Sound Transit is facing a $35 billion budget gap and the long-promised light rail extension to Ballard is at severe risk of being cut. Scott Kubly, former Director of Seattle's Department of Transportation, joins us to unpack how the region landed in this mess and shares a plan to cut costs and save the Ballard line.

The headline number is jaw-dropping: Sound Transit projects cost two to three times more than comparable transit built almost anywhere else on Earth. Why? Kubly walks us through the regulatory traps, the agency culture, and the political dysfunction that have made building anything in Seattle and most of urban America agonizingly slow and absurdly expensive.

Kubly's solution for Seattle borrows from Copenhagen. The idea involves shorter trains, modular stations, and other fixes that could save $10 to $15 billion on the Ballard line alone and move more riders than the current plan.

The question is whether anyone on the Sound Transit board is willing to listen.

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This week we take a closer look at the escalating tensions between Mayor Katie Wilson’s office and the Seattle City Council. What began as a push from the Mayor’s Office to approve shelter expansion legislation devolved into a "Game of Thrones meets game of sad trombones" showdown featuring heated confrontations and council reports of mayoral staffers allegedly acting like "dictators" toward a co-equal branch of government. We discuss the accusations and potential fallout.

Next, we respond to a listener email asking about Mayor Wilson’s efforts to place a moratorium on new data centers. Is the proposal a forward-thinking plan designed to regulate resource-intensive corporations? Or is it more of a "bumper sticker ban" that risks making Seattle irrelevant in the era of AI-driven economic growth? And is AI a good thing or a bad thing or something in between?

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Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

We tackle three major topics in Seattle politics this week, starting with scrutiny of Mayor Katie Wilson's recent so-called "gaffes," including her comment about wealthy people leaving due to a new state income tax. Second, the discussion turns to the damning audit of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), which identified massive financial accountability issues and a lack of internal controls. Despite agency leadership downplaying the crisis, some officials are moving forward to study how to wind down the KCRHA. Lastly, we analyze proposed council amendments to Mayor Wilson's tiny house village shelter plan, focusing on a controversial proposal to create large buffer zones.

Our editor is Quinn Waller.

Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.com

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.