Seattle politics is pretty toxic at the moment; it seems everyone is angry about something, especially when it comes to the homelessness crisis and bike lanes. That said, there are some important conversations happening right now that we all need to be well-informed to participate in. Here are some things you should be reading.
Continue readingCategory: transportation
SDOT’s Vision Zero update: no recent progress, but hope for the future.
This afternoon, SDOT gave the City Council an update on the city’s “Vision Zero” initiative to achieve zero annual traffic fatalities. The bad news is that there has been little progress in the last several years. The good news is that SDOT has some new ideas for how to change that.
Continue readingSam Zimbabwe confirmed as SDOT Director
This afternoon, the City Council unanimously voted to confirm Sam Zimbabwe as Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation.
Continue readingChamber of Commerce files for summary judgment in challenge to Seattle’s Uber union ordinance
Last month I wrote about the status of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s legal challenge to the City of Seattle’s ordinance authorizing Uber and Lyft drivers to engage in collective bargaining. Briefly: Last year the city tried to get the case thrown out, arguing that it had “state-action immunity.” The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, and sent the case back down for further proceedings . In December, the City Council amended its ordinance so that it no longer authorizes collective bargaining over compensation, which was very likely to be found to be illegal price-fixing among competitors.. In response, the …
Continue readingNew SDOT Director confirmation moves forward
This morning, the City Council’s Sustainability and Transportation Committee voted to advance out of committee the confirmation of Sam Zimbabwe as Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation.
Continue readingCity braces for more snow… or worse.
This afternoon, Mayor Durkan and several of her department heads held a press briefing on preparations for two more winter storm systems: one that arrived late this afternoon, and the second to arrive midday tomorrow. Tomorrow’s is the one they are all worried about.
Continue readingBill to expand camera enforcement introduced in Olympia
Earlier today, state legislators introduced a bill that would allow the City of Seattle to expand the use of cameras to enforce traffic laws, a priority for the city as it works to keep traffic on its downtown streets flowing.
Continue readingMayor releases Center City streetcar report, says she wants project to go forward despite increased costs
The Mayor’s Office finally released a much-anticipated update on the Center City Streetcar project today. The good news: Mayor Durkan now wants the project to move forward, and there are no engineering issues that can’t be addressed. The bad news: the cost has gone up again.
Continue readingThe Seattle Waterfront, minus the viaduct noise
We’re dabbling in audio journalism today. Do you remember how noisy the waterfront was before the Viaduct was shut down? Wondering how much quieter it is now? I made a recording standing outside the Aquarium around noon on Thursday, January 3. There is moderate traffic on the viaduct, and little surface traffic. I’ve actually stood on the waterfront when the Viaduct traffic was deafening (as I am sure have many of you); it wasn’t that bad on this day, but it was still loud enough that you would need to raise your voice to have a conversation with someone standing …
Continue readingDurkan and transportation departments give an update on planning for Viaduct closure
This morning, Mayor Durkan and key representatives from SDOT, Metro, and WSDOT delivered a press briefing on the preparations for closing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and moving traffic over to the new SR99 tunnel — and what is being done to ease the expected hellish commutes for the three weeks in between.
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