For too long, the disability community has fought against a narrative that sidewalks are an add-on luxury to our transportation system. As a result, 60% of Seattle’s streets are inaccessible due to broken and missing sidewalks.
When Disability Mobility Initiative began organizing around Seattle’s transportation levy, a property tax that funds 30% of Seattle Department of Transportation’s budget, last fall, we were met with messages that prioritized car-centric polling over the safety and accessibility of our streets. After months of organizing, with DMI advocates turning out for public comment at all 7 council committee meetings, a rally and press conferences, that narrative has shifted.
For the first time, we had a city council and mayor’s office fully acknowledge the seriousness of our sidewalk crisis and commit to changing the status quo. On Tuesday, July 10, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed a transportation levy with an added $83 million for sidewalks that will go to voters on November’s ballot. Between the Mayor’s first draft proposal in April to the final levy, advocates won an additional $150 million for sidewalks and pedestrian and bike safety. If passed, this levy will increase Seattle’s rate of new sidewalk construction by over 40% and create a pathway for a future funding plan to adequately address the scale of the need. We still have a long way to go but we are hopeful that this levy is a first step to creating an accessible transportation system within our lifetime.