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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

County CM Claudia Balducci and Seattle CM Alexis Mercedes Rinck joined the program. Balducci said it's been a revelation to have 2 Line open after nearly two decades of her career working on it.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Downtown Redmond was #1. Ray noted the plethora of walkable housing and storefronts. Good bike/trail connections.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Spring District was #2. Big masterplanned TOD district nearby. Lots of pedestrian scramble intersections.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Downtown Bellevue is #3. Tons of housing and jobs nearby in shiny glass towers. An adjacent transit center with tons of bus connections.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

BelRed is #4. Bellevue is billing it as an arts district. It's currently a tire center district with some midrise TOD near the (non freeway adjacent) station.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Overlake Village was #5. It also has a fancy new pedestrian bridge. Close to freeway but lots of TOD on non freeway side.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Redmond Technology was #6. Next door to Microsoft HQ with a really fancy bike ped bridge over the freeway and a big parking structure.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Wilburton Station was #7. Ray flagged the busy car-choked roads and car dealerships. Ryan noted some TOD towers are in development.

The wilburton station platform with the Bellevue downtown skyline in the background.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Marymoor Park (#9) got a shout out for a wayfinding blunder that a local citizen took it upon themselves to fix.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

South Bellevue Station #10. Ray noted the u pick it strawberry patch is one of the main draws.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

"Mercer Island has some residential density near the station... But it's not really about that life," Ray said. He is ranking the East Link stations from worst to best.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

Ray Delahanty of CityNerd got a huge applause. But him taking Amtrak Cascades here from Portland might have gotten a bigger one. 🤓👏

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 16/09/2026

We're just about to get underway at Town Hall Seattle with @nerd4cities.bsky.social, our own Ryan Packer, and special guests @kccclaudia.bsky.social and @alexis4seattle.bsky.social. Sold out crowd!

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 19/08/2026

At a press event in Columbia City, Mayor Katie Wilson announced an executive order streamlining housing permitting by creating an interdepartmental team at the City and an ombudsman overseeing efforts.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 04/08/2026

Vote! It's the last day of the WA primary. Get your ballots in a drop box by 8pm. Here's our picks! www.theurbanist.org/2026-primary...

Seattle:
Seattle Council D5: Nilu Jenks
Yes on Prop 1 (Seattle Libraries)
State Legislature:
LD 32 P 1: Danica Noble
LD 32 P 2: Imraan Siddiqi
LD 32 Senate: Jesse Salomon
LD 34 P 2: Joe Fitzgibbon
LD 36 P 1: Julia Reed
LD 37 P1: Kelabe Tewolde
LD 37 P 2: Jaelynn Scott
LD 43 P 1: Nicole Macri
LD 43 Senate: Hannah Sabio-Howell
LD 46 1: Ron Davis
LD 46 2: Darya Farivar
LD 46 Senate: Javier Valdez

King County:
County Assessor: Rob Foxcurran
Council D2 Rebecca Saldaña
Council D8: Teresa Mosqueda

North Sound:
Yes on Sno-Isle Prop 1 (Libraries)
U.S. Congress:
CD 2: Tomas Scheel
State Legislature:
LD 1 Pos 1: Davina Duerr
LD 1 Pos 2: Jenne Alderks
LD 21 Pos 2: Lillian Ortiz-Self
LD 32 Pos 1: Danica Noble
LD 32 Pos 2: Imraan Siddiqi
LD 32 Senate: Jesse Salomon
LD 38 Pos 1: Julio Cortes

Eastside:
State Legislature:
LD 5 P1: Zach Hall
LD 41 P 1: Janice Zahn
LD 41 P 2: My-Linh Thai
LD 45 P 2: Vanessa Kritzer
LD 47 P 1: Debra Entenman
LD 48 P 2: Jessica Forsythe

South Sound:
State Legislature:
LD 26 P 2: Renee Hernandez Greenfield
LD 26 Senate: Deb Krishnadasan
LD 29 P 1: Krista Perez
LD 29 P 2: DUAL: Erin Chapman-Smith and Patrick Stickney
LD 29 Senate: Sharlett Mena
LD 30 P 1: Jamila Taylor
LD 30 Senate: Claire Wilson
LD 33 P 2: Mia Su-Ling Gregerson
LD 34 P 2: Joe Fitzgibbon

Peninsula and Islands:
Yes on Sno-Isle Prop 1 (Libraries)
State Legislature:
LD 23 P 1: Tarra Simmon

State Supreme Court
Supreme Court P 1: Colleen Melody
Supreme Court P 3: Jamie Hawk
Supreme Court P 4: Ian Birk
Supreme Court P 5: Sharonda Amamilo

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 04/08/2026

Details from Amtrak Cascades on the service disruption. amtrakcascades.com

Service disruption near Portland station
A fire near the Portland station is restricting train traffic north of the station. Trains between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, and trains between Portland and Eugene are running normally. Trains 506 and 517 will terminate in Vancouver, Washington. We are working to secure alternate transportation for all other trains.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 01/08/2026

New graphics for our endorsement cheat sheet! Remember to vote by August 4th! www.theurbanist.org/2026-primary...

