Sound Transit announced today that the Ballard Light Rail Extension could begin service to Market Street in Ballard by 2042 if it is able to close the project’s funding gap by 2033. “As a board and an agency, we are united in our commitment to deliver the full Ballard Light Rail Extension and all voter-approved ST3 projects,” said King County Executive Girmay Zahilay (Sound Transit Board...
Today Councilmember Rob Saka (District 1) announced that he’s introducing transit-focused amendments to the 2025-26 Budget package for consideration heading into final stages of the adoption process. With respect to the South Lake Union Streetcar transition amendment: “As Transportation Committee Chair, I’m deeply concerned that residents aren’t getting what they paid for when it comes...
Traffic during the “Seattle Squeeze” – the upcoming three weeks of extreme congestion during the Viaduct demolition – is going to be a disaster if the mayor and county executive don’t do more. Today I wrote to them, calling on the city and county to make public transit free during the “Seattle Squeeze.” Seattle Squeeze […]
The City Council received a briefing this morning about the proposed Sound Transit 3 expansion of our regional light rail and bus network. The draft includes several large projects in Seattle, including lines to Ballard and West Seattle and a...
Tonight, October 22, 2015, students, teachers, staff, parents, and community activists will be rallying at Rainier Beach High School to demand free bus passes for ALL public school students that need or would like to use Metro to get to school. Currently, students who live two miles or less away from their schools are ineligible for the free […]
Legislation a Council committee discussed earlier this week has been characterized by one side as a dramatic giveaway to developers and, by the other side, an unnecessary and dangerous downzone. Both characterizations are false. The Council’s land use committee considered...
New technologies are revolutionizing transportation in Seattle and elsewhere. It is becoming easier and easier to live, work, shop, learn and play in the city without owning a car, a change that makes Seattle more affordable as car ownership carries...
Consistent with my earlier blog post on this topic, I shared the following statement at the Full Council meeting this afternoon explaining my vote to not move forward a public campaign finance system this year: We face a tough choice...
There has been news coverage recently about how as City Council President I won’t introduce legislation that would send a measure to establish public financing of political campaigns back again to the voters in November.* The Stranger has a story...
I am cosponsoring Mayor Murray’s minimum wage legislation because it’s time for cities to demonstrate bold and necessary leadership to address the stagnation of wages that has plagued our country for decades. Why does this matter? An economy where the...