his career.
Two newly released reports flagged issues with the Seattle’s real-time crime center, including unauthorized SDOT traffic cameras being streamed through the center, federal access to SDOT camera data, and a lack of safeguards for private cameras incorporated into SPD’s system.
While some Mukilteo residents would prefer to see their waterfront fully transformed into a park, this week a 6-1 vote opens the door to a broader array of uses. The move is seen as a first step toward creating a mixed-use district at the city's front door.
The Urbanist is hosting two events this month, including a October 13 social in Bothell. Plus, we want to help you put on your own social in your area!
King County would move $64 million out of a total $91.2 million cost for the R Line project to its upcoming budget, in a bid to accelerate bus upgrades along Rainier Avenue. Executive Zahilay has turned the R Line into one of his administration's central transit commitments.
Transit advocates are criticizing Sound Transit's process to solicit outside ideas to reduce Ballard Link costs and accelerate the timeline. The Request for Information process was poorly publicized, narrowly defined, and closes today.
With data showing high demand for curb space in both Alaska Junction and Upper Queen Anne, a curbside pricing program is intended to help businesses by increasing parking turnover. That message isn't necessarily going over well in either neighborhood.
Deciding to See: The View from Nathan's Bus, a collection of short stories, many of which were published at The Urbanist over the last decade, recently earned the distinction of being a finalist for the Washington State Book Awards.
Bellevue should reconsider plans to extend NE Spring Boulevard. An alternative bike and pedestrian trail would be much cheaper and complementary to the future BelRed park the boulevard would cut through.
Due to the location of water mains and sidewalk gaps, Seattle often heaps more fees on homebuilders in formerly redlined communities, echoing racial discrimination of the past.
Throngs of transit fans packed onto the station plaza near I-5 and NE 130th Street Wednesday to check out the new station, which had initially been scheduled to open in 2031. Criticized for a high price tag and bad adjacent land use, Pinehurst is a catalyst for future improvements.
A 10.7% bump in building permit fees comes just a year after an 18% increase. The hike is intended to maintain SDCI's staffing reserves, even as the department prepares to cut 34 positions. Despite some streamlining initiatives in progress, a light at the end of the tunnel isn't yet clear.
On October 6, Kirkland will be the first Eastside city to consider raising its minimum wage. Here's why Kirkland should take the leap.
The Office of Housing would lose out to Seattle Police Department in Katie Wilson’s budget proposal, but councilmembers want to go even further to divert housing funds to boost police and restore pet projects previously funded with one-time funds.
Pinehurst Station opened today as a new light rail stop between Northgate and South Shoreline. While a new crosstown bus and street upgrades preceded the station, neighborhood upzones are tied up in legal appeals, stunting housing and business growth in the vicinity.
Seattle earned the fourth-highest ranking in a new Oxford Economics 2026 Global Cities Index, trailing only New York, London and Paris. Here's how the Emerald City pulled off the feat.
Without major action, the Seattle Department of Transportation would have been looking at a $113 million deficit in its transportation fund by 2028, department leaders said Monday. Cuts that are already underway will impact road and bridge maintenance but not Vision Zero work.
Mayor Katie Wilson joined bestselling authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor to lay out an antidote to fascism at a book talk at Town Hall Seattle last week.
To avoid a state growth board hearing that could unravel Clyde Hill's Comprehensive Plan even further, City officials are advancing a plan to allow additional building rights in exchange for an on-site affordable unit or a hefty fee. The change is being prompted by a legal appeal by Futurewise.
The new Airo trains, which will be running on every trip on Amtrak Cascades by next spring, bring a bevy of new passenger features from upgraded seats to overhauled restrooms. The first trips are scheduled to start rolling out of King Street Station on September 30.
Ray Delahanty of CityNerd did a video on the 2 Line, now that the light rail corridor spans Lake Washington connecting Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond. Watch to see how the Eastside stations rank and hear some tidbits from our recent Town Hall Seattle event with Ray.
We're hosting a Pinehurst station area tour on September 30, the grand opening of the light rail stop.
Pierce County transit advocates are confident that this is the year they can overcome the history of voters not getting on board with adding bus service funding in the South Sound. If Prop 1 is successful, Pierce Transit plans to ramp up service by 49% in the coming years.
Community organizer Renee Staton recounts how Pinehurst Station went from a distant dream to reality delivered ahead of schedule due to more than a decade of advocacy.
Sound Transit is set to have Dow Constantine at the helm into 2030s after the agency approved a three-year contract extension with two additional one-year options on Thursday.
If approved in early November, Community Transit would take over Everett Transit operations on April 1, 2027, with the existing Everett Transit network as its service baseline. A 50% increase in bus service would follow, to be fully implemented by 2030.
Elevating the next light rail line through Downtown Seattle could save $10 billion, more than enough to close Sound Transit’s systemwide budget hole and get rail to Ballard much sooner. There’s just one problem: The agency has never officially studied the idea. It’s high time.
Seattle School Boardmember Joe Mizrahi makes the case against the three statewide initiatives put forward by MAGA hedge fund manager Brian Heywood that will starve government of resources and force school to discriminate against trans students.
