As Washington’s ferry fleet ages, why aren’t we building new boats?
Grand plans for a reborn, greener ferry fleet are much delayed just as new boats are needed more than ever. After an expected partnership fell apart, where can the state turn?
Sunday Video: Seattle’s Urban Drinking Water is Sacred - The Urbanist
Do you know where Seattle, or your town, gets drinking water? Is it reliable and safe? Will we have enough water in the Puget Sound region as the population grows? What does today's drinking water in the Seattle area, the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, Spring Street downtown, migrating wild salmon, and a river that
Take a Car Lane, Save a Transit Project - The Urbanist
Transit: Why Don't We Do It in the Road? Transit has been getting some tough breaks lately in the Puget Sound region and across much of the United States. Projects are behind schedule and overbudget, and agencies are struggling with labor shortages and with attracting riders back following the shock of the pandemic. Many have
Stub Yesler Way Bike Lane Illustrates Lack of Planning for Waterfront Bike Access - The Urbanist
Early last week, crews with Seattle's Office of the Waterfront installed a very short stretch of two-way bike lane, at the foot of Yesler Way approaching Alaskan Way and Washington State Ferries Colman Dock. The new bike lane was timed to go in at the same time that new traffic patterns around the state ferry
The world’s scariest airport? Remembering Kai Tak Airport, 25 years on
Kai Tak was an international airport situated in the heart of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Peninsula. Twenty-five years ago, it was replaced by the Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok.…
Amtrak's Long Distance Trains: Not Just "Land Cruises" — Human Transit
Last week I wrote about the tension that the US national rail carrier Amtrak faces between ridership goals — which require focusing on its best markets — and coverage goals — which require covering the entire country. I was applying a framework that I developed for urban public transit, but that seemed relevant enough to […]
The East Link Light Rail Starter Line is Officially A Go - The Urbanist
Sound Transit was officially given the go-ahead to move forward with a plan to begin light rail service between eight isolated stations on the Eastside in spring of next year, after a vote by the agency's System Expansion committee Thursday. The East Link Starter Line, as it's called, was developed as an interim way to
15-minute cities: What are they and how do they work? – DW – 03/15/2023
City planners say we have to rethink the way we build urban areas to make them more sustainable, healthy and just. The so-called 15-minute city is one idea. But are they viable?
“Limitless” energy: How offshore floating solar could power population hotspots
Vast arrays of solar panels floating on calm seas near the Equator could provide effectively unlimited energy to densely populated countries in Asia and Africa.
How To Solve a Problem Like Denny Way - The Urbanist
One of downtown Seattle's most congested roads holds back the entire city's transit network...but major solutions are nowhere on the horizon. Traffic congestion on Denny Way in north Downtown Seattle has turned Route 8, which runs between Seattle Center and Mount Baker via Capitol Hill, a running joke for years. "I'm on the L8," you