🏢 David L 🚎
@davidl206.city
Lawyer and dad in Seattle. Always full of bus ideas… …like the revenue-neutral central Seattle network in my pinned post. I like new apartments because I want my city to welcome everyone.
New routes 72 and 77 and their E/W connections are what the doctor ordered. Less frequency on Bothell Way is not. Hope ST can get back to reasonable frequency posthaste.
Derek of WayfindDesigns@dmholmer.wayfinddesigns.com · 8h agoTake a look at the major changes coming to King County Metro routes (and ST) starting August. As always, individual route info can be found at kingcounty.gov./metro/servicechange. kingcountymetro.blog/2026/08/03/k...
There is no way that betting on wildfires should be legal. www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/20...
As Oregon burns and gamblers bet, lawmakers push back against wildfire betting markets drawing millions
Wyden and Merkley are urging federal regulators to crack down on prediction markets that allow users to wager on how long wildfires will burn and how much damage they will cause
oregonlive.com
usually, if *all* a politician has to say about improving transit in your city is "make it free for everyone", it's a good sign that they don't really have a grasp on the state of transit in their city, or what riders want.
Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov · 2w agoAs Chair, I’ll build a long-term financial plan to make Metro fare-free. I’ve fought for a world-class transit system my entire career because public transit should create opportunity for everyone.
Someone on a bike must have passed Russ Vought when he was stuck in traffic, and his ego still hasn’t recovered.
Ken McLeod@kenmcld.bsky.social · 2w agoThe administration has sent a letter to Congress about its priorities for the next transportation bill It continues their campaign against bike lanes and urges "Congress to restrict competitive and formula grant funding for bicycle lanes and other bicycle infrastructure"
I completely understand the legitimate fear of government surveillance, but do not downplay the very real public safety crisis of reckless driving which claims tens of thousands of lives a year in this country.
The Seattle Times editorial board never developed object permanence. So “third grade” is very generous. The one big tree they can see in the neighbor’s yard is good for the environment. But the acres of trees they can’t see where a new subdivision is built in Snohomish simply don’t exist.
Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2w agoThe Seattle Times is hoping its readers share its third-grade understanding of science, pointing out that trees are good while ignoring the impact of policies that force people to live in sprawling suburban developments that displace farmland and forests and drive everywhere in climate-choking cars.
It doesn’t sound from Ryan’s reporting like anyone in the room, either residents or city representatives, pointed out what should be the obvious: that sidewalk space is needed for people walking and rolling and that is why it shouldn’t be occupied by parked cars. Sidewalk parking is a plague.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3mo agoSomeone says that we could come up with "hundreds" of solutions that aren't parking removal on 14th just in this room right now. How many of those "hundreds" would be...parking. on. the. sidewalk.
LOL. Everyone wants Saka to shut up except Kettle and Rivera (and Saka). Funniest fucking thing I've seen at council in ages.
Not just austerity, but austerity done in the politically dumbest way (short of DOGE). Who does he think the constituency is for this?
Braeden 🎣🦀🌲🦅@bvd100.bsky.social · 3w agoWord is the Washington governor’s team is adamant at the bargaining table: no Cost of Living Increases for state workers in the 27-29 contracts. WFSE is probably going to the mat for any Democrat with a pulse who will challenge him in 28 at this point.
Faster buses matter—in fact, they are at the core of making transit work for people.
Alex Hudson@blacksandpaper.bsky.social · 3w agoComing home from a community meeting in N Aurora tonight my two-bus trip home took 77min. It’s a 14min drive. That’s the hidden time tax riders pay every day. I never take for granted how far we’ve come in delivering a fair transportation system in Seattle, and yet we have so much further to go.
This is quite timely for Seattleites, given the sudden appearance in the last few weeks of a new, mysteriously funded pro-corridor-zoning astroturf group. Spread the word.
Alon (they/them)@alonlevy.bsky.social · 3w agoPedestrian Observations: Corridor Zoning is not Transit-Oriented Development pedestrianobservations.com/2026/07/14/c...
Pedestrian Observations: Corridor Zoning is not Transit-Oriented Development pedestrianobservations.com/2026/07/14/c...
Corridor Zoning is not Transit-Oriented Development
Corridor zoning is a style of development, in which major arterial streets are zoned for high residential and commercial density, while side streets remain zoned for low density, sometimes even for…
pedestrianobservations.com
Metro, like the graph says, is an absolute Legend. Thank you VERY MUCH, hardworking transit employees. You’re all the best and I will not be taking questions (or disagreements from anyone) at this time.
Michael Smith@mesmith35673.bsky.social · 4w agoMetro just reported an incredible 313,831 bus boardings on Monday. The streetcar had another 7,561 boardings and the Water Taxi saw 8,844 passengers.
Action Alert: Stand Up for Seattle Transit seattletransitblog.com/2026/07/11/m...
