Tuesday night the state senate kicked off its statewide listening tour to hear from Washingtonians about their transportation priorities.
Creating livable, connected places starts with having a walkable community. We need the Washington state legislature to craft a transportation package that looks forward. Investments in walking infrastructure make streets safer for drivers too, while providing a healthy workforce and children who are ready to concentrate and learn when they get to school. Everyone benefits.
You can read Feet First’s 2014 legislative agenda here, but here are specific points we hope to emphasize during the listening tour:
- Washington only works when all people who walk, take transit, bike, and drive have an equal opportunity to get where we need to go safely and efficiently. We need future-oriented transportation investments that represent our values and share our priorities for safety, jobs, and health.
- Cost-effective investments in walking and biking are good for drivers too; they increase safety for all while they keep people moving and reduce pollution from Washington’s roadways.
- Many people can’t or shouldn’t drive”the young, the old, people with disabilities and issues that prevent them from driving, people who can’t afford to own and operate a car. They still need to get to work, to school, to the doctor and the grocery store. Washington needs a transportation system that creates transportation independence and choice for all, not just for some.
- Investments in Safe Routes to School to help kids walk and bike have improved safety with zero collisions or injuries at all Safe Routes project sites, and have helped our kids get more active and arrive at school ready to learn. We need to keep this up to make the next generation healthier.
- We all pay for streets”we should all be able to move freely and safely. The only acceptable transportation revenue proposal is one that includes biking/walking investments and fixes our transportation crises: Fix our crumbling roads and bridges, make our streets safer and cleaner for everyone, keep our buses moving, and finish the job of creating a system with real connections for everyone.
Each meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and last until 9 p.m. and will include presentations from regional transportation officials, and public comment.
- Sept. 17 Bellevue. Stevenson Elementary School, 14220 NE 8th St., Bellevue, WA 98007
- Sept. 18 Everett. Snohomish County, Robert Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., 1st floor, Everett, WA 98201
- Sept. 23 Wenatchee. Chelan County PUD Auditorium, 327 N Wenatchee Ave, Wenatchee, WA 98801
- Sept. 24 Yakima. Yakima Area Arboretum, Garden View Rm., 1401 Arboretum Dr., Yakima, WA 98901
- Sept. 26 Tri-Cities. Columbia Basin College, 2600 N 20th Ave., Pasco added
- Oct. 2 Spokane. Greater Spokane Inc., 801 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
- Oct. 7 Vancouver. Vancouver Community Library, Columbia Room, 901 C St., Vancouver, WA 98660
- Oct. 9 Tacoma. Evergreen Tacoma Campus, Lyceum Hall, 1210 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA 98405
- Oct. 14 Seattle. King County Courthouse, Rm. 1001, 516 3rd Ave.
- Oct. 15 Bellingham. Port of Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Ave.
It’s important for us to get good turnout at all of these meeting to show not only the senate, but also other transportation stakeholders that creating walkable communities is a priority for residents and businesses across the state. That’s why we’d appreciate your help driving turnout for tonight’s event.
Please spread the word. Seattle Bike Blog also posted on the topic.