Doug Trumm
Doug Trumm is publisher of The Urbanist. An Urbanist writer since 2015, he dreams of pedestrian streets, bus lanes, and a mass-timber building spree to end our housing crisis. He graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2019. He lives in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and loves to explore the city by foot and by bike.
On Tuesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine unveiled his $1.5 billion proposal to renew the King County Parks Levy, which expires at year's end. The levy funds parks and regional trail expansions, educational programming at partner organizations, and operations and maintenance.
Proposition 1A grabbed nearly 58% of the election night vote tally, signaling social housing is on the way to victory in Seattle. The measure would tax big businesses to raise about $53 million annually to fund social housing.
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce crafted the ballot language for Proposition 1B and pressured councilmembers to follow their plan to delay the social housing vote and put the competing measure on the ballot to siphon support, newly unearthed public records show. The centrists on Seattle City Council did as business leaders advised.
A $5.2 million project overhauling two blocks of Bell Street adds a protected bike lane and pedestrian upgrades, but stops short of full pedestrianization.
Housing advocates outnumbered opponents by a margin of 89 to 75 during a five-hour public hearing Wednesday on the One Seattle housing growth plan. Nevertheless, several councilmembers made it clear they sided with slow-growth advocates, rather than the majority demanding more housing options.
Seattle has set a goal of 112,000 new homes over the next 20 years, but is that really enough to meet demand?
The Seattle City Council has selected SPD crime prevention coordinator Mark Solomon to fill the District 2 vacancy created by the resignation of Tammy Morales earlier this month. He'll serve through November.
The death of Metro operator Shawn Yim has prompted a broader discussion of safety on Seattle's overall transit system. Ideas for potential fixes are coming from elected officials, union leaders, and bus drivers themselves.