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East Main, South Bellevue, and Wilburton Station are the clear laggards along the 2 Line where development activity has been sparse. A pending zoning update offers a lot of hope for Wilburton, a little for East Main, and none for South Bellevue.
Recent Posts
Op-Ed: Seattle Public Schools Votes to Repeat School Closure Mistake
Last week, the Seattle school board voted to proceed with a plan that could close 20 or more public schools across the city. The plan would worsen the district’s budget woes, student learning outcomes, enrollment decline, racial inequities, and undermine efforts to add missing middle housing and create 15-minute neighborhoods.
Seattle Police Contract Passes Despite Limited Accountability Measures, Budget Hit
With a 24% raise and backpay, Seattle police officers are collectively earning an extra $96 million in compensation from the City in 2024. City leaders hope to spur hiring, but the contract did little to increase police accountability and blew a bigger hole in the City's quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit.
Trailhead Direct’s 2024 Schedule Restores Second Route to Hiking Destinations
King County's popular Trailhead Direct weekend shuttle service between Seattle and Eastside hiking hotspots returns on May 25 with two separate routes to choose from. The last two seasons, the County offered just one route.
Op-Ed: Boost Seattle’s Growth Plan to Solve the Housing Crisis
The path forward is clear: a revised and ambitious Comprehensive Plan that should reform zoning rules and housing policies to allow more homes of all shapes and sizes; and incentivize affordable housing and homeownership.
Grant Request Would Accelerate Complete Streets Investments on State Highways
State highways like SR 900 in Skyway are missing safe places to bike and walk. A mandate to fix that could be expedited by an ambitious $100 million grant that the state is seeking from the EPA.
Light Rail Work Brings Six Weeks of 1 Line Service Disruptions
Sound Transit will be conducting maintenance and expansion tie-in work May 12 through June 25 that will impact 1 Line light rail service. The biggest disruptions will take place June 1 and 2, June 21 through June 23, and Tuesdays after 11pm.
Op-Ed: Seattle Council Must Reject an Unaccountable SPOG Contract
The tentative labor contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild fails to strengthen accountability while offering huge retroactive pay increases. With a contract that is expired as soon as it's signed, it’s difficult to understand why the City is giving up leverage in these negotiations. Council will vote to ratify the deal Tuesday.
Join The Urbanist for Our Monthly Meetup on May 16
The Urbanist's monthly meetup is 5:30pm Thursday at Stoup Capitol Hill. This month's event is part of Affordable Housing Week.
King County Consortium to Kick Off Affordable Housing Week on Monday
Check out an event in a packed calendar of Affordable Housing Week events running the gambit from a keynote kickoff Monday to building tours to The Urbanist's social hour Thursday.
Join Us at ‘Navigating Mobility for All’ Forum Featuring Anna Zivarts
Join us Monday, May 13th for a 7:30pm forum with Anna Zivarts, Barb Chamberlain, Tanisha Sepúlveda at Town Hall Seattle. Panelists will discuss how we create better transportation systems that effectively factor in the needs of non-drivers.
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East Link TOD: Three Bellevue Stations Sitting Out the Development Wave
East Main, South Bellevue, and Wilburton Station are the clear laggards along the 2 Line where development activity has been sparse. A pending zoning update offers a lot of hope for Wilburton, a little for East Main, and none for South Bellevue.
2025 Opening for Full East Link Sits on a Razor’s Edge
Track restoration work on the remainder of the 2 Line across I-90 is 80% complete, but any additional delays are almost certain to push a grand opening into 2026.
Issaquah Approves Affordable Housing Incentives Near Future Light Rail
Issaquah is set to provide incentives to build up to 800 homes under a new program intended to densify transit-rich Central Issaquah, near a future light rail station.
More Eastside Coverage posts »
Op-Ed: Boost Seattle’s Growth Plan to Solve the Housing Crisis
The path forward is clear: a revised and ambitious Comprehensive Plan that should reform zoning rules and housing policies to allow more homes of all shapes and sizes; and incentivize affordable housing and homeownership.
Urbanists Rally to Sway Seattle Growth Plan
Comment on the draft Seattle Comprehensive Plan by May 20. Housing advocates have urged the City to adopt the "Housing Abundance Map" rather than keep exclusionary zoning.
Op-Ed: Building the Seattle We Want with the Growth We’ll Have
Seattle's proposed 20-year growth strategy could certainly use improvement. Here are suggestions to promote housing abundance, fight exclusion, and curb climate pollution.
More One Seattle Plan posts »
Urbanist Leader Rian Watt Talks Housing Crisis on Hacks & Wonks...
The Urbanist's Executive Director Rian Watt appeared on Crystal Fincher's Hacks and Wonks podcast on April 9 to talk about the housing crisis. He offered three fixes for the Seattle Comprehensive Plan.
The Urbanist Podcast: Vote Up to the End
It's time to vote for Seattle City Council, a housing levy, and elected positions all over King County. The Urbanist has published its general...
Guest Podcast: Recycling America’s Railroads into Trails
The Urbanist Podcast is on summer break so we thought we'd share with you a guest podcast on a topic near and dear to...
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