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.
At Thursday's board meeting, Sound Transit responded to the large amount of public comment that was received on the Sound Transit 3 (ST3) package draft proposal, most significantly by announcing that the timelines for most projects have now been moved up, shortening their time to completion by two to...
Former Mayor Mike McGinn is an urbanist who is deeply informed by his sense of place, drawing inspiration from his home neighborhood of Greenwood. Formed by being on the periphery of the city limits, Greenwood still bears the structures that define a modern urban neighborhood and those that show...
After months of seeking feedback, King County Metro has finalized a proposal—with the King County Council's transportation committee—to reconfigure the entire bus network in Southeast Seattle in order to provide a direct connection between Martin Luther King Blvd S and the International District. The constituency that has mobilized to pressure...
When the City Council approved the purchase of the assets of the Pronto bikeshare system in March, an amendment was introduced by Councilmember Mike O’Brien to hinge the expansion of the system in 2017 on the moving forward of five segments of protected bike lanes that are currently planned...
On Saturday morning, residents of northeast and central Seattle woke up to find dozens of bus routes reoriented. These changes were negotiated, advocated for, protested against, and screamed about for the past 18 months. With the introduction of two light rail stations that have drastically cut travel times in...
On Monday March 28th, the first weekday of King County Metro's biggest service change in years, South Lake Union will see a pretty big increase in transit service. The South Lake Union Streetcar will be increased to 10-minute frequency from 7 am to 7 pm. RapidRide route C, with...
Though most major transportation improvements are funded from the top down, there are a number of funds that the Seattle Department of Transportation has created to allow the community to directly prioritize their own transportation improvements. These funds are mostly directed through the direction of the 13 Neighborhood District...
Bikeshare in Seattle is at a pivotal juncture — that much is clear to supporters and opponents of the Pronto bikeshare system alike. Without the intervention of the City Council, Pronto will not have enough capital to continue operating through March.
But I would like to lay out the case that...