After a new 0.1% sales tax for county roads was approved in June, County Executive Girmay Zahilay has proposed to fold the independent transportation benefit district fully into county government. But questions remain about whether the county council would be trading away oversight.
Last week, Mayor Katie Wilson introduced a multi-faceted plan to reduce gun violence in Seattle based on City auditor findings, including a larger role for the CARE Department. Councilmembers Maritza Rivera and Debora Juarez sharply criticized the plan.
Faced with a $175 million deficit, Mayor Katie Wilson chose to balance her 2027 budget primarily through cuts and streamlining City operations, but no new revenue. Police and homelessness response spending continued to grow amid other cuts.
The housing funds, proposed in King County Executive Girmay Zahilay's budget update, include nearly $15 million for affordable housing projects that were already in development, and another $5 million for a new tiny home village on county-owned land in the Central District.
In a recent interview, Mayor Katie Wilson told The Urbanist her administration has launched behind-the-scenes work to make city government run better and avoid perennial budget gap crises, including a new executive order.
Developers and tradespeople alike voiced support for a proposed temporary reduction in Mandatory Housing Affordability fees at a committee meeting Friday. The proposal seems to have broad support from Seattle councilmembers.
Former Governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire have sought to cut progressive policymakers off at the knees with criticisms about Democrats lacking budget discipline. But their own records show the cost of austerity cuts.
Park access is generally high in Seattle, but as the City plans for significant population growth under the Comprehensive Plan, we should ask a harder question: Is park space equitable, accessible, or equipped to serve kids and families who rely on it?
A contentious change giving SDOT more authority to change streets within Seattle's historic districts was approved Thursday on a 3-2 committee vote. Traffic safety advocates had been pushing for a way to elevate safety-related changes outside the normal approval process.
As Seattle seeks to reduce waste and spur a local circular economy, a big opportunity for impact is found when buildings come down.
The four new camera locations, set to be implemented in 2027, will be Seattle's first 24/7 speed cameras after decades of enforcing speeds in school zones. The locations were chosen based on a prevalence of speeding and serious crashes.
After many housing advocates feared the idea of a temporary break on Mandatory Housing Affordability fees was dead, Foster's proposal could be approved by early next year. It includes an 80% discount for vested projects, and a 60% break for new projects that include more family-sized units.
A RV safe lot between South Park and West Seattle is expected to serve 140 currently people currently living on the street once it opens in November. Councilmember Bob Kettle and other officials spoke to the importance of the project at a recent ceremony.
While Bellevue leaders are clearly not ready to fully ditch parking mandates, as many Washington cities have done, there is a push to consider going further than a new state-mandated baseline. But ahead of an October 20 vote, that is far from a sure thing.
Get your ticket to our September 15th Town Hall Seattle talk featuring CityNerd's Ray Delahanty and The Urbanist’s Ryan Packer. We're also hosting a Pinehurst station area tour on September 30, the grand opening of the light rail stop.
The package would add authority for SDOT officials to address traffic safety, and ask for recommendations on faster post-crash review and potential safety upgrades for City contractors. But a mad dash to pass the legislation before fall budget season is leading Saka to cut some corners.
Housing growth and tree canopy growth can go hand in hand. In fact, a closer look at Seattle's recent history shows they often do. Here's how to build on that trend.
The Growth Management Hearings Board did find Seattle's environmental review inadequate in its scope, giving the City a year to study additional units initially left out of analysis. But the board tossed out arguments that the impacts on tree canopy and marine habitat weren't adequately studied.
A 2 Line train stall on Sunday likely stemmed from a misaligned pantograph, the metal arm connecting the overhead wire and the train. Sound Transit is pledging a full investigation and potential refinements to rider communications during service outages.
The new trains feature ergonomic seats, upgraded WiFi, and a sleek new cafe car. They'll go into service on both the Seattle to Eugene and Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. routes. More trains are set to arrive by the end of the year, dramatically increasing Amtrak Cascades capacity.
U.S. Congress passed a major update to federal housing policy in July that builders say could provide a major boost to production. But much rides on implementation and additional funding, as industry experts laid out at a recent panel.
Bus travel times are up to three times faster along a troublesome stretch of Denny Way after SDOT installed red bus lanes all the way to I-5. On Tuesday, Mayor Katie Wilson joined transit fans for a reprise of last year's 'Race the L8'... with very different results this time.
New requirements taking effect in January will add a new $15 per-square-foot fee to housing units over 2,000 square feet. A move to raise that threshold to 2,500, intended to encourage more development, failed 3-4 last week in a vote that could signal deeper divisions on Kirkland's Council.
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Resilience describes the ability of a transportation system to prepare for disruptions, withstand their effects, continue providing essential mobility, recover quickly, and adapt to changing conditions. It asks whether people can still meet their needs when part of the system fails.
Minneapolis's urban infrastructure continued to impress CityNerd in his latest visit. Check out his interesting video tour across the city.
A 2.75-mile repaving project will only see around 0.8 miles of new bike facilities, despite a new requirement to repair gaps along the state highway network along with maintenance work. The project illustrates the limitations of that 2022 law.