Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Washington state

Washington DOT Officially Endorses NACTO Street Design Guide

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 18, 2013 | 17 Comments

One state down, 49 to go. The Washington state Department of Transportation is the first state DOT to endorse the Urban Street Design Guide put out by the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO). The manual provides instruction on creating treatments like protected bike lanes, transit-priority streets, and parklets, which aren’t included in the […]

UPDATED: Last Night’s Quiet Transit Victories

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 6, 2013 | 5 Comments

Yesterday was a relatively quiet election day for transportation-related ballot measures, but of the six transit initiatives that came before voters yesterday, five six passed, with a sixth seventh too close to call. That’s in line with last year’s 79 percent success rate — 71 percent since 2000. When asked, voters overwhelmingly choose to raise […]

If Drivers Won’t Pay to Bypass Congestion, Why Should Taxpayers?

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 14, 2013 | 21 Comments

A pilot project to bring high occupancy/toll lanes to State Route 167 in metro Seattle has grossly deviated from projections, raising questions about the value of added road capacity. The 10 miles of priced lanes — the only “HOT” lanes in the Pacific Northwest — were converted from HOV lanes in 2008 and cost $18 […]

I-5 Bridge Collapse: A Painful Reminder of the Nation’s Misguided Priorities

By Tanya Snyder | May 24, 2013 | 8 Comments

In a searing reminder that the nation has to do a better job of keeping its infrastructure in safe working condition, the I-5 bridge between Burlington and Mt. Vernon, Washington, collapsed last night. Thankfully, no one was killed, and the three people whose vehicles fell into the water were hospitalized with only minor injuries. Interstate-5 […]

Washington, Colorado, and Oregon Win Top Bike-Friendly State Honors

By Angie Schmitt | May 1, 2013 | 1 Comment

Congratulations are due to Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Minnesota; those four states took home top rankings this year in the League of American Bicyclists’ annual Bicycle Friendly States appraisal. The winners were announced this morning. Washington has held the top position for six years running. But there were a few shake-ups further down the list. […]

Another Slanted High-Speed Rail Story From Anderson Cooper

By Tanya Snyder | Mar 27, 2013 | 43 Comments

Not one to back away from a terrible argument, CNN’s Anderson Cooper is sticking with his series exposing the “boondoggle” of federal high-speed rail funding. In a segment aired Monday night, he and reporter Drew Griffin hammered away yet again at their argument that high-speed rail has been a waste of money. Under the tagline […]

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