Plans to replace Seattle's aging inner-city freeway with a $4.2 billion tunnel and expanded bus service have many lawmakers concerned about being able to raise enough money to make it happen.
"The proposal, announced with much fanfare in mid-January, offers several advantages: It can be built without interrupting traffic on the viaduct, and work on connections to state Route 99 would be done at the end and with much less disruption. Also, it eliminates the elevated 1953-vintage viaduct from the waterfront."
"Perhaps as important to politicians, it represents some agreement among the state, city and county, something that has eluded officials in the past."
"But some lawmakers are chafing at the cost of the tunnel, the highest of any alternative considered and not the first choice of three transportation agencies that studied the replacement in 2008. Some agonize over the proposed car-license tax increase proposed to help finance the project in an economic downturn when other programs face severe cuts and the state has an estimated $6 billion budget shortfall. Others want better access for neighborhoods served by the highway."
"A key part of the proposal -- a 1 percent increase in vehicle-license fees to finance expanded transit -- is in trouble as lawmakers weigh the prospect of increasing an unpopular tax."
FULL STORY: Waterfront tunnel plan faces tax hurdle

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont