In light of the recent news that Graham Street Station is set to be deferred yet again, I thought it would be worth considering if there may be a better way forward. Despite the early promises of the Enterprise Initiative, we are heading towards a future where a key Link Station is deferred indefinitely yet again. This article looks at the most effective and cost-effective alternative for Graham Street station, how it compares to ST’s preferred alternative and ST’s other alternatives, and larger problems in the Enterprise Initiative process and the ST3 decision-making process as a whole that lead to substandard station and alignment decisions and unnecessary costs. This article is an abridged version of a more detailed and technical article on my website.

We have a lot of ground to cover, but our first point to consider will be the Spring 2025 Alternatives Development and Evaluation Technical Memorandum. In this memo, Sound Transit released its preferred alternative for Graham Street, with the option chosen being a center platform on the south side of Graham Street (see below).

Continue reading “Graham Street Station and the Failure of the Enterprise Initiative” | 11 comments

Sound Transit boardmember Dan Strauss is proposing three amendments to the ST3 system plan update on Thursday. The full list of amendments is expected Tuesday, and it sounds like there will be a lot of them. Strauss is a Seattle City Councilmember for northwest Seattle. His amendments are:

1. Prioritize building the Ballard-Westlake Link segment now, and postpone the second downtown tunnel (DSTT2) until after it.
2. Use the 70% of unused debt capacity ST has, and ask Olympia for permission to issue longer-term bonds. Strauss says there are some “limited, commonsense adjustments” to debt policy that ST can make.
3. Set a target date for finishing Ballard Link, rather than leaving it indefinite.

To me, #1 is consistent with our call to build the best parts first. I’d still like to see automated trains and canceling DSTT2 (especially to eliminate the excessively passenger-hostile tunnel-to-tunnel transfers), but this is an important step. Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good. If somebody offers me half of what I want, I’d rather take it, and leave the rest as something to try for later.

Re #2, there may be room to optimize existing debt capacity, but I’m still not convinced of longer-term bonds. Re #3, setting a target date for Ballard makes sense, and would avoid leaving people in limbo for years.

Update: Seattle Subway endorses #1 and #3, has a petition to sign for it, and urges people to contact their ST boardmembers starting now.

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Why it’s illegal to walk to the World Cup Final in New Jersey. Hint: It’s not just highways and chain-link fences. (Evan Edinger)

What if we removed the Lexington Avenue subway line in Manhattan? How many car lanes would we need to allow all existing passengers to drive? (CityNerd)

In other news, on Friday afternoon a northbound Sounder “N” Train hit a pedestrian ($) on the track and killed him. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family. STB editor Michael Smith was on an Amtrak Cascades train at that moment, which was behind the Sounder train, and his train was stopped for a few hours south of Carkeek Park because of the incident with the Sounder train.

This is an open thread.

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Seattle Parks & Recreation’s annual Bicycle Weekends program returns this summer starting tomorrow, May 23. This summer, Lake Washington Blvd (LWB) will be closed to non-local car traffic every weekend until Labor Day between Seward Park and Mount Baker Beach. This includes holidays (May 25, July 3, and September 7), but excludes August 1-2 due to Seafair. The road will close to cars at 7pm on Fridays and open for cars at 6am on Monday. All seven parking lots along LWB will be open and accessible to people driving. People driving to homes along LWB (residents, visitors, and deliveries) may enter from the nearest cross street.

Despite the branding, Bicycle Weekends are not about bikes. This program is an opportunity for people to enjoy Lake Washington while they walk, run, or roll. It is an opportunity for friends to have a picnic next to the water without speeding traffic mere feet away. It is an opportunity for kids and adults to learn how to roller skate, skateboard, or bike on a flat surface (a rare amenity in South Seattle). It is an opportunity for all Seattleites to share a valuable community resource that is reserved for drivers 332 days each year.

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: Lake Washington Boulevard Car-free Weekends 2026” | 24 comments

During the pandemic, fares were suspended on a number of transit agencies in Washington State including Metro and Sound Transit for public health reasons. While transit was free for part of 2020, Metro and Sound Transit suspended fare enforcement until Spring 2025 and Fall 2023 respectively.

