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 Capitol Hill Seattle, BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.
The 3-2 vote in committee sets up a final decision later this month, but the Port of Seattle is suggesting they may take legal action against the move.
The 30 to 60 days of additional review isn't unique to Sound Transit's light rail project, CEO Goran Sparrman said, but will nonetheless likely alarm many transit advocates and threaten the project's schedule.
Newcastle Mayor Robert Clark pushed to remove references to promoting racial and social equity as "vague," "subjective," and "irrelevant," and called climate change "subjective." Many of his recommendations were adopted by the Newcastle Planning Commission.
Dow Constantine pointed to past Sound Transit board members who have unsuccessfully tried to become the agency's CEO, and defended the process that has taken place so far to get to five finalists, including himself.
Praised for delivering Seattle's massive waterfront revamp, the Office of the Waterfront has faced criticism for being shadowy and unaccountable. Now it will become a one-stop-shop for Sound Transit permitting.
The permanent renewal of Tacoma's Streets Initiative would enable the city to make significant progress on overhauling its most dangerous streets, and significantly expand safe bicycle infrastructure. The ballot measure goes to voters in an April 22 special election.
Senate Bill 5156, approved by the Washington Senate this week, could open the door to more accessible small apartment buildings built around smaller European-style elevators, reducing overall housing costs at the same time.
Though it was amended to exclude cities with less than 20,000 residents, Senate Bill 5184 still represents one of the most robust statewide parking reform packages to move forward in any state. It now must pass the House.