Ryan Packer
Ryan Packer has been writing for The Urbanist since 2015, and currently reports full-time as Contributing Editor. Their beats are transportation, land use, public space, traffic safety, and obscure community meetings. Packer has also reported for other regional outlets including BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
The pair of appeals focused on alleged impact from providing too few off-street parking stalls, but the Hearing Examiner upheld City's decision to permit the project. Plymouth Housing's long-planned project can now advance toward construction.
A part of a major Amtrak order in 2022, the sleek new Siemens trains will be rolling out in the Pacific Northwest ahead of other parts of the country. The new Airo trainsets come at an uncertain time for Amtrak funding.
On July 10, more than 200 transit advocates raced a Route 8 bus on foot from Dexter Avenue to Stewart Street, and came out on top. They're demanding bus lanes to make the bus faster than walking.
Since the 2023 Seattle council elections, a new dynamic has been taking shape in which extra deference is given to policy decisions made by the seven district-based councilmembers within their own district. If that shift continues, it could have dramatic impacts on how projects and programs are prioritized.
A few months before construction on RapidRide I Line between Renton and Auburn was set to begin, King County has still not been able to acquire portions of 25 properties needed for the bus project. Now it's considering a measure of last resort: condemnation.
Sammamish will study increasing the upper limit on housing in its Town Center to 4,000 units, after nearly two decades of anemic growth under a previous growth framework. The 6-1 vote came after a significant amount of community opposition and misinformation.
The City of Seattle quietly dropped speed cushions and other traffic safety treatments from long-made plans after months of radio silence. The backpedal received swift pushback from some District 2 city council candidates.
Light rail riders are poised to be able to take 1 Line trains all the way to Downtown Federal Way before the end of 2025, thanks to work accelerating the grand opening. That will pave the way for a full opening of the 2 Line across Lake Washington by spring of 2026.