On Seattle’s buses and trains (and Snohomish’s, Spokane’s, and Vancouver’s BRTs), agencies employ a “Proof of Payment” system. Common in Northern Europe, fares are not enforced by turnstiles or bus drivers but by transit employees who randomly board transit vehicles and check that riders have proof of payment. Turnstiles prevent the possibility of unique fare media (a free bus ticket with a hotel or, as in Seattle, arena ticket) and barrier-less Youth Ride Free. They also save on capital costs associated with fare gates and operational costs by enabling shorter bus dwell times with all door boarding.

One downside of proof of payment systems is that fare enforcement is more complex. In Washington State, most agencies with off-board fare payment also have a fare enforcement program to issue fines or citations to riders who illegally boarded without paying.

Continue reading “The Status of Fare Evasion in Washington State” | 133 comments

Local News:

• With a fresh new name, the Seattle Streets Alliance plans street party to celebrate 15 years (Seattle Bike Blog)
• Reversing Harrell cuts, Parks is now installing the remaining Lake Washington Blvd safety compromise plan (Seattle Bike Blog)
• Op-Ed: Trailhead Direct Transit Is Great. It Can Be Even Better. (The Urbanist)
• New County Transportation Funding Measure Could Shortchange Seattle (The Urbanist)
• Deaths on Washington roads drop again (KUOW)
• Amid light rail money crunch, what now for West Seattle, Ballard, Everett? (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• After TDLE: How Pierce Can Pivot to Harness the Benefits (Transportation Matters)
• Op-Ed: Renton needs commitment from Sound Transit (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• Join SDOT’s Transportation Funding Task Force (SDOT)
• Sound Transit officials chase more money to close $35B funding gap (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• RapidRide I Construction Update (Metro Matters)
• The Not-So-New Kids on the Block: Sound Transit’s staff ambassadors are here to help you ride (The Platform)
• First Amtrak Cascades ‘Airos’ Arrive in Seattle for Testing (The Urbanist)
• UW and Challenge Seattle released “Gridlock 2050: A Call to Action” and created new interactive transportation visualization platform (UW Mobility Innovation Center)
• Wilson Rolls Out Four New Public Bathrooms in Pioneer Square (The Urbanist). Also on the SDOT Blog.
• Katie Wilson’s ‘Taller Denser Faster’ Plan Starts to Get Fleshed Out (The Urbanist)
• An elected Sound Transit board would ensure accountability (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)

This is an Open Thread. Uncivil comments will be moderated.

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Average Ridership Per Trip

The plots below show the average weekday ridership by stop in each direction, color-coded by time of day. For a more detailed breakdown of how the plots are set up, please refer to the How to Read the Plots section of the article discussing King County Metro Route 70.

Route 201 operates as both a local and express service connecting several cities in Snohomish County. Ridership patterns for routes 201 and 202 are quite similar, so most of the observations apply to both routes. Ridership data for Route 202 is in the Appendix below. Some observations:

Continue reading “Ridership Patterns for Community Transit Routes 201 and 202” | 37 comments

How Portland created a sense of place. (Fourth Place)

Taking one of the last Talgo trains to Vancouver BC. (Classy Whale)

This is an open thread.

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Trailhead Direct service is returning in 2026 on weekends from May 23 to August 30. Additionally, the service will run on a few holidays, specifically: Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) and Independence Day (Friday, July 3).

Trailhead Direct consists of two routes, one from Capitol Hill station to Mount Si and one from Mount Baker station to the Issaquah Alps. These routes are similar to last year. The Issaquah Alps route has been truncated at Squak Mountain and now runs full trips later in the day.

The now open 2 Line service across Lake Washington makes these routes redundant with frequent and fast transit west of South Bellevue P&R. Why do these routes still travel into Seattle? The primary reason is how Trailhead Direct service is funded. Via the Seattle Transit Measure (STM), the Seattle Department of Transportation is a significant sponsor. In 2024, the STM funded 50% of Trailhead Direct service. Truncating these routes at South Bellevue station could free funding for more frequent service or more routes, but SDOT has little incentive to fund routes that operate completely outside the City.

Continue reading “2026 Trailhead Direct Routes” | 69 comments

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: Free Summer Shuttles” | 61 comments