The Eastside city is the first to take advantage of a 2025 state law allowing cities to create a pathway for licensed architects to sign off on their own building plans. The program is intended to cut timelines to getting accessory dwelling units into construction.
Sound Transit is weighing a cut to light rail service spans to allow larger maintenance windows and is proposing to drop the Seattle-tail of Route 560 to boost frequency on the remainder of the route. The agency’s survey on its service proposal is open through July 26.
Two well-funded challengers are vying to unseat incumbent Rep. Gerry Pollet in LD46. Urbanist-backed Ron Davis has raised the most money in state, but Dreher has a big fundraising advantage built from out-of-state donors.
The number of weekday round trips between Bremerton and Seattle will drop from 20 to 13, with a major gap created between mid-morning and afternoon. The end of supplemental state funding coincides with a pivot at the legislature away from fast ferries.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson wisely put a stake in the ground for using World Cup hosting success as a springboard for further cityscape improvements, such as pedestrian zones and transit investments. Policymakers should heed the call and make it happen.
If approved in November, the 0.3% sales tax measure will ramp up city-funded Metro bus service on 10 to 15 additional routes on top of maintaining extra service that exists today. Signing the measure would mark a full-circle moment for Mayor Katie Wilson.
Canvass on July 26th, volunteer for good local candidates, and support our election committee’s work at our Endorsement Party on Thursday.
Join The Urbanist for our July events, including a soccer social with Sounder at Heart on July 19 and our Endorsements Rollout Party on July 23.
Support The Urbanist, connect with endorsed candidates, and celebrate the hard work of the Endorsements Committee as we approach the primary.
Join The Urbanist for our June 10 housing forum and get your ticket for our Summer Endorsed Candidate Party on July 19. We're also hosting two social hours in June.
The Eastside city is the first to take advantage of a 2025 state law allowing cities to create a pathway for licensed architects to sign off on their own building plans. The program is intended to cut timelines to getting accessory dwelling units into construction.
Join the SAFE Bellevue Coalition in sending a letter to city leaders to show your support for a future-focused Bellevue budget that is committed to reducing the high rate of serious injuries on our streets.
Josh Kline of YouTube channel Build Core recently took a look at the $3 billion plan to improve I-405 in Seattle's Eastside suburbs and deliver a new bus rapid transit network.
In remarks to a transportation advisory committee, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin painted a clear picture of the need to increase bus frequencies in the city as Sound Transit advances plans for light rail and the city accommodates significant population growth in the coming years.
Last week, Community Transit operated its last bus to Seattle, with the retirement of Snohomish express commuter Route 424. The agency added the Bellevue-bound Route 908 to replace it, with six other routes seeing tweaks.
A proposal to close a $34.5 billion gap in the voter-approved ST3 plan is on a fast track to a Sound Transit board vote on May 28. Developed by Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, it would prioritize completing the regional rail "spine" while deferring and delaying multiple other major projects.
Many years in the making, Pierce County’s coordinated approach to homelessness still faces challenges after being approved by county council in June. With King County partially dismantling its troubled regional authority, Pierce County hopes to avoid the same mistakes.
The 0.3% sales tax bump going onto the November ballot would increase service by around 40% by the mid-2030s, the biggest expansion of transit service in Pierce County in decades. Since May, the proposal has been tweaked to include free rides for seniors.
In the year since Tacoma adopted new zoning standards last February, the number of housing permits entering the pipeline jumped by 62% compared to the five-year average.
KUOW's Soundside recently did a special on Sound Transit system expansion deliberations that heavily featured Urbanist contributing editor Ryan Packer. It's a great primer on the debate about how to best close the agency's $34.5 billion budget gap. Give it a listen!
The Urbanist newsroom discusses April headlines, like Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson expanding Bicycle Weekends, 300 transit advocates marching to save Ballard light rail from the chopping block, and pushback against a Capitol Hill crisis case center.
The Urbanist newsroom discusses the big opening day for Sound Transit's crosslake 2 Line, how we got here, and what it means for the future of light rail expansion in the Seattle region.
