Seattle Prepares for Major Transit Disruptions

Sound Transit claims maintenance work is necessary to prepare for upcoming transit extensions, but critics question the need to make drastic service cuts.

1 minute read

June 8, 2022, 12:00 PM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Sound Transit

vewfinder / Shutterstock

Maintenance projects planned by the Seattle area’s Sound Transit could cause major disruptions in service over the next several months. As Stephen Fesler writes in The Urbanist, “The planned service disruptions in July and in the fall will reduce Link frequencies to 20 minutes. This equates to a 53% reduction during peak periods and about 50% during off-peak periods.”

Fesler argues that while maintenance work makes sense in light of the transit extensions slated to open in the next few years, “it’s clear that the service disruptions do not need to be as severe as the agency is planning, and that raises the specter of major service disruptions for modest maintenance work becoming routine.”

Fesler lists the schedule and impacts of planned service disruptions, pushing back on some of the agency’s more questionable decisions, such as choosing to go single-track or not considering using crossover tracks to maintain service while work is occuring. According to Fesler, the announcement came without meaningful community engagement and with little explanation of the plan to the agency’s board. “Ultimately, Sound Transit’s Future Ready service disruptions are the result of agency staff deciding in favor of a blunt tool of simplicity to complete maintenance work, not one of necessity.”

Monday, June 6, 2022 in The Urbanist

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 7, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

People biking along beach path with moored ship in San Diego, California.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan

The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

May 2, 2025 - SD News

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Pump station with blue pipes coming out of concrete wall in Seattle, Washington.

Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater

The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.

May 13 - City Observatory

Sign for Deschutes National Forest in Oregon.

Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest

The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.

May 13 - The New York Times

Seeing the Better City

Is This Urbanism?

Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.

May 13 - Resurgence: A Journey via Substack

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.