Hundreds of Seattleites turned out Saturday to celebrate the start of the 2026 Bicycle Weekend schedule, scaled back up by Mayor Katie Wilson after being stifled under the previous administration.

An amendment put forward by King County Councilmember Steffanie Fain would cap Seattle's participation in a new pass-through funding program to well below the city's proportional share, resulting in millions less going to the city.

"It may take a few generations to solve the problem," Walsh told his colleagues, seeming to blame people hit by drivers while walking in Federal Way. His comments are far from being an outlier in the pedestrian-hostile city.

Bellevue Transportation Director Andrew Singletakis told city councilmembers he'd like to see spending on vehicle mobility ramp up from 10% to 25% of the city's spending on transportation. That looks to be at odds with Council, which is focused on safety investments.

One of Seattle's most dangerous, crash-prone streets will see a big jump in transit riders once construction on West Seattle Link light rail gets fully underway, closing the SoDo busway. Upgrades at two key intersections are just the start of mitigation work.

All signs point to Seattle's pilot program limiting car access to Pike Place being a success: sales were up 6.5% in 2025 compared to 2024, and the number of local visitors jumped by 5.6%. As the City considers permanent changes, a pedestrianized Pike Place still has its detractors.

A plan to add 21 on-street bike and scooter corrals in a joint effort to keep sidewalks clear and maintain visibility at intersections has been reduced to just 3 corrals. Neighborhood business advocates raised concerns around aesthetics and parking removal, despite a limited impact on legal spots.

Despite committing to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on city roadways by 2030, the numbers in Seattle aren't declining. Though a recent call for a performance audit has attracted attention, it will ultimately fall to Katie Wilson to orient SDOT toward safety.

The Tacoma City Council voted Tuesday to put a new “Connect Tacoma" levy on the ballot. Scaled back from a proposal voters rejected last April, the package still aims to fulfill goals of safer, more pedestrian-friendly streets.

Riders will get a sneak peek of the new trail for a few hours on the first day of cruise ship season, providing a detour around Pier 66. The full stretch opens next Tuesday, providing a wide, comfortable path between downtown and the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Seattle's only annual open streets festival along the South Seattle waterfront will run every single weekend this summer outside of Seafair. Wilson's changes are a bold reversal of her predecessor's scaling back of Bicycle Weekends.

While broad agreement exists over the need to provide funding for King County's Road Services division, the issue of kicking back a portion of a new 0.1% sales tax to local cities caused more consternation. A one month delay is set to translate to six months of lost revenue.

A safety project along a busy four-lane road in West Seattle would be a catalyst project for neighborhood accessibility. But it's run into significant push back from residents wary of losing a lane of traffic.

Lake City, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, and South Park will see upgrades intended to decrease air pollution and boost transit, walking, and biking, via $8 million in transportation levy funding. So far, proposals are still high level, with plans being developed over the rest of 2026.

Blog stats: 1,500 words | 8-minute read At-a-glance We are launching the first planning phase of our new Low-Pollution Neighborhoods (LPN) program with three initial pilot locations: South Park / Georgetown, Lake City, and Capitol Hill. This is an exciting step forward for a program to reduce pollution and increase climate resilience in focused neighborhoods […]

The City of Seattle is planning 21 on-street bike corrals in place of illegal parking spots abutting intersections. But a debate over the aesthetic impact on Pioneer Square could overshadow the proposal's benefits and derail the project.

The post SDOT Bike Corral Plan Draws Fire in Pioneer Square first appeared on The Urbanist.

SDOT's plan for adding barricades ahead of this summer's World Cup leans heavily on planters and movable barricades. While the infrastructure could ultimately form a template for longer-term upgrades, these changes look to be quick and dirty and aimed at protecting pedestrians as Seattle opens itself to the world stage.

The post Vehicle Barrier Plan for Pike Place Market Comes Into View first…

The full list of 430 levy-funded projects across Seattle was mostly assembled before Mayor Katie Wilson took office. But it contains significant opportunities for the new administration to shape transportation investments over the years ahead.

The post 2026 Levy Plan Sets Stage for a New Mayor’s Transportation Priorities first appeared on The Urbanist.