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.
We're hosting a Pinehurst station area tour on September 30, the grand opening of the light rail stop.
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.
Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci are joining the program on September 15. Tickets are going fast, and we still need some volunteers to help facilitate the event.
Get your ticket to our September 15th Town Hall Seattle talk featuring CityNerd's Ray Delahanty and The Urbanist’s Ryan Packer. Attendees will get a sneak peek at a CityNerd video before a deep dive into light rail plans.
On October 6, Kirkland will be the first Eastside city to consider raising its minimum wage. Here's why Kirkland should take the leap.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Two 2026 charter amendments are at the heart of a Republican megadonor's plan to take over Snohomish County. If they pass, it would have rippling impacts on transit expansion, housing growth, and safe streets investments, making it easier for Republicans to block progress.
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.
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.
Many years in the making, Pierce County’s coordinated approach to homelessness still faces challenges after being approved by county council in June. With King County partially dismantling its troubled regional authority, Pierce County hopes to avoid the same mistakes.
KUOW's Soundside recently did a special on Sound Transit system expansion deliberations that heavily featured Urbanist contributing editor Ryan Packer. It's a great primer on the debate about how to best close the agency's $34.5 billion budget gap. Give it a listen!
The Urbanist newsroom discusses April headlines, like Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson expanding Bicycle Weekends, 300 transit advocates marching to save Ballard light rail from the chopping block, and pushback against a Capitol Hill crisis case center.
The Urbanist newsroom discusses the big opening day for Sound Transit's crosslake 2 Line, how we got here, and what it means for the future of light rail expansion in the Seattle region.
