Seattle Mayor Raises Transportation Levy by $100 Million

Acknowledging calls for more funding for road safety and multimodal transportation, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell added $100 million to his proposed transportation levy aimed at sidewalks, bike lanes, and public transit.

As Ryan Packer explains in The Urbanist, “The City is highly reliant on levy funding, as Move Seattle accounts for about 30% of the overall budget at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).”

The second draft of the levy proposal shifts more spending toward multimodal infrastructure, committing to build 250 blocks of sidewalks by 2028. The plan would also invest $20 million in transit improvements, $5 million in pedestrian lighting, and $3 million in transit security. “Another $20 million was added in bike infrastructure funding, though the levy still lacks any concrete goal around how exactly that funding will be used.” The mayor said this is intended to “bake in a little flexibility for the city councilors to know their sidewalks, their streets, their cycle networks.”

The levy proposal will go before Seattle voters this summer.