In November 2015, Seattle voters took a big step towards making Seattle the most walkable city in America. Proposition 1, known as Let’s Move Seattle, is a nine-year transportation levy, replacing the expiring Bridging the Gap levy, is passing with 59 percent of the vote.
Everybody walks and deserves a safe, inviting, and accessible place to walk. This is why we are excited that Move Seattle funding source supports more places to walk, which makes it easier for people to choose to go by foot.
Move Seattle funds a number of projects, including:
- Full funding for a pedestrian bridge across I-5, linking North Seattle College to the future Northgate light rail station, a facility that will be used by an estimated 2,200 people per day
- Sixty miles of Neighborhood Greenways, residential streets designed to have slow speeds and low traffic volumes so that people feel safe to walk
- Pedestrian safety improvements on the city’s most dangerous streets, including Rainier Avenue S, Aurora Avenue N, Lake City Way NW, and 35th Avenue SW
- 150 blocks of new sidewalks and 225 blocks of repaired sidewalks
- Safety improvements at 750 intersections across the city
- Expansion of the Safe Routes to Schools program to include all Seattle Public Schools
These pedestrian improvements are long overdue. Many people would like to incorporate walking into their daily routine. This might mean walking to the store, to the bus, to a friend’s home. Unfortunately, some people can’t because their neighborhood lacks safe and accessible places to walk. You have seen these areas; the sidewalk that just ends or the really scary crossing forcing you to inconveniently backtrack to get to your bus stop.
We believe a walkable city is an equitable city. This is why we believe a complete network of walkways and other places to walk will allow people of all ages and abilities to safely and easily be able to walk. The passage of Move Seattle takes a big step towards making this vision a reality.
Over the coming months and years, Feet First will continue to work with the City of Seattle on ensuring that these improvements are properly implemented. We will be meeting with Seattle City Councilmembers, and continue to work with Seattle Department of Transportation staff on the design of the Northgate Bridge and low-cost sidewalk infrastructure. We are also playing a role on the update to the Pedestrian Master Plan, which will inform what projects get implemented and when.