Action Alert: Stand Up for Seattle Transit
The Seattle Transit Measure could help fund service pilots like the Golden Garden Shuttle year-round in addition to bringing more frequent service to the whole city, but it needs your support to av…
seattletransitblog.com
Seattle was electric during the World Cup. To support 750,000 visitors, the city pedestrianized streets, activated public spaces, and removed parking. Rather than revert these changes, city leaders should identify what worked and make those changes permanent. seattletransitblog.com/2026/07/09/s...
Seattle won the World Cup, what did we learn?
Waterfront Park was a popular destination over the past month, especially on July 6. (Michael Smith) Over the past four weeks, Seattle hosted six World Cup matches featuring teams from eight differ…
seattletransitblog.com
THE US HAVING A WHITES-ONLY REFUGEE POLICY SHOULD BE A MUCH BIGGER STORY
Alex Ip 葉清霖@alexip718.com · last mo.BREAKING: in June 2026, *every single one* of the 1,062 refugees admitted in the U.S. were white South Africans. In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 7,727 white South Africans, three Afghans (back in November), and nobody else. For reference, the U.S. admitted 100,060 refugees in 2024.
It’s hyperbole to say the two blocks SDOT was too timid to include in the Union PBL project ruin the whole rest of it… but only slightly. *So many* conflicts with car drivers between 26th and MLK eastbound.
San Francisco is the reason nobody understands this. Much of the “left” there is fake and performative, actually made up of wealthy heirs who are more concerned with keeping their parents’ houses than normal left motivations.
Generic Democrat for Maine Stan Account@birdlawenthusiast.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe past 10 years have shown that you can sell the left on abundance ideas (most prominently Aoc and Zohran). Whereas it is actually the center/establishment that is doubling down on NIMBYism and other bad policies.
Bob Kettle never rides transit and doesn’t think people who do matter.
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · last mo.“Kettle suggested that ramping up city spending on transit service isn't an essential need.”
These confirm: Saka, Kettle, & Rivera are car-addled car brains. Kettle wants to shrink buses to give cars more space. Rivera wants a study she can wave while shouting "BUSES ARE ALL EMPTY." Saka wants to micromanage Metro service planning because, obviously, he knows better than the pros.
Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · last mo.Metro already monitors its own bus system and the Seattle City Council has zero authority to implement any change in Metro's policies, so these amendments are basically performative meddling in the operations of a separate government. Amendments here: seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...
What's less clear is why the mayor was convinced to renege on the deal struck by all sides over several months of negotiations. As the "taller, denser, faster" mayor, Wilson is deciding to make it more expensive to build housing at time when development is drying up.
Affordable housing does not win from this terrible decision. The only winners are rich NIMBYs.
Heidi Groover@heidigroover.bsky.social · last mo.NEW: Talks to slash Seattle’s MHA fees to spur market-rate development appear to have broken down after opposition from some affordable housing advocates.
Kettle is perfectly happy to “assume major increases in transit ridership” if it allows him to brag about Seattle meeting climate goals, but if they justify actual spending of money, they’re suddenly wildly implausible.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last mo.Bob Kettle touts the idea of slashing the Seattle Transit Measure renewal in a press release that was sent just now, which bizarrely seems to chide Mayor Katie Wilson for "assuming major increases in transit ridership" that would come from...running more buses?
Bob Kettle drives everywhere, and he sees his constituency as only people who drive everywhere. Transit riders should remember that at the ballot box.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last mo.Bob Kettle just confirmed with me that his proposed amendment to the Seattle Transit Measure would slash the rate from 0.3% to 0.2%, leaving the remaining 0.1% in sales tax authority for the council to tap at a later date for whatever purpose they like.
Both the “history” and the reasoning in the Thomas dissent, which obviously wants to be a road map for a future Court that overrules this decision, are full-blooded Claremont nonsense—random items desperately thrown against the wall without even spaghetti sauce to hold them together.
We finally have our trolleybuses back in Madrona! 🥰🥰 Once the line crew got around to it, restoring the wire near 12th and Union took just a few days. We need to be able to do small wire projects faster all over town.
When thinking about #VisionZero in Seattle there is an important 80-80 rule to remember: 80% of 🚶🏼♂️fatalities are on multiple lane arterials. 80% of 🚴🏾♀️ fatalities are on streets with no bike lane.
West Seattle Bike Blob@westseattlebikeblg.bsky.social · last mo.Jfc. As I said yesterday, every four lane road is a design failure.
I wish more people would correctly describe these groups. Their purpose is to prevent infill, and redirect the growth it would absorb into more exurban car sprawl. Given that, their green rhetoric is an ironic joke.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · last mo.Babe wake up, a new Seattle slow growth greenwashing group without any identifiable leadership just dropped. www.greenneighborhoodscoalition.org
Learned some interesting things researching this pod, like: the IEA expects cooling to drive electricity demand more & faster than data centers between now & 2030. And also: with current tech & a decarbonized electricity supply, we could reduce aircon's GHG emissions by 97% between now & 2050.