When you ask voters to approve taxes for public transit, what you mostly get is a map of residential density. Here's the latest from Spokane, WA where the measure narrowly leads at the moment.
Kirk Hovenkotter
@kirkhovenkotter.com
Director of Transportation Choices Coalition | Not short for Kirkleton
Spokane’s transit referendum—which would fund operations and the city’s second BRT line—is narrowly ahead in the first round of counting.
@kxly.com · 18h agoProposition 1 is ahead by a slim margin — 31,153 to 30,686 — as Spokane counts ballots. The renewal would keep the STA sales tax at 0.8% (8¢ per $10) and is estimated to generate about $942 million over 20 years.
It’s a tight race tonight, but extremely proud of this team & campaign. We’re going to win two decades worth of better bus service for Spokane
Proposition 1––which extends and expands Spokane Transit service for another 20 years––is a nail-biter. Yes: 31,153 (50.38%) No: 30,686 (49.62%) It needs 50% + 1 to pass.
Might have inhaled a tree or two lit dropping today. Worth it to show up for the STA operators who literally drove into a fire to evacuate people on Saturday.
Good morning. The past 42 hours have been something. Spokane Transit has been assisting with evacuations, from the VA Hospital to assisted living and retirement centers as recent as this AM. Multiple employees have lost their homes. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers for Spokane.
Good morning, Seattle! Here’s a little something for our transit riders to help with your morning commute:
OneRaccoonAway
A pixel-art bus stop scene showing live arrivals and weather.
oneraccoonaway.org
Today started off with the biggest canvass yet in Spokane for Yes for Buses with Teamsters Local 690. By afternoon, it ended up being more eventful than we’d like. Immense gratitude to the firefighters, staff & leaders who are keeping Spokane safe
Ballard by 2042 if we have $$$ or financial flexibility. 2060 if we don’t. Time for the legislature to get to work
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 5d agoSound Transit: "If the region does not secure additional savings or financial capacity and must wait for existing revenues to accumulate, Link service to Smith Cove, Interbay, and Market Street could be delayed until around 2060." www.soundtransit.org/blog/platfor...
3 years ago when canvassing Denny Way, I don’t think anyone really thought this was possible (even me). It was eye opening hearing so many bus riders assume that cars and traffic were always gonna be more important than their mobility. A year ago they were right but now we have a new mayor!
Seattle Department of Transportation@transportation.seattle.gov · 5d agoROUTE 8 and DENNY WAY: starting on Saturday, buses and cars merging onto Interstate 5 won’t compete for the same lane of Denny Way. To keep traffic flowing, people driving to I-5 south from eastbound Denny Way will turn right on Boren Ave and left on Howell St instead of using Yale Ave.
Flying by evening rush hour traffic on Sound Transit Link Light Rail in Seattle!
On August 4, Spokane-area voters will decide whether to renew a 0.2% sales tax that funds roughly 35% of Spokane Transit’s service hours, plus major capital projects like Division BRT. The 20-year renewal would assure stability in an era of uncertainty and change. It’s essential that we vote yes.
Yes for Buses
Proposition 1 protects and expands Spokane Transit for another 20 years.
spokanerising.substack.com
Nominate Your Pick for the 2026 Transportation Choices Hall of Fame!
Nominate Your Pick for the 2026 Transportation Choices Hall of Fame!
Is there a transportation champion who has helped expand safe, accessible, and sustainable transportation options in your community? We'd love to hear from you!
transportationchoices.org
Fremont Bridge bike/scooter count data through July 22. We will cross the 700,000 mark today, way ahead of schedule. July is on pace to beat the all-time record for bike trips in a single month. Big things are happening!
Fremont Bridge bike/scooter count data through July 22. We will cross the 700,000 mark today, way ahead of schedule. July is on pace to beat the all-time record for bike trips in a single month. Big things are happening!
seattlebikeblog.com
Jarrett’s right. Make sure 3 business donors don’t cut Spokane’s bus service by donating & signing up to volunteer at www.yesforbuses.org
Jarrett Walker@humantransit.bsky.social · 2w agoSpokane's transit agency is going to the voters on Aug 4 to renew (not increase) their tax funding. Here's a good article explaining who's on which side of the debate. www.rangemedia.co/the-regions-...
