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Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most clicks.

Transportation

Crosscut most recent

The 787: Not the plane of the future

Posted Mon, Nov 16, 6 a.m.

Boeing's new Dreamliner reflects the tiny gains that can still be extracted from the old technology arc, and the conservatism of airliner design.

Mayor McGinn: Welcome to City Hall inertia!

Posted Thu, Nov 12, 6 a.m.

By Kent Kammerer

How much latitude does a new mayor have in changing course and leadership at Seattle City Hall? Here's a road map along with some particular suggestions for a couple too-large-to-govern departments.

What would real political change look like?

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 5:27 p.m.

By Ted Van Dyk

The election will bring change, but the entrenched factors suggest only a few nudges. Here's an agenda for substantive change in our tax system, our spending priorities, our stalemated politics, and the post-Boeing economy.

A case of bike rage

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The dispute over an event at West Seattle's Lincoln Park unleashes a "cycle" of anger. Once again, parks make good battlefields.

Mallahan or McGinn? That is the question.

Posted Wed, Oct 28, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

I have no answer yet about how to vote in the Seattle mayor's race. Like a lot of people, I'm still working it out.

Fall is in the air, and on Seattle's street signs

Posted Tue, Oct 27, 6 a.m.

By Benjamin Lukoff

As part of a 10-year project, the city is gradually changing its street signs from green to brown. Our resident "address nerd" surveys the damage.

Completing an Ironman, virtually

Posted Fri, Oct 23, 6 a.m.

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

At more than 140 miles spread among three events, the Ironman race is a huge feat to pull off all at once. But what if you could spread out the pain over a week?

McGinn's tunnel cave

Posted Wed, Oct 21, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

One reason not to vote early in Seattle: From here to election day is an eternity, especially with two mayoral candidates like Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn.

Is the tunnel a boondoggle?

Posted Tue, Oct 20, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

A new study shows Seattle-area tunnel projects are very likely to break the budget. But the nature of most mega-projects also suggests the Viaduct surface option wouldn't be exempt from cost problems either.

Seattle, toward a 'MetroNation'

Posted Thu, Oct 15, 6 a.m.

By Judy Lightfoot

Brookings' Bruce Katz argues in a UW talk that this "metro" can help lead the U.S. toward a new, more prosperous economy.

Breaking Mallahan out of the 'business guy' box

Posted Wed, Oct 14, 6 a.m.

By Anthony B. Robinson

Our writer, talking with the Seattle mayoral candidate, comes away impressed by his small-C catholicity and Northwest values.

Reflections from Raleigh

Posted Fri, Oct 9, 6 a.m.

By Ted Van Dyk

A stint in North Carolina offers perspective on some familiar concerns about transportation, school busing, local politics, and quality of life.

Dear Mayor (whoever you are):

Posted Tue, Oct 6, 6 a.m.

By Kent Kammerer

Without taking a position on the mayor's race, a leading Seattle neighborhood activist offers some advice for the winner. For starters, fire the bodyguard and get out there among the people.

What would Jane Jacobs do about the Viaduct?

Posted Fri, Oct 2, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The patron saint of livable, walkable cities is being invoked on both sides of the debate over Seattle's Viaduct solution. Would Jacobs be a tunnel supporter, or a surface option fan?

Why the West deserves more rail service

Posted Fri, Sep 25, 6 a.m.

By Chris Blanchard

Some East Coast experts mistake the West for a thinly populated place, a wasteful region for Obama's new rail spending. The numbers tell a different, highly urban story.

Time to go 'all-in' on tolls

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 6 a.m.

By Matt Rosenberg

Just putting tolls on the Evergreen Point Bridge is not going to cut it. Instead, the region needs to apply tolls all along the 520 corridor and broadly across our highway system. Here's an encouraging progress report.

Article on the Mercer Mess created a lot of false alarms

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 6 a.m.

By David Postman

A Vulcan spokesperson pleads: no more ill-informed pieces on South Lake Union by John Fox.

Why it's time to act, finally, on Mercer

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 6 a.m.

By Grace Crunican

The director of Seattle's Department of Transportation makes the case for moving ahead on the Mercer Mess, and how the western portion got redesigned and will be funded.

Six key lessons from Portland's urbanism

Posted Sun, Sep 20, 5:36 p.m.

By William Fulton

An expert on cities distills the Portland DNA. Most of all, it's a city that is comfortable with being an urban place.

The bully of Puget Sound

Posted Fri, Sep 18, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Seattle has a great international brand, but locally, the Emerald City image is tarnished. New leadership could give us a fresh start.

Other media

Sky is not falling: County finds way to avoid Metro bus service cuts Money has been found to avoid serious cuts, at least for the next year.

SEATTLEPI.COM

Impatient legislative panel picks the less expensive option for Montlake intersection of 520 That would be a new drawbridge, rather than a tunnel. Speaker Frank Chopp, on the panel, is opposed, warning that litigation costs could be high with Montlake residents largely opposed.

SEATTLE TIMES

Danny Westneat: Those red-light traffic cameras make me see red With $124 tickets, they're supposed to make drivers more cautious at intersections. Instead, I drive elsewhere, treating them like an ex-spouse - best to avoid.

SEATTLE TIMES

Expected big earthquake will likely demolish 400 Oregon bridges and close regional transport Disaster planners are assessing the magnitude of damage to Oregon's infrastructure from the Big One that most scientists say will hit the Northwest sooner rather than later.

THE OREGONIAN

Who pays for tunnel budget overruns unclear says AG McKenna It's a political hot potato and Washington's attorney general says at the moment, there's no clear answer.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS (SEATTLEPI.COM BLOG)

Blog posts

MOHAI’s future begins at the Armory

Posted Fri, Nov 6, 6 a.m.

by Feliks Banel

With a new fundraising campaign kicking off tonight, the history museum hopes to be in its new Lake Union digs in 2012.

Exceeding the speed limit on Mercer

Posted Fri, Oct 30, 6 a.m.

by Ted Van Dyk

The City Council tries an irregular maneuver on the Mercer West project, leaving opponents (and the new mayor) little chance to weigh in.

Duel of the scary Viaduct videos

Posted Mon, Oct 26, 4:07 p.m.

by Knute Berger

Pro- and anti-tunnel advocates each showcase their disaster scenarios.

McGinn's tunnel cave

Posted Tue, Oct 20, 11:17 a.m.

by Knute Berger

One reason not to vote early in Seattle: From here to election day is an eternity, especially with two mayoral candidates like Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn.

The tunnel and the 'Westneat dilemma'

Posted Mon, Oct 19, 3 p.m.

by Chuck Wolfe

WIth a new Sightline report predicting cost overruns on plans to replace the Viaduct, it's a good time to revisit the Times columnist's perceptive framing of the debate.

Guardians against farelessness

Posted Sun, Sep 20, 11:26 a.m.

by Matt Fikse

Link Light Rail's unintentionally funny new "Fare Enforcement Officers" should lose the Kevlar and Velcro and try instead to channel their inner old-school train conductor.