Washington
They're a good start. But compared to similar policies in cities like Portland and Vancouver, Seattle's new policies around accessory dwelling units may be lackluster.
The Urbanist
The notion of fully capping I-5 as it runs through central Seattle has been gaining steam. The city could stand to gain hundreds of acres of urban land.
Crosscut
Transit ridership is up in Seattle, and higher income riders are more likely to use it.
Seattle Times
Meant to serve chronically homeless people, the Licton Springs tiny house village has been controversial from the start. It's uncertain whether enough permanent housing exists to resettle all residents.
KUOW
New municipal and state laws have made it possible for Seattle to sell excess land to affordable housing developers at below-market rates, or even to give it away.
Crosscut
A massive project to build safe passages for wildlife over Interstate 90 in Washington State is a major win for environmental groups who have been advocating for the project for over a decade.
Crosscut
Commute trips by bike are flat in Seattle, despite investments in high quality infrastructure. The city will have to do more for bikes to cut into the overall share of commute trips in the city of Seattle.
The Seattle Times
Tacoma is growing, so the city is expanding light rail and introducing bus rapid transit.
The Urbanist
The Washington Department of Transportation announced that Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct will close permanently in January 2019, with service switching over the tunnel Bertha built. The previous plan expected the switch to occur in the Fall.
Associated Press via Tri City Herald
Seattle shows how new buildings and new trees can be added to a city simultaneously—in fact, neighborhoods adding new buildings are maintaining its urban tree canopy while static single-family neighborhoods are losing trees.
Sightline Institute
As more companies start to run private buses, some of which use public transit bus stops, the question of whether or not they're getting in the way has become more hotly contested.
UW News
The mayor of Vancouver, Washington is leading a goodwill campaign in the hopes of launching work on a new bridge over the Columbia River, after Washington abandoned Oregon on the project in 2013.
The Oregonian
A major road-widening project will begin construction next year. The project is a long time coming for a fast-growing region, but the final product will reflect a new approach to highway funding.
The Seattle Times
Following a scathing performance report by King County, in Washington, system officials are implementing an overhaul of the Access paratransit system.
Crosscut
Seattle transit planners are working on a light rail extensions to West Seattle and Ballard, and trying to figure out which development alternatives are worth the cost.
KUOW
The "Your Voice Your Choice" program of participatory funding is in its second year in Seattle.
The Urbanist
The number of gas stations in the city of Seattle has declined significantly, but in surrounding King County, the number is climbing.
The Stanger
A third straight summer spent in a haze of smoke from nearby wildfires is taking a psychological toll on Seattle residents. A political response is also taking shape.
CityLab
Transit advocates thought a public-private partnership to modernize transit shelters and enhance the public realm was a done deal.
The Urbanist
The Seattle region will try to save costs and speed construction on three new pilot projects by using modular construction to house homeless.
KUOW
