Fund our future: Let's Move Seattle

Mayor Ed Murray officially kicked off the Let's Move Seattle campaign yesterday with a morning press conference and an evening launch party.

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Cascade’s top priority in Seattle this fall is to ensure passage of the Transportation Levy to Move Seattle, which will be on Seattle voters ballots this November. The levy is a $930-million dollar ask to fund transportation improvements across the city over the next nine years. It replaces the Bridging the Gap (BTG) levy, which expires at the end of 2015.

If you want to see a city that is safe, comfortable and connected for people riding bicycles, take action:

1. Learn more about projects in your neighborhood.

2. Help spread the word. Contact Kelli Refer to join our Connect Seattle team and volunteer.

3. Vote YES on Prop. 1 on the November ballot.

Under the proposed Move Seattle, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will build 50 miles of Protected Bike Lanes and 60 miles of Greenways. These investments will keep Seattle’s ambitious Bicycle Master plan 100 percent on track for completion in the 20-year horizon of the plan. The levy will also fund more than 1,500 bicycle parking spots across the city, as well as safe walking and biking routes to all Seattle’s Public Schools.

Move Seattle also makes investments in many of Cascade’s priority projects: Dollars are allocated for completing the Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail and the Northgate Bike and Pedestrian Bridge. Money from the levy could also be used to improve safety for people walking and bicycling on the Ballard Bridge, and provide funding to Accessible Mt. Baker, a project in the Rainier Valley that improves connections to LINK light rail for those who bike or walk.

Move Seattle invests in Vision Zero, which is one of Cascade’s strategic plan objectives. Vision Zero’s goal is to eliminate serious injuries and traffic fatalities. This includes investments mentioned earlier for bicycles and additional funds for traffic signals, improving transit corridors and building new sidewalks all of which improve safety.