Right now, our transit system is breaking records and delivering real value for our families. I appreciate City Council’s partnership in crafting a package to voters offering a low-cost way to bring people more and better of the cheapest travel option available, public transit.
By a 9-0 vote, the Seattle City Council just sent a renewal of the 2020 Seattle Transit Measure to voters this November. The 0.3% sales tax measure will ramp up the city's supplemental Metro bus service by 100,000 hours per year, or around a third, on top of funding other city transit programs.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 2w agoWho's ready to fund the bus and send the renewed Seattle Transit Measure to the November ballot this afternoon?
IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING The slip lane from Denny Way to Yale Avenue closes permanently NEXT WEEKEND www.theurbanist.org/sdot-prepare...
SDOT Prepares to Roll Out the Route 8 Red Carpet on Denny Way
Long-awaited upgrades to one of the city's busiest bus corridors are just a few days away, with SDOT set to permanently close the often-clogged slip lane onto Yale Avenue on August 1. A full eastbound...
theurbanist.org
There’s nothing more consequential that we are doing this year in terms affordability, accessibility and reducing our climate emissions than putting the STM measure on the ballot. I want to thank the Mayor’s Office for being bold in their proposal.
3 business leaders would rather spend $140,000 trying to cut bus service in Spokane. That instead could buy 70,000 bus passes on STA. If I had that money, I know what I’d spend it on. Great reporting from @rangemedia.co www.rangemedia.co/the-regions-...
The region’s transit authority is asking voters to renew 2/10ths of 1% sales tax
Meanwhile, some of Spokane’s biggest conservative political donors are pouring funds into a PAC to oppose the transit tax renewal.
rangemedia.co
New York City should have the best buses in the world. That’s our goal. But the first step is incredibly important: hearing from New Yorkers in the neighborhoods where these big infrastructure changes will be made.
Interesting new paper from @jdbk.bsky.social, @jaredkalow.bsky.social showing that opening a new transit station in a neighborhood is associated with a 2.7% point increase in support for *later* transit ballot measures. People's support for transit investment increases when they get better transit!
jdbk.scholars.harvard.edu
Let’s goooo! Huge shout out to everyone who gave public comment & the coalition who helped shepherd this through @fixthel8.bsky.social @seattletru.bsky.social @transpochoices.bsky.social @saveballardrail.bsky.social & ATU 587! Let’s win better buses in November
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3w agoGOOD NEWS: Katie Wilson's proposed Seattle Transit Measure renewal will be maintained as a full ten-year, 0.3% measure after amendments to water it down were defeated. The council is still deliberating on other amendments, but those were the big ones on deck today.
Kettle's amendment FAILS 2-7, with Rivera voting with him. The renewal of the Seattle Transit Measure STAYS at a full 0.3%.
Just 3 business donors have raised $125k to cut bus service for Spokane’s seniors, youth, & working families. Compare that to the $60k the Yes for Buses campaign has raised. Spokane needs your help
While fixes to our Main Street highways go underfunded, the state is deciding between widening SR 3 in Bremerton or building a new bridge over the Sound
WSDOT Tacoma@tacoma.wsdot.wa.gov · 3w agoWe've got a little summer reading for you. No homework necessary, just visit our online open house to learn more about the recommendations for future improvements on SR 3 in Gorst: engage.wsdot.wa.gov/sr-3-gorst-area
NEW STORY// Pierce Transit Goes to Voters for First Funding Increase Since 2002 By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org
Pierce Transit Goes to Voters for First Funding Increase Since 2002
The 0.3% sales tax bump going onto the November ballot would increase service by around 40% by the mid-2030s, the biggest expansion of transit service in Pierce County in decades. Since May, the proposal has been tweaked to include free rides for seniors.
theurbanist.org