Seattle, Wash., Mayor Bruce Harrell has unveiled an eight-year, $1.45 billion levy proposal to fund transportation safety and maintenance in Seattle. The proposal is shaped by community input and follows a period of public engagement on the draft proposal introduced in April.
“During the last month, we’ve received feedback from thousands of Seattle residents who want a transportation system that is safe, connected and well maintained – this proposal will help get us there,” said Mayor Harrell. “With a focus on the essential needs of our city and its residents, this levy proposal will deliver projects and improvements to keep people moving and to keep people safe. No matter your preferred method of transportation, these investments are designed to make trips safer, more reliable, and better connected so every Seattleite can get where they need to go.”
The proposal builds on important plans that Seattle residents shaped, including the Seattle Transportation Plan and the One Seattle Plan (currently available for public comment). The proposal brings together the priorities the public has shared, the essential needs the city has identified and the funding resources to deliver.
The proposal includes $145 million in transit investments. Key highlights of the updated proposal include:
- $27 million to Implement projects citywide to improve bus reliability, access and safety, with a focus on transit performance “pinch points” that improve and benefit multiple routes and the rider experience.
- $3 million will be Invested in strategies to increase transit rider safety and security
- $115 million to make transit improvements on streets with high-ridership bus routes, with a focus on equity priority areas, improve access to Link light-rail stations and advance key partnership connections to future Link light-rail stations.
“After a month of consultation with the public, Mayor Harrell has made the Transportation Levy proposal even better with additional investments in walking, biking and transit,” said Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Director Greg Spotts. “The revised proposal would give SDOT 17 percent more purchasing power to maintain our modernize our streets than the current Levy to Move Seattle.”
The Seattle City Council will next review the proposal and consider referral to voters for the November 2024 ballot.
Brandon Lewis | Associate Editor
Brandon Lewis is a recent graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lewis is a former freelance editorial assistant at Vehicle Service Pros.com in Endeavor Business Media’s Vehicle Repair Group. Lewis brings his knowledge of web managing, copyediting and SEO practices to Mass Transit Magazine as an associate editor.