The Urbanist — Endorsement Cheat Sheet — 2026 Primary Elections
Races with no endorsements excluded from cheat sheet
Seattle:

✓ Yes on Prop 1 (Seattle Libraries)
Seattle City Council District 5: Nilu Jenks

State Legislature:

LD 32 Pos 1: Danica Noble
LD 32 Pos 2: Imraan Siddiqi
LD 32 Senate: Jesse Salomon
LD 34 Pos 2: Joe Fitzgibbon
LD 36 Pos 1: Julia Reed
LD 37 Pos 1: Kelabe Tewolde
LD 37 Pos 2: Jaelynn Scott
LD 43 Pos 1: Nicole Macri
LD 43 Senate: Hannah Sabio-Howell
LD 46 Pos 1: Ron Davis
LD 46 Pos 2: Darya Farivar
LD 46 Senate: Javier Valdez

King County:

County Assessor: Rob Foxcurran
Council District 2: Rebecca Saldaña
Council District 8: Teresa Mosqueda

North Sound:

✓ Yes on Sno-Isle Prop 1 (Libraries)

U.S. Congress:

CD 2: Thomas Scheel

State Legislature:

LD 1 Pos 1: Davina Duerr
LD 1 Pos 2: Jenne Alderks
LD 21 Pos 2: Lillian Ortiz-Self
LD 32 Pos 1: Danica Noble
LD 32 Pos 2: Imraan Siddiqi
LD 32 Senate: Jesse Salomon
LD 38 Pos 1: Julio Cortes

Eastside:
State Legislature:

LD 5 Pos 1: Zach Hall
LD 41 Pos 1: Janice Zahn
LD 41 Pos 2: My-Linh Thai
LD 45 Pos 2: Vanessa Kritzer
LD 47 Pos 1: Debra Entenman
LD 48 Pos 2: Jessica Forsythe

Peninsula & Islands:

✓ Yes on Sno-Isle Prop 1 (Libraries)

State Legislature:

LD 23 Pos 1: Tarra Simmons
LD 26 Pos 2: Renee Hernandez Greenfield
LD 26 Senate: Deb Krishnadasan

South Sound:

LD 29 Pos 1: Krista Perez
LD 29 Pos 2 (Dual): Erin Chapman-Smith & Patrick Stickney
LD 29 Senate: Sharlett Mena
LD 30 Pos 1: Jamila Taylor
LD 30 Senate: Claire Wilson
LD 33 Pos 2: Mia Su-Ling Gregerson
LD 34 Pos 2: Joe Fitzgibbon

State Supreme Court

Supreme Court Pos 1: Colleen Melody
Supreme Court Pos 3: Jamie Hawk
Supreme Court Pos 4: Ian Birk
Supreme Court Pos 5: Sharonda Amamilo

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 13/07/2026

"After four years of unsuccessfully trying to lease roughly 55,000 square feet of unfinished commercial space beneath the Ivey on Boren, Holland Partner Group recently converted the space into 44 loft-style apartments." www.king5.com/article/mone...

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 11/07/2026

N 45th Street operating at peak performance! 🎶

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 03/07/2026

The early data for 2026 is considerably worse.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 03/07/2026

Permitting for housing has really fallen off the cliff in Seattle since 2021, but the slide has continued deeper into 2024 and 2025.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 24/06/2026

Urban stadiums don’t have to suck.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 19/06/2026

Nearby Second Avenue was a different story. Unfortunately made sidewalks fairly impassable.

Scooters parked on a curb ramp on Second Avenue

Second Avenue bike lanes with big mass of Lime vehicles on the sidewalk. Near Yesler intersection

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 19/06/2026

Lime's valet system and no parking zone seemed to do a good job of keeping bikes off a pedestrianized Occidental Avenue.

A parking lot filled with neat rows of scooters and bikes in pioneer square with pedestrians walking by

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

But not all vertical conveyance made it through the day in the tunnel. 😟 #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

The popup ORCA card readers are in operation. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

Transit volumes are so high on Link light rail that the local stations have special traffic management in operation. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

And local establishments are already busy at 10am. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

Street vendors are lining the streets near the square. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

Naturally, everyone wants to be in Occidental Square and Avenue. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

Railspur Alley has been spruced up but quiet. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

Welcome to the pedestrian zone. 😎 #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 15/06/2026

Soccer fans are on the move to Pioneer Square and the stadium district. Transit is doing a lot of work today. #WorldCup

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 08/06/2026

And there it is, Nathiya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt. After today’s drop, Raman is certain to head to the general election runoff in November for Mayor of Los Angeles, offering a pro-housing and urbanist option for voters. The remaining ballots are trending strongly for her.

Raman has 196,198 votes while Pratt has 193,085 votes in today’s count; Bass still leads both with 250,871 votes.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/05/2026

Ahead of today’s Sound Transit board meeting, Seattle Subway plans to hold a funeral march for the Ballard Link Extension 🚊 at noon near Union Station (starts at 5th Avenue/Yesler Way). @seattlesubway.org

Where: 5th and Yesler, downtown Seattle (end of the RapidRide D Line from Ballard).

