A measure set to go before voters in November will fund road safety and mobility projects, but advocates say a much bigger investment is required to meet the city’s needs.

A coalition of Seattle mobility advocates are calling on the city to seek a transportation levy package worth $3 billion, a number much larger than is currently being considered.
As Doug Trumm explains in The Urbanist, “Move Seattle, the nine-year transportation levy approved in 2015 and set to expire at year’s end, was a $930 million package. However, with the City falling behind on key climate goals and actually going backward recently on its pledge to end traffic deaths by 2030, the coalition argues now is the time to accelerate investment rather than coast.”
The coalition claims that the city needs the $3 billion investment to redesign its most dangerous streets, add sidewalks to streets lacking them, build new dedicated transit lanes, add new bike lanes, and make pedestrian safety upgrades to intersections.
Trumm points out that “Tripling the size of the levy may be seen as a dramatic step, but it is one the Harrell administration just took when renewing the Seattle Housing Levy in 2023. Voters supported that decision to the tune of a landslide 69% victory.”
According to Trumm, “Mayor Bruce Harrell is expected to unveil his proposal for the levy package this spring, and it should go to the city council for approval by the summer so that it can appear on November ballots.”
FULL STORY: Mobility Advocates Push Seattle to Seek Bigger $3 Billion Levy

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.

California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.

HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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