Friends of Seattle believes that Seattle should be a city where everybody has the freedom to safely walk, bike, or take transit to get where they need to go. That is why we are proud to endorse Seattle's Proposition 1. As an early member of the Streets for All Seattle coalition, Friends of Seattle helped to bring Proposition 1 to the ballot.  Now we urge our members to support the campaign and to vote Yes in November.

Over the next 10 years, Proposition 1 will raise $100 million to give Seattle faster, more reliable transit service; provide for much-needed road maintenance; and allow Seattle to build more sidewalks, improved crosswalks, and more family-friendly bike infrastructure.

Thanks to the recession and several Tim Eyman-backed initiatives, transportation spending has not kept up with demand. Although Proposition 1 will not fill all of our needs, for just $60 a year, it will help us make meaningful improvements to all transportation modes, while putting people to work. Seattle cannot afford to pass up this opportunity.

We need your help to be successful this November. Sign the petition to endorse the campaign. To get involved in the campaign, visit Streets for All Seattle's website, find Streets for All Seattle on Facebook, or email Bridgette Maryman. The campaign calendar shows the many opportunities for you to take action with the campaign!

Streets for All Seattle, of which Friends of Seattle is a coalition member, released this statement today:

SEATTLE – Today, environmental, social justice, and transportation leaders sent a letter to the Seattle City Council urging them to place the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee III’s (CTAC-III) full $80 vehicle license fee proposal on the ballot for consideration this November. These investments will not only advance Streets For All Seattle’s goal of creating a more equitable transportation system that prioritizes walking, biking and transit, but will also create local, well-paying green jobs throughout our community.  

Last year, Streets For All Seattle launched an ambitious multi-year campaign with the goal of securing $30 million dollars in dedicated annual revenue for walking, biking, and transit infrastructure.  Streets For All Seattle worked closely with the City Council to create a Transportation Benefit District and enact a $20 Councilmanic annual vehicle license fee to help support basic street maintenance and fund pedestrian and bicycle improvements.  The Council then formed the CTAC-III, asking them to undertake a full review of the city’s transportation funding system and evaluate and examine the potential for a ballot measure asking Seattle voters to fund additional transportation projects.

Earlier today, the CTAC-III co-chairs, along with SDOT staff, presented the Committee’s recommendations to the City Council acting as the Board of the Seattle Transportation Benefit District.  The proposed CTAC-III package would ask Seattle voters to approve an $80 vehicle license fee, generating approximately $27 million in dedicated annual transportation revenue for walking, biking and transit infrastructure, along with significant money to fix and maintain Seattle streets.

“We’d like to thank all of the members of CTAC III for their hard work in listening to a number of community interests and developing a funding proposal to support Seattle’s transportation priorities,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Co-Chair of Streets For All Seattle.  “We look forward to working with the Council to ensure that Seattle voters have an opportunity this Novembers to approve a package of transportation investments that will make our city work for the future.”   

“Seattle voters have consistently demonstrated their willingness to pay for transportation investments that reflect our values and priorities,” said Brice Maryman, Co-Chair of Streets For All Seattle and a member of CTAC III.  “We urge the Council to seize this opportunity to put people to work building an equitable transportation system that reduces health disparities and our dependence on oil while allowing everyone the opportunity to safely navigate our city.”

Today, Friends of Seattle mailed a comment letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation ("WSDOT") criticizing its 2010 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement ("2010 Draft EIS") for the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project.  A PDF of the letter is available here.

Friends of Seattle supplemented its letter with exhibits--a CD-ROM containing all the analysis and information provided to WSDOT's Stakeholder Advisory Committee in 2008.  We believe that these documents show that a surface/transit alternative is reasonable and should be included in the final EIS.

Other highlights of our letter:

• The statement of purpose and need for the project has changed without explanation to focus on capacity for automobiles, and this change is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law.
• The Bored Tunnel Alternative fails to meet the needs of the project because, without downtown exits, it will not be used by transit and will not create connections to downtown Seattle.
• Because the analysis of the effects of tolling is cursory, the 2010 Draft EIS does not adequately analyze the significant adverse effects on the environment that could result.

We also learned today that the Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation wrote a letter to WSDOT laying out city agencies' concerns with the 2010 Draft EIS.  A PDF of this letter from the City is available here.

A poll released today by Friends of Seattle shows that voters strongly support the allocation of transportation resources, including funding and road space, for walking, biking, and transit.

So now seems like a good time to remind you that the Streets For All Seattle Kickoff Party and Fundraiser is tomorrow (Thursday), July 29th, 7pm, at Nectar Lounge in Fremont. Details here

Streets For All Seattle is a new coalition of community, labor, social justice, business and environmental groups, including Friends of Seattle, campaigning for more public funds for walking, biking, and transit. Our goal is $30 million dollars in annual dedicated funding. Your support would be invaluable, because as many voices as possible need to be actively engaged in the public debate.

Already, Streets For All Seattle has grown in strength and size: over sixty organizations have endorsed our campaign, we've trained over one hundred volunteers, and thousands of people have signed on in support of our vision. With a lot of hard, rewarding work ahead, Streets For All Seattle is rocking out before the City's budget season begins.

The kickoff will feature:

* Mayor Mike McGinn and members of the City Council
* Streets for All Seattle Jeopardy, featuring members of the Seattle City Council
* Music by:

Hot Bodies in Motion

To the Sea

C-LEB

$10 - $25 - $50 suggested donation

POLL RESULTS

Do you support spending more transportation funds on investments in transit, bicycling and walking?

Yes: 56.8%
No: 27.8%
Not Sure: 15.4%

The results show a solid majority of voters support an increase in funding for walking, biking, and transit. Supporters outnumbered opponents by a ratio of over two to one.

Given limited funds in the city's current transportation budget, would you support greater investment in transit, bicycling and walking if it meant fewer dollars were available for auto-oriented projects?

Support: 49.4%
Oppose: 34.4%
Not Sure: 16.2%

According to the poll, voters are very solid supporters of an increase in funding for walking, biking, and transit, even if car-focused infrastructure becomes a lower priority. Supporters outnumbered opponents by 15 percentage points, which is more than 40% greater than the opposition.

City projects that improve transit efficiency, or make it safer and easier to walk or bicycle, like bus-lanes, pedestrian refuge islands, and bicycle lanes, sometimes require changes in travel lanes or parking on Seattle streets. In general, do you support changes in the configuration of Seattle's streets that make mass transit, walking and bicycling safer and easier?

Support: 62.1%
Oppose: 24.5%
Not Sure: 13.4%

The City of Seattle is re-configuring some of its streets to create bus-priority lanes and make more space for walkers and bikers. The poll results show that voters strongly support these changes.

Compete poll results are available here.

Here is the text of the City Council Bill 116592, the ordinance that would repeal the commuter tax (officially known as the "Employee Hours Tax"). Tim Burgess is the sponsor; the co-sponsors are Sally Clark, Richard Conlin, and Bruce Harrell. The full text is below the jump.