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The Urbanist Profile picture
The Urbanist
@UrbanistOrg
Advocacy journalism for better cities. 🏙️ 👩‍🦽👨‍🦯🚶🚴‍♀️ 🚎 ⛴️ 🚊 🚆 Join us on Bluesky @theurbanist.org.
Apr 25, 2024 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
On the press ride of the East Link Starter Line, or Line 2 as it will be called. Grand opening is Saturday. Details: theurbanist.org/2024/02/15/abb…

Image
Image From South Bellevue Station to East Main is a lot of Mercer Slough and low density.

South Bellevue will be a terminus station until the Lake Washington bridge tracks open. theurbanist.org/2024/04/09/fir…
Jan 29, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The 46th Legislative District's Gerry Pollet spent a Sunday morning building up anti-housing strawmen and backing a predictable Seattle Times screed piece. "Today's extensive Times editorial is a "must read It's a nice day, Gerry. Just go outside. "There is a separate bill that actually would help incr"Does every neighborhood in every city even have the inImage preview of The Seattle Time op-ed
Dec 16, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
BIG: Rep. Gerry Pollet will not be on any House policy committees that directly deal with land use, zoning, and housing. nwprogressive.org/weblog/wp-cont… Rep. Pollet previous controlled the House Local Government Committee. He wielded his power to block and water down progressive housing and zoning reform wherever possible.
Oct 27, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
It really does make you wonder. WA Dems are sending out an SOS on the SoS race. As senate transportation chair Steve Hobbs was highway-obsessed and a huge impediment to getting a package that focused on transit, safe streets, and climate. Hobbs simply is not a climate leader. theurbanist.org/2021/04/12/fiv…
Oct 26, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Great reporting on the fentanyl crisis from @andyengelson via @PubliColaNews. So far, King County has tallied 710 fatal overdoses this year. Of those, at least 473 involved fentanyl. publicola.com/2022/10/26/kin… Clearly federal, state, and local governments need to be more nimble to respond to the opiate crisis.

One example, federal regulations on methadone treatment aren't scaled to weaning people with fentanyl-level tolerance to opiates.
Oct 25, 2022 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
In this op-ed, civil engineer Donna Breske demystifies SPU water hookup fees that homebuilders encounter trying to get projects approved. She argues the agency is overstepping its bounds and double charging. #PermittingReform #HousingCrisis theurbanist.org/2022/10/25/doe… One 160-unit affordable housing project by @SCIDpda @PHPDA was held up and threatened with millions in fees for a hookup and fire hydrant relocation. It turned out Seattle Fire didn't even want the new hydrant. #PredatoryDelay seattleinprogress.com/project/3027067 A rendering of a 160-unit, ...
Nov 28, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Seattle’s first streetcar line, since closure of municipal lines in 1941, opened in 1982 but was suspended by construction of the Olympic Sculpture Park in 2005 and later destroyed by the state’s waterfront highway project. At least Galveston had a good reason for suspension.
Nov 28, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Cosign. Seattle could encourage this with its many alleys. With a little intentional planning and repealing loading mandates, we could have many narrow streets to wander about and enjoy as people spaces. theurbanist.org/2021/05/28/rig…
Nov 27, 2021 • 18 tweets • 8 min read
Some observations about Auburn’s growing downtown urbanist… #UrbanistFieldTrips Auburn’s train station is set in the heart of the city center and has a pedestrian bridge linking both sides.

Only the east side has seen urban infill development. And only 13 trains serve the station in normal times on weekdays. ImageImageImageImage
Nov 27, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This new feature is a product of special state law allowing Seattle to unclog bus lanes and intersections. 🚌 And here’s an example of the “don’t block box” intersection enforcement.
Nov 27, 2021 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
👀 This is quite a thing.
Aug 13, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
We recently did a deep dive into housing targets in King County recently, which are hugely important in driving land use and zoning decisions in municipalities. Without those targets, cities and towns might choose not to allow growth through zoning and development regulation changes.
Aug 12, 2021 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
The @SoundTransit Expansion Committee is taking up an action to consider selection of a project to be built recommendation for the Stride bus rapid transit maintenance base to full ST Board. soundtransit.org/st_sharepoint/… A site has been picked in Bothell. It will accommodate up to 120 buses. The cost estimate is $290 million.
Aug 12, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
The Puget Sound has seen substantial growth between 2010 and 2020 per the Census Bureau:

- King County 1.93 -> 2.27M
- Pierce County 795K -> 921K
- Snohomish County 713K -> 828K
- Kitsap County 251K -> 275K
- Thurston County 252K -> 295K (Note that the above corrects an earlier tweet.)
May 18, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Tacoma’s planning commission will take up consideration of vast residential rezones on Wednesday. It still will rezone all single-family and multifamily zoned areas. Our background here... ⬇️
May 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
You love to see it! 👏 👏 We covered ad nauseam how bad the principal transportation bill was. ⬇️ Linking it to climate policy would have undid a lot of progress the climate bills seek to do.
Mar 25, 2021 • 104 tweets • 24 min read
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) has kicked off a House hearing on 21st transportation investments. @SecretaryPete Buttigieg will be testifying.

Watch live: c-span.org/video/?510156-… Most everyone is appearing by Zoom. Some members didn’t mute their microphones and Rep. DeFazio gravelled them to shut off their mics or get the boot. 😳
Mar 25, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Our meetup tonight kicks off at 6:15pm on Zoom. Mayoral candidate Colleen Echohawk will be on to speak. Don’t miss out!

Details: theurbanist.org/event/urbanist… Photo of Colleen Echohawk. Also, you can read through Colleen’s interview with Ashley (@AshleyA_RC) on her priorities: theurbanist.org/2021/03/22/col…
Mar 24, 2021 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Edmund Witter, managing attorney of the Housing Justice Project of @kingcountybar sharply criticized means testing of right to counsel for tenants in comments to @SeattleCouncil.

Background: theurbanist.org/2021/03/17/ten… Witter said a means test would place a huge burden on tenants undergoing an extremely stressful event to prove their poverty when they only get one shot at court to block eviction proceeding against them. @cmkshama is advancing the right to counsel bill. capitolhillseattle.com/2021/03/the-mo…
Mar 24, 2021 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
The Seattle City Council is getting an update on tree protection ordinance development. It's a perennial issue in the land use committee with never quite getting actual action.

Presentation: seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&… Presentation cover. A draft urban forestry management plan has been developed. A final plan will be transmitted to the city council this spring, but there are several steps remaining.

Draft plan: seattle.gov/Documents/Depa… Progress on the urban forestry management plan.
Mar 23, 2021 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
State budgeting is some messy Swiss Cheese. #waleg It’s a tragedy that the state is moving forward with vanity projects like US-395, I-405, SR-167, and SR-509. #waleg