Seattle Streetcar ridership rises for the fifth year in a row. The First Hill Line saw 6% growth in 2025. Its annual ridership ranks within the top 25% of all King County Metro transit routes. The South Lake Union Line saw a 26% bump in 2025 compared to 2024.

I know many elected officials. The unhappiest compromised their values to stay in office. The happiest: 1. Accomplished something extraordinary even if it meant being voted out. 2. Were reelected because of clear values, conviction and communication

“It’s time for us to keep our promises. It’s time for us to build Ballard light rail.”

The Squamish people of what is now Vancouver were illegally dispossessed of their land 100 years ago. They sued, got the land back, and used their sovereignty to ignore local zoning and build 6,000 new homes over the loud objections of nearby wealthy NIMBYs. Now other tribes are getting in the game.

NEW STORY// Lin Moves to Curb Legal Appeals Hindering Seattle Zoning Changes By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org

PSA: driving is not safe…

The thing about the US is that we can’t even build a single high-speed rail line and the department of transportation of the largest, wealthiest state wants to waste people’s time by studying a fake mode of transportation. These two facts are related.

Today was pretty special.

Trailhead Direct returns for another season today!

You have options: flipyourtrip.org

Seattle’s waterfront is ready for summer! Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks will officially reopen the morning of June 4, giving the community access to more than a mile of shoreline and 16 acres of refreshed public park space along Elliott Bay.

On Monday, May 18, Kansas City made history...again. The #kcstreetcar Riverfront Ext opened to much fanfare & smiling faces. From where Kansas City got its start to where its future is headed, this extension represents connection, growth, and momentum for everyone. Let's ride! youtu.be/NLRfmx_QBgU

Our City Ratings are back for 2026, evaluating more than 3,000 cities around the globe on the safety and connectivity of their low-stress bike networks. Before results go live in June, check out how your city scored and see how it stacks up against the world at https://bit.ly/2LrUJ5d

NEW STORY// First Amtrak Cascades ‘Airos’ Arrive in Seattle for Testing By Stephen Fesler via @theurbanist.org

An interesting review of what the California High Speed Rail authority is doing to try and get the line operational - link.theoverheadwire.com/7afqg

The one history book every car technology fetishist should read ... and that the rest of us should read to better defend ourselves. My review of Peter Norton's excellent "Autonorama". humantransit.org/2023/06/the-...

Seattle continued to add population in 2025: the only west coast city to make the 15 cities with lagest numeric increase. Seattle has added nearly 50K residents since 2020. The only other northern city in the Top 15 is Columbus Ohio

TABLETOP B&R CHANGES! Pioneer Cori-Steel Cutter is banned Modern Phlage is banned Lotus Field is banned Violent Outburst is unbanned Umezawa's Jitte is unbanned Legacy Undercity Informer is banned Pauper Bonder's Ornament is unbanned #WOTCstaff magic.wizards.com/en/news/anno...

IT’S HERE! The first new Amtrak Cascades train set arrived in Seattle today!

🚆 🚆 🚆 🚆 🚆

Hello there Tacoma Link 🚊

Welcome home! 💚🤎🤍

The Seattle Times editorial board opposes Seattle's "taller, denser, faster" growth plan, and they're mad enough about it to call The Urbanist "the builders' media mouthpiece." Here are the many things they got wrong in their recent editorial. Editorial: www.theurbanist.org/editorial-se...

Wired: Riding light rail to Ballard. Retired: Living long enough to one day ride light rail to Ballard. Expired: Instructing your heirs to spread your ashes on the light rail to Ballard.

Ladies and gentlemen! Lift. Your. Cameras! The first new Amtrak Cascades trainset arrives in Seattle tomorrow at 11:29 am! It will be coming south from Everett attached to the Empire Builder. Track Train #7 at asm.transitdocs.com for precise times. You can share pics/video here! #wsdot #trains #PNW

We're taking a first step to delivering Seattle’s number 1 and number 2 priority: creating clean, accessible, and safe public bathrooms. Today at 1pm I'll be in Pioneer Square for a toilet paper ribbon cutting to open these new facilities. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Seattle City Council approves Shared Streets legislation

Discovering there's a tier below "As Seen on TV"

Super interesting piece in @planetizen.bsky.social about building development over rail maintenance yards in China. Especially wild pictures link.theoverheadwire.com/67dtu Cangqian Depot Deck, completed in 2021.

We can do better

Why would a car do that? youtu.be/6xsptNat2I0?...

Louder for the “left” NIMBYs in the back “This shift is driven by a surge in supply. More inventory is still on the way, with peak units expected to deliver by the end of (the second quarter).”

ORDINANCE PASSES UNANIMOUSLY SHARED STREETS ARE LEGAL IN THE CITY OF SEATTLE THIS HAS BEEN MY DREAM FOR YEARS AND NOW IT IS HAPPENING IF YOU COME HOME FROM EUROPE WISHING WE COULD HAVE WHAT THEY HAVE THEN WHY NOT DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT SOMETIMES YOU WILL SUCCEED

Thank goodness Belltown doesn't have a landmark or preservation board...

Today’s newsletter from @theoverheadwire.com is so good that I had to link it here. theoverheadwire.com/2026/05/a-ne...

These are all lies.

I ❤️ Rapid Ride G, moar east-west Rapid Rides please.

Roses are red Bus lanes are too Now, so is Denny Way West of 2nd Avenue Thank you @seattledot.bsky.social for this Mother's Day gift!

Congrats LA on your expansion. Keep it up! link.theoverheadwire.com/4pduw I posted this image on the blog back in 2007. Getting closer!

Mothers invented traffic calming.

Don’t forget to wish your mom Happy Mother’s Day ❤️

State of federal transit funding in 2026: —2nd Trump admin has not approved a single new project for funding —It has slowed advancement of other projects in the engineering process —It is pushing funds for projects back into future years so as to avoid ever spending —Congress appears to be asleep

I can’t wait to #RideTheD this afternoon Zipping underground from Beverly Hills to Downtown will feel like a break in the traffic-clogged space-time continuum of LA 🚇❤️

SCL doesn’t ask the public if we want safe transmission lines. SPU doesn’t ask the public if we want safe watermains. Boeing Field doesn’t ask the public if we want a safe runway. WSDOT doesn’t ask the public if we want safe bridges. Why does SDOT put safe streets up for debate?

Seattle's East Link light rail opened at the very end of March, connecting downtown Seattle & Bellevue. The region's light rail network ridership was continuously rising even before then. In the period from April 2025–March 2026, Seattle had 2nd highest light rail ridership in the nation, after LA.

Sometimes you bring the body shop to the Streetcar. Car 405 getting some big time repairs done this week.

"...I guess my question is..."