by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Ronnie Estoque
The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided two federal Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grants to Seattle transportation agencies. One grant of $2 million was awarded to Sound Transit and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to increase the general safety around the Link light rail along Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, which statistically has been the most dangerous for local residents as reported by the Emerald last year.
Continue reading Sound Transit and Seattle Department of Transportation Awarded Federal Grants for Improvementsby Guy Oron
(This article was originally published on Real Change and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
Speculation over the location of a new light rail station in the Chinatown-International District (CID) neighborhood ignited a fierce debate over accessible transportation, displacement, and equity in regional government planning and decision-making. Some community advocates say that divisive online discourse about the various proposals may have caused lasting harm to progressive movements, with traditionally allied groups backing different sides of the increasingly polarized issue.
Continue reading Placement of Future CID Light Rail Station Sparks Heated Debate, Strains Relationsby Friends of Little Sài Gòn Board of Directors
Sound Transit has the power to shape equitable development in neighborhoods south of Seattle’s downtown for generations. The political discourse over where to site a station essential for light rail expansion and potentially other non-car modes of transportation has become another existential battleground, falsely pitting our community’s fears of displacement, gentrification, and desire for transit equity in a city experiencing hyper wealth inequality against the simultaneous and very urgent need for connected, reliable, efficient transportation options that also support climate resilience.
Continue reading OPINION | From the Other Side of I-5: Little Saigon Weighs In on Sound Transit’s Light Rail Expansion in the CIDby Alison Jean Smith
For community activists in the Chinatown-International District (CID), the date of March 9 looms large. That’s when Sound Transit will make a recommendation to its powerful board of directors on the location for the new CID light rail station, an anchor for the future line connecting West Seattle and Ballard. On March 23, the board will then pick its “preferred alternative” of four current options, which Sound Transit will write up in its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). As Paul Wu, an architect and cofounder of Transit Equity for All (TEA), says, once the EIS happens, “the train has left the station.”
Continue reading As Deadline to Decide on CID Light Rail Station Approaches, Community Groups Speak Outby Chetanya Robinson
(This article was originally published on the International Examiner and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
The Sound Transit Board deferred recommending a preferred location for a second light rail station in the Chinatown-International District (CID) during a July 28 meeting, opting to conduct months more study and engagement with the community first.
Continue reading Sound Transit Will Do More Study Before Recommending Where to Build Second CID Light Rail Stationby Lizz Giordano
More than five years after a subsidized fare launched on light rail trains, the transit agency says the $1.50 price might still be too high for some.
Continue reading Lower Low-Income Fare Coming to Sound Transitby Lizz Giordano
In the seven years Seattle has worked toward achieving Vision Zero, the goal of eliminating traffic deaths has never been so out of reach for the city. Especially in the South End, which absorbed more than half of the fatalities on the city’s streets last year.
Continue reading Funding ‘Solutions Not Studies’ to End Seattle Traffic DeathsThe Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.
We also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.
LIVE — Yolanda Norton of Beyoncé Mass | LIVE — Brett Hamil of the South Seattle Emerald | Congrats South Seattle Emerald — 8 Years of Excellence | Sound Transit and Fare Collection | Community Uplifting Community
Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 5/2by Lizz Giordano
Sound Transit is bringing back fines for non-payment on its trains and buses this fall after the agency paused fare enforcement during the pandemic, but it has also instituted a more lenient and accommodating system for riders who don’t pay their fare.
Continue reading Sound Transit Board Passes a More Lenient Policy Toward Non-Paying Riders
