Judkins Park Link station will open with the full East Link Extension on March 28. While Judkins Park station will be an incredible resource for Seattle residents in the Central District and Southeast Seattle, the station’s location in the middle of I-90 is less than ideal.

The two entrances to Judkins Park station are quite different. The east entrance faces 23rd Ave, a 2-lane arterial, and Sam Smith park on the I-90 lid. The west entrance faces the 6-lane Rainier Ave under the Link tracks and several I-90 overpasses. Recent improvements in the area have mitigated some of the challenges faced by people traveling to the station by transit, bike, and on foot.

Transit Connections

Judkins Park station’s east-west orientation has potential for great connections with several north-south bus routes. Fortunately for transferring passengers, King County Metro, Sound Transit, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) have worked together to provide front door transit service to both entrances.

Continue reading “Judkins Park Station Access Guide” | 11 comments

US vs European zoning. (City Beautiful)

This is an open thread.

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Sound Transit’s arduous journey building the 2 Line will finally conclude two weeks from today with the opening of the “Crosslake Connection” between Seattle and Bellevue. On March 28, along with beginning regular operations of the world’s first (and only) electrified floating railway, two new Link stations will open: Judkins Park and Mercer Island. Like previous openings of Link extensions, Sound Transit is hosting celebrations at these new stations as well as key stations at either side of the Crosslake Connection and other stations along the 2 Line.

Read on for details.

Continue reading “Link 2 Line “Crosslake Connection” opening celebrations” | 53 comments

Cherry blossom season typically heralds the end of winter, and it returns this weekend. The U-District Cherry Blossom Festival starts today with special events now through March 29. While the groves at the University of Washington’s campus in Seattle are the most popular destination for blossom-seekers, The Seattle Times ($) offered five alternative urban cherry tree destinations to consider visiting for blossom viewing. Last year, the Urbanist created a map of each of Seattle’s 17,000+ cherry trees and 27,000 other blooming arbors.

Here are some transit-accessible cherry blossom viewing suggestions across Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma:

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: cherry blossom season” | 33 comments

Stride 3 BRT will be the new avenue-running BRT on SR 522 (Bothell Way) from Seattle/Shoreline via Lake Forest Park and Kenmore to Bothell. The bus will run every 10 to 15 minutes and stop at 14 stations.

This article will continue the Stride 3 BRT discussion with the eastern half of the route with Kenmore and Bothell.

The previous article (Stride 3 BRT Part 1: Seattle, Lake Forest Park and Kenmore) discussed the western half of the route with Seattle, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.

Continue reading “Stride 3 BRT Part 2: Kenmore, Bothell, and I-405” | 34 comments

Reminders & Updates:

• Simulated Service of the 2 Line west of Lake Washington has resumed. Northerners rejoice. The Crosslake Connection of the 2 Line opens on March 28.
• Downtown Transit Tunnel Closure Mar. 21-22: Link service between Capitol Hill to Stadium will be replaced by shuttle buses next weekend for scheduled maintenance.

Local News:

• No transit measure for King County in 2026, but the Council will likely implement a 0.1% sales tax hike for roadway maintenance, which currently has no funding (The Urbanist).
• A state bill directly authorizing 75-year bonds is dead, but an amendment to the state’s transportation funding policies might give Sound Transit the authority it’s hoping for (The Urbanist).
• Bellevue wants to know if residents agree with dropping speed limits 5 mph on most city streets (Seattle Bike Blog).
• Sound Transit should leverage the vast popularity of light rail expansion to get laws and policies changed before cutting ST3 projects (Op-Ed; The Urbanist).
• King County Metro recorded over 334,000 boardings on Feb. 11, the Seahawks Victory Parade day (Metro Matters). Metro reports last February’s average weekday served about 265,000 boardings.
• SDOT is once again accepting applications to volunteer on the various advisory boards (SDOT Blog)
• Seattle Mayor Wilson has proposed legislation to speed up construction of tiny house villages, an early step toward delivering on a campaign promise for 1,000 new shelters in 2026 (The Seattle Times, $). Erica C. Barnett reflects on the consequences of abandoning “Housing First” (PubliCola).

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: gas prices surge” | 119 comments

On February 26, Sound Transit announced the ground-breaking of Stride 3 BRT construction. Stride 3 BRT will be a new avenue running BRT on SR 522 (Bothell Way) from Seattle/Shoreline via Lake Forest Park and Kenmore to Bothell. The Stride 3 will connect the north Lake Washington corridor to the regional rail spine. The bus will run every 10 to 15 minutes and stop at 14 stations. This article will go over the choices for the Seattle to Kenmore segment and review the design plots released by Sound Transit.

Continue reading “Stride 3 BRT Part 1: Seattle, Lake Forest Park, and Kenmore” | 98 comments

London vs Berlin transit. Which is better? (Evan Edinger)

Top 15 highest-ridership cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico. (CityNerd)

This is an open thread.

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Over two series of articles in 2011 and 2024-2026, Seattle Transit Blog has shared detailed breakdowns of the ridership patterns for dozens of routes across King County Metro, Sound Transit, and Community Transit. Puget Sound is fortunate to have an extensive transit network but Seattle Transit Blog cannot cover every route. Instead, we have built a dashboard to share the ridership data for every route.

Initially, the Seattle Transit Ridership dashboard only includes data for King County Metro routes and Sound Transit Express routes operated by King County Metro. All routes have data from 2024. Data from 2025 will be added after the March 28 service change. Over the next few months, we will add data for routes from other Puget Sound transit agencies.

The dashboard is available below and at seattletransitridership.com. Use the dropdown menus to pick the agency, route, and time period for the data you would like to view. By default, the static plots will be displayed. We are also working on interactive plots, which you can see by checking the checkbox. The interactive plots are formatted better on larger displays.

Continue reading “Seattle Transit Ridership Dashboard” | 52 comments

Over the past few months, the Wilson Transition Committee has met with thousands of Seattlities to better understand what the residents of Seattle want to see from the Wilson administration. The full report outlines recommendations in eight areas: Housing Affordability & Community Needs, Economic Development & Workers’ Rights, Transportation & Environment, Arts, Culture, & Creative Economy, Civic Narrative & Major Initiatives, Standing Up for Our Values, Public Safety, Parks, & Community Wellbeing, and Student & Youth Advisors.

While these different areas are intertwined, it’s worth highlighting the transit, mobility, and public access recommendations:

• Expand citywide bus priority lanes.
• Create integrated mobility hubs with user amenities & safe waiting areas, especially near light rail & bus transfer points. 
• Align transit investments with equity goals, ensuring access across neighborhoods, regardless of car ownership or income. 
• Increase 24-hour bus service
• Expand North-South & East-West connections, including Rainier Valley to Tukwila/Georgetown & Golden Gardens to UW. 

The report also mentions a few early wins for each category. For transit, these include: 

• Paint bus lanes on Denny. 
• Extend Seattle Housing Authority ORCA passes & increase Orca pass programs for nonprofits.

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: Wilson Transition Committee Recommendations” | 146 comments