In adjourning the 65th legislative session, Washington state legislators left Sound Transit 3 (ST3) funding fully intact. Transit supporters breathed sigh of relief. Pressure they had applied on legislators helped reverse the momentum on what seemed like a sure-thing bill early in the session. The Urbanistâs readers alone sent
The saga to cut car tab fees for wealthy car owners continues in the Washington State Legislature. On Tuesday, the Senate Transportation Committee convened to pass last-minute bills out of committee, the last day to do so from their chamber of origin. A substitute version of Senate Bill 5955 was
Washington State legislators went back to work on Monday, kicking off a 60-day legislative session. The legislative session is shorter than last yearâs since odd-numbered years are expected to have legislative work completed quicker. Democrats now hold both the upper and lower chambers of the Washington State Legislature after
Transit on I-5 will see reliability and speed improvements between Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. On Thursday, the Sound Transit Capital Committee approved a contract with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to repurpose shoulder lanes in the southbound direction for bus operations, similar to ones already operating on I-405.
Sound Transit wants to speed ahead with transit expansions, but the first step in doing that involves planning and coordinating to make it happen. The agency has gone through a process of circling the wagons to determine how project delivery can be expedited in order to better utilize staff and
Democrats in the Washington State House rushed Bill 2201 out of committee on Tuesday and then quickly passed it through the House late Wednesday night. The bill is meant to address concerns about car tab fees. It requires Sound Transit to reimburse taxpayers, cutting a check to car owners who
We want to echo what Seattle Subway wrote in the Seattle Transit Blog and encourage our readers to contact Governor Jay Inslee (D-Washington) and urge him to veto any recent cuts to Sound Transitâs funding that appear headed for his desk. We would suggest adding House Speaker Frank Chopp
Looking at the precinct level results for ST3, as many transit advocates have, you might agree with Publicolaâs Josh Feit who argued that Sound Transit should not build the park-and-rides promised to suburbs that failed to earn a majority vote in favor of the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) ballot
A 25-year investment in high quality transit is a big commitment to make, but the Puget Sound Region just made it after last nightâs ballot drop showed Sound Transit 3 (ST3) with an insurmountable 55% to 45% lead. The Sound Transit taxing district has an estimated population of 2.
A lot of ink has been spilled about Sound Transitâs prediction that ST3 would decrease carbon emissions by âonlyâ an additional 130,000 metric tons in 2040 via reductions in vehicle miles traveled. Doug MacDonald argued thatâs inconsequential next to the embodied carbon that building the project would
This post has been updated to reflect that Alan Durning retracted the comments on his personal blog regarding Sound Transit Regional Proposition 1 (aka ST3). Durning, though Executive Director of Sightline Institute, was not speaking on behalf of the institution in his personal blog comments, which I should have made
On Monday, the ridesharing company Uber unexpectedly voiced their public support for Regional Proposition 1, also known as Sound Transit 3. The measure would fund building 62 miles of new light rail lines and two bus rapid transit lines ultimately connecting more than 85% of jobs and 80% of homes
Opponents of Sound Transit 3 (ST3) love to say that Seattle doesnât get that many stations. To take a cue from Trumpâs debating style: Wrong! One skeptic, state senator Reuven Carlyle, gets six new stations and one expanded station in his district alone. All told ST3 would bring
Seattle Subway has been working hard lately to let folks know about Regional Proposition 1. Better known as Sound Transit 3, Proposition 1 is a transportation measure on the November ballot that guarantees expansion of light rail, commuter rail, and bus service throughout the Puget Sound over the next 25
Weâve talked about Sound Transit 3 ad nauseam over the past two years, often until we were blue in the face. Weâve written about how ST3 could unlock transit-oriented development on SR-522, better serve Belltown, and act as a prime asset in our regional transportation network. Weâve
Sound Transit has put together some very handy videos about the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) ballot measure. This video dives into what ST3 would for thr North King County area.
The Seattle Times found its latest source of Sound Transit-related outrage yesterday when the tabloid caught wind of markings activists had made around Seattle to advertise future light rail stations. The dramatic Seattle Times headline read: âSidewalk âfuture subwayâ messages promote light rail. Free speech or âgraffitiâ?â Perhaps they hadnâ
A common criticism of the upcoming ST3 ballot measure is that light rail is too expensive and weâd be better off with bus rapid transit (BRT), especially in the suburbs. This article looks at the economics behind such statements to see if ST3 is worth it or not. First,
Link light rail set a new record for ridership surpassing 100,000 boardings for the first time last Friday. Sound Transit credited the convergence of a Mariners game (with playoff implications) and a Huskies college football game against 15th ranked Stanford for boosting the numbers. Just outside Husky Stadium, UW