# The Washington State Department of Commerce has released draft guidance and model codes to implement the state's a new middle housing law. The new law will apply to most cities with a population of at least 25,000 residents (and some smaller cities), requiring them to broadly legalize middle housing throughout residential zones. Cities in King,| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# New regulations to remove financial and regulatory barriers to backyard cottages and stem the tide of McMansions are moving forward in Seattle, possibly completing a five-year process that started in 2014. Last Wednesday, the Seattle City Council's Transportation and Sustainability Committee met to discuss the latest proposal to develop the sweeping housing regulations. Three weeks| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# Green Lake and Roosevelt are at the heart of major new walking, biking, and transit infrastructure in North Seattle. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) recently rolled out improvements on NE 65th St and is poised add new improvements to NE 70th St in the coming months. NE 65th Street Improvements Responding to a "Fix| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# The agency is seeking feedback on its initial pedestrian, bike, bus, and transit-oriented development plans near its four planned West Seattle light rail stations. Sound Transit recently reached out to communities on the West Seattle Link Extension to gauge priorities around station area planning. The agency was specifically looking into support for particular station entrance| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# On the backdrop of Lake City Way yesterday afternoon, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray met with dozens of supporters and advocates to unveil his citywide plan to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. The Mayor was joined by Scott Kubly, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation, and Kathleen O'Toole, Chief of Police| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# It ain't much, but that's all the Board's going on too. This week, the Sound Transit Board of Directors will be deciding on preferred Ballard Link alignments and station locations. Some are still up-in-air, with the most critical ones in the Midtown-to-I-90 segment. Impacts to the Chinatown International District (CID) have emerged as primary concerns.| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# Sound Transit plans a mix of articulated and double-decker buses for Stride, all of which will be battery-electric. Sound Transit is poised to move forward with the purchase of a new fleet for its Stride bus rapid transit program. Agency staff hope to win approval for the contracts this week at the agency's System Expansion| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# The much-delayed Stride bus rapid transit program continues to get more delayed. Generally speaking, the three projects -- dubbed the S1, S2, and S3 Stride lines -- are trending one to two years behind the 2021 realigned schedule and three to four years behind the original Sound Transit 3 plan, according to a recent update| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# Work on Sound Transit's bus rapid transit program--Stride--is progressing, though slower than originally hoped. Some Stride lines' targeted openings have slipped from 2024 to 2025. Agency staff recently briefed the Sound Transit Board of Directors about a revised delivery timeline and some flashy vehicle branding. The program is composed of three distinct projects: Lynnwood to| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# Through a mix of highrise, midrise, and missing middle housing, Bellevue's new comprehensive plan would provide capacity for an extra 152,000 homes and 185,000 jobs, potentially allowing the city's population to more than double over the next 20 years.| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# The state responded to feedback from urbanists and homebuilders by finetuning its draft model code for missing middle housing to be more generous around lot coverage, floor area ratio, setbacks, and design standards.| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# On Monday, the Seattle City Council unanimously (8-0 vote) adopted a land use reform bill, easing restrictions on building accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family zones. The legislation is projected to promote development of another 2,460 new ADUs over a ten-year period. The changes brought forth by the legislation are far reaching, touching on topics| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# King County Metro unveiled plans to test out hydrogen-powered buses by 2026. The news comes on the heels of a King County Auditor report casting doubt on Metro's plans to rely heavily on battery buses to meets its goal of a fully electric fleet by 2035.| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# Mestas will serve as Deputy CEO of Megaproject Delivery with responsibility in managing projects from start to finish. With many projects behind schedule and overbudget, righting the ship is badly needed.| The Urbanist » Advocacy journalism for better cities.
# Last week, the Seattle Department of Consruction and Inspections (SDCI) released a draft proposal to improve parking availability in neighborhoods and reducing costs associated with parking requirements. The proposal focuses on providing flexibility in how parking can be utilized and reforming parking regulations. In article earlier this week, Doug Trumm touched on the high-level features of| The Urbanist - Examining urban policy to improve cities and quality of life.
# State lawmakers are signaling intent to improve Amtrak Cascades service with legislation setting a goal of cutting the trip time from Seattle to Portland to 2.5 hours and boosting service to 14 daily trips with 88% on-time performance by 2035. If lawmakers pass the bill, the goal for trip time service north to Vancouver would be 2.75 hours.| The Urbanist - Examining urban policy to improve cities and quality of life.
# On Monday, the Seattle City Council met to adopt a landmark citywide parking reform ordinance, which had been in the making for nearly two years. The ordinance builds upon reforms the city council made in 2012. Councilmember Rob Johnson, the prime sponsor of the legislation, and many of his colleagues highlighted the need for affordable| The Urbanist - Examining urban policy to improve cities and quality of life.
