The next transportation funding package, including the transportation levy, must realize the goals and visions of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)’s draft Seattle Transportation Plan (STP) [1].
As advocates, we are proud to release a report outlining the level of investment required in the next 8 year transportation package to adequately address Seattle’s transportation needs.
To put the city on track to meeting its STP, safety, equity, and sustainability goals, Seattle must invest just over $3 billion over the next 8 years in safety, mobility, maintenance, and livability, including building:
- Safety redesigns on Seattle’s five deadliest streets to prevent fatal crashes.
- 331 miles of new sidewalks to fill in gaps in the network.
- 60 new linear miles of dedicated transit corridors to cut commute times by 20% or more on key bus routes.
- 154 miles of new safe bike lanes and 73 miles of upgraded protection on existing bike lanes to advance our citywide bike network.
- 750 intersections with upgraded safety treatments and 320 accessible pedestrian signals.
- And more. See the full document [2] here.
Through the levy process, the Mayor and SDOT will determine the scope and direction of our transportation system for the next decade. We need the next transportation package to invest in the priorities outlined in our report. This report is meant to serve as a tool for voters, policymakers, and advocates to assess the alignment between the City’s funding priorities and the values, plans and frameworks already put forward by SDOT and the Mayor.
Every project and program included in the report is essential to our communities. However, this plan is not based on the lofty visions of transportation activists. Over the last two years the city has completed extensive planning and outreach to build its unified transportation vision: The Seattle Transportation Plan. The infrastructure needs in this report are based on metrics within the Seattle Transportation Plan’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).The numbers contained in the report show the 8 year investment needs to put the city on track to meeting SDOT’s 20-year vision. Every project in our report that is not specifically referenced in DEIS metrics is represented in the Climate Change Response Framework [3], Seattle Transportation Plan (STP) draft [1], Transportation Equity Framework [4], ADA plans, and Vision Zero [5] goals.
Signed:
- 350 Seattle
- Be:Seattle
- Cascade Bicycle Club
- Disability Mobility Initiative
- Disability Rights WA
- House Our Neighbors
- Puget Sound Sage
- Real Change
- Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
- Seattle Subway
- Transit Riders Union