Tag Archives: transit

We don’t know what is in Pinehurst — but its new light rail station seems like a good sign

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(Image: Sound Transit)

In an era when the Sound Transit Board is focused on cutbacks, deferrals, and slowdowns, the opening of the new Pinehurst Station this week is an outlier.

The station serving this area of North Seattle is slated to come online Tuesday — five years before originally planned.

Located near NE 130th, the facility is opening five years ahead of its original 2031 target date. Approved by voters under the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure in 2016, the project was fast-tracked when the agency moved to compress the construction timeline. Continue reading →

Riders sound off on fare gates coming to Capitol Hill Station

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Fare gates are coming to Capitol Hill Station, and the neighborhood has feelings about it.

As CHS reported last month, the Sound Transit board voted to move forward with an $87 million pilot to install fare gates at 14 stations on the 1 and 2 Lines, Capitol Hill included. Gates aren’t expected to show up at Broadway and John until 2029 or 2030, but the vote is a real shift for an agency that has run Link as an open, proof-of-payment system since 2009.

The reason: systemwide farebox recovery has been running around 11% to 14%, far short of Sound Transit’s 40% goal. Fare evasion hit roughly 45% of riders in 2023 before gaining with Fare Ambassadors on board; the agency projects it’ll still sit near 25% by 2029, well above the 2.4% rate seen before the pandemic. Capitol Hill Station itself sees about 11,000 boardings a day, some 40% above pre-pandemic levels.

CHS asked a few riders at the station what they think.

Matt is on board: “I’m pro. I’m a fan of fare gates,” though he doubts gates move much revenue on their own. Dee pointed to peer cities: “San Francisco, New York, Tokyo. They all have fare gates.” For riders who already pay, Dee said, nothing changes: “How would it impact you? Not at all.”
Continue reading →

On-time performance: Mayor K8tie Wilson and transit advocates race the 8 — but the numbers tell the real story for Denny Way changes

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When candidate Katie Wilson and a hundred transit advocates participated in the inaugural “Race The L8” event on July 10, 2025 — before the city installed a dedicated bus lane on Denny Way — the people on foot easily beat the bus.

Tuesday, Mayor Wilson and advocates took on the 8 for a rematch — and lost.

“Last summer, Seattleites raced the bus on foot and beat it,” the mayor said in her post marking the event. “This time around, with the lane up and running, it wasn’t even close.”

The race was fun but the real proof comes in the data. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill’s summer politics were quiet — The fall ballot fights will not be

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Pedersen’s easy August win. You can explore the Primary Election Results maps here thanks to the Washington Community Alliance.

While area leaders all but have their campaign races tied up headed into November there will still be a busy fall political season across Capitol Hill and the Central District.

Maps from the August primary tell the story of the highest profile individual seat up for grabs on Capitol Hill. Two-decade incumbent State Sen. Jamie Pedersen’s 67% showing in the primary is evident in the results for each election precinct across Capitol Hill and most of his 43rd District save for the blocks of central Broadway where first-time challenger and “Tax the Rich” proponent Hannah Sabio-Howell managed a flat-footed tie.

CHS reported here on the funding surge behind Pedersen, the party’s current Majority Leader in the state Senate, an architect of the Millionaires Tax, and a veteran lawmaker who has been part of 43rd District leadership for twenty years, as state Democratic leaders helped lock down the race. Institutional donors and statewide PACs can now shift their war chests to competitive general election battlegrounds elsewhere in the state. Continue reading →

RIP L8: City completes $4M project to unclog Route 8’s path to Capitol Hill

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(Image: Seattle Department of Transportation)

There is red paint in place to help speed up Route 8.

The final phase of the Denny Way Bus Reliability Project is now complete. Mayor Katie Wilson says the upgrades will create “irresistibly good bus service” on the route.

The second phase of transit improvements on Denny Way between 5th Ave and Stewart wrapped up over the weekend as crews installed red paint for the new eastbound Bus Only lane. Crews also installed a new westbound bus stop between Minor and Stewart and completed signal work to restrict the left turn from eastbound Denny Way onto Dexter Avenue N.

The work follows Seattle Department of Transportation changes around Denny Way earlier this month that redirected traffic with new markings and signs directing drivers headed to I-5 south from eastbound Denny to turn onto Boren instead of the previous route on Yale Ave. Continue reading →

SDOT rolls out first big changes to make the 8 less late on Denny Way

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The 8 is on its way to not being late. Over the weekend, the Seattle Department of Transportation put the pieces in place for the opening of the first phase of changes on Denny Way hoped to streamline transit service on the key artery between Capitol Hill and the city.

Over the weekend, SDOT changed the flow with new markings and signs directing drivers headed to I-5 south from eastbound Denny to turn onto Boren instead of the previous route on Yale Ave. The next phase will bring the big update with loads of new red paint to mark an extended dedicated bus lane through the corridor.