When: TODAY! Thursday, May 28. The funeral procession leaves at 12:00pm sharp for the three-block walk to Union Station.

What to wear: If possible, wear all black, except a green Save Ballard Rail shirt if you have one.

What to bring: If you have time and the materials, you can make a cardboard tombstone with an epitaph on it. Otherwise, just bring yourself!

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 14/05/2026

Seattle CM Dan Strauss argued the agency would be forgoing a ridership engine by not building all the way to Ballard. Sound Transit has projected 33,200 fewer boardings under the truncated Seattle Center plan versus a full build out to Ballard.

A Sound transit slide shows ridership effects of the BLE interim segment. Under full build, Ballard would have 12,100 daily boardings, Interbay would have 4,300, Smith Cove would have 3,400, Seattle Center would have 8,400, SLU would have 8,100, Denny would have 11,200, Westlake new would have 24,500, Midtown would have 20,200, and International District would have 3,200. That's 95,400 total boardings and 137,000 trips-on-project.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 12/05/2026

ICYMI over the weekend, the Seattle Times Editorial Board put out an article last Friday that was essentially a rallying cry for NIMBYs to continue to slow and weaken the Seattle Comprehensive Plan. As part of this article, they decided to include this tidbit. 1/5

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 30/04/2026

The LD37 state legislative races are heating up. Earlier this week, environmental justice organizer Tatiana Brown announced she is running for state senate. www.tatianaforwa.org Also vying for that seat is Rep. Chipalo Street, who is vacating his Position 2 seat to seek to move up to the senate.

SEATTLE, WA—Tatiana Brown (she/hers), a community organizer and collaborative governance leader
from Judkins Park, is announcing her run for the open state Senate seat in Washington's 37th Legislative
District. The 37th LD encompasses the Seattle Neighborhoods of Central District, Chinatown/Int'l
District, Yesler Terrace, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, Seward Park, and unincorporated Skyway. Brown is
running on a solutions-oriented and data-driven platform of upholding community-led models of economic
sustainability and environmental justice alongside education and well-being that is accessible to all.
Brown has been an active and tenacious organizer for 10-years, and currently serves as the youngest co-chair
in history for the Washington State Environmental Justice Council. She was first appointed in 2023 by
former Governor Inslee to join the team of 16 leaders across Washington tasked with advising on the
implementation of the HEAL Act, CCA, and serving frontline communities. Her career has been built
around challenging the status quo and modeling the “alternate.”
In 2021, Brown started a dual Masters at the University of Washington in Public Health and Public
Administration. Simultaneously, she became program lead for the Campus Sustainability Fund – a
student-run, student-funded, and student-led grantmaking organization on the UW-Seattle campus. With
her team, they invested $1.32M into student leaders and demonstrated how processes like participatory
budgeting can transform the reality of a community for the better, and move the needle on climate justice.
Brown develops other collaborative governance tools with People’s Economy Lab, and has helped pilot the
first examples of government-funded community assemblies in the US at both the state and city level. In
2024-2025, four historically excluded groups in the Southend (urban natives, labor unions, youth, and
BIPOC communities) led assemblies to center their needs, and influence Seattle’s Climate Action Plan.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

Trains are packed and now crossing the lake.

Transportation Choices Coalition leader Kirk Hovenkotter takes a selfie with Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine aboard the first train to cross the lake as revenue service

A crowded Mercer Island station platform with a train

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

And the ribbon is cut!! 🎉🎉 Let the cross-lake 2 Line rides commence.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

In one of the biggest applause lines of the morning, Dow said light rail would get to Ballard, West Seattle, Tacoma and Everett (as promised in ST3 ballot measure).

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine gave a nod to former CEO Joni Earl for righting the ship and getting the agency through a financial and reputational crisis in the early 2000s.

Constantine stands at the lectern and points to Earl who is in the first row of the crowd.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

Bellevue Councilmember Mo Malakoutian underscored how hard getting across the lake can be for commuters. 2 Line takes away "the need to negotiate with the universe" to get where you're going in a timely and reliable fashion.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's daughter Josephine will also have a hard time remembering life without a crosslake 2 Line. (She's pictured here helping Mom with her speech.)

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay's young daughter, meanwhile, probably will not remember a Seattle without a crosslake light rail line.

Zahilay is at the lectern with his preschool age daughter sitting in a little chair next to him. A Sound Transit train graphic is displayed behind him

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci noted she's been working to get the 2 Line done for basically her son's whole life -- he's now 20 years old.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

At the ribbon-cutting speeches, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell called fellow Senator Patty Murray the GOAT of transit, for all the federal grant $$ she helped secure.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 28/03/2026

Speeches are underway outside Judkins Park Station and officials are about to cut the ribbon on the 2 Line Crosslake Connection. After a few more speeches.

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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 17/03/2026

Ferguson said the bridge-only project they've scoped would cost $7.65 billion. The bridge + full five-mile corridor of freeway widening and interchange supercharging was last pegged at $13.5 to $15.2 billion.

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