The first adjustment is hoped to be like un-kinking Denny’s traffic hose and will provide a new short stretch of bus-only lane for the 8 to push up to Capitol Hill. SDOT says a previous test showed this reroute maintained highway capacity while boosting eastbound Denny Way travel times by up to 15%. Continue reading →

Mayor and advocates say 2026 Seattle Transit Measure ‘will help residents afford their lives in our expensive city’

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Wilson at the June unveiling of her Seattle Transit Measure proposal (Image: City of Seattle)

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the 2026 Seattle Transit Measure for the November ballot, proposing a 10-year renewal funded by a 0.3% sales tax.

Generating an estimated $138 million annually, the package aims to significantly expand bus service in the city, strengthen system safety, and address regional affordability for residents across Seattle.

Mayor Katie Wilson and transit advocates are applauding the vote.

“Getting around is the second biggest expense after housing,” said Kirk Hovenkotter, Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition. “The Seattle Transit Measure will help residents afford their lives in our expensive city.”

“It’s a package that respects people’s hard-earned dollars and brings 100,000 more bus trips to Seattle every year and funds 22,000 free transit passes for low-income households,” Wilson said in a statement. “Next week, we will gather in City Hall so I can sign the bill and send it to voters for their consideration this November. To everyone who showed up and helped shape the Seattle Transit Measure – I also say thank you, and congratulations.”

CHS reported here on unsuccessful attempts to shrink the mayor’s proposal for a major expansion of the Seattle Transportation Benefit District. Wilson’s 2026 Seattle Transit Measure renewal would doubles the existing sales tax.

If approved by voters, officials say the proposal will expand Seattle’s capacity from 180,000 to 280,000 annual bus trips — a 47% increase in total service. The plan boosts frequencies on 10 to 15 key routes, expands late-night and weekend service, and prioritizes electric buses in South Seattle and the Duwamish Valley. Crucially, the measure will “double the number of free ORCA cards provided to low-income households” by expanding subsidized passes to 12,000 additional residents, while allocating funds to “support the recommendations of the King County Regional Transit Safety Task Force.” Continue reading →

City Council set to let voters decide on Seattle Transportation Benefit District measure that leaves mayor’s full tax bump intact

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The Seattle City Council and council president and District 3 representative Joy Hollingsworth are set to finalize the Seattle Transportation Benefit District measure Tuesday leaving the scale of the  Mayor Katie Wilson-championed sales tax bump to pay for “better-than-baseline” bus service on key lines in the city intact as the proposal heads for the November ballot.

Last week in committee, council members wrestled over a roster of amendments including one from Bob Kettle that would have decreased the size of the proposed sales tax increase.

Wilson’s 2026 Seattle Transit Measure renews and expands a citywide 0.30% sales tax over 10 years, generating an estimated $138 million a year to fund roughly 140,000 additional annual Metro bus service hours, improved regional connections, and expanded ORCA pass access. It also allocates dedicated funding for transit security officers, behavioral health specialists, and ADA accessibility infrastructure. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council shaping Wilson sales tax bump for increased bus service proposal for November ballot

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The council will consider this group of amendments together in a single package

The Seattle City Council is spending Thursday morning reshaping Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed Seattle sales tax increase to pay for “better-than-baseline” bus service on key lines in the city to prepare the proposition for the November ballot.

Thursday’s session is dedicated to a roster of amendments proposed by the council including a bid to slice the proposed increase in half. The mayor’s proposal would increase the sales tax by 0.15% to 0.30%. Councilmember Bob Kettle has proposed an amendment that would cap the increase to the sales tax at 0.225%.

The Wilson administration proposal would bump the current 0.15% Seattle Transportation Benefit District sales tax up to 0.30%, generating an estimated $138 million annually. Continue reading →

Council begins debate over Wilson Seattle Transit Measure proposal including bid to slice tax

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Two members of the Seattle City Council’s transportation committee including the group’s chair say they want to significantly change the mayor’s plans for a 0.15% Seattle sales tax increase to pay for “better-than-baseline” bus service on key lines in the city.

They’ll have time on their side in any political battles to come. To get the measure ready in time to be on the November ballot, the council has a deadline of the August 4th primary.

Committee member and downtown representative Bob Kettle who has increasingly positioned his office as a foil to Mayor Katie Wilson’s most progressive initiatives, says he will lead a charge to cap the tax increase proposal.

The mayor’s proposal would increase the sales tax by 0.15% to 0.3%. Kettle has announced a proposed amendment that would increase the sales tax “by a more affordable 0.05%.”

“A healthy transit and transportation system is absolutely essential for Seattle,” Kettle said in a statement. “However, we must spend our public dollars strategically, rather than raising the sales tax simply because we can. Every day, I hear from neighbors about how living in Seattle is becoming less and less affordable. My alternative offers a pragmatic increase in transit funding for bus service and ORCA cards while preserving the flexibility we need for emerging transit-related investments.” Continue reading →