A roundup of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle.
by Vee Hua 華婷婷
Continue reading NEWS GLEAMS | Mayor’s Transportation Levy Proposal; IRS Offers Free Tax Filing Service
by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Nimra Ahmad
New street safety improvements are coming to Beacon Hill, focusing on improving non-vehicle modes of transportation. Specifically, these upgrades are aimed at creating a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists — a long-awaited moment for neighborhood and safe street advocates, who have sought these and other street improvements for years.
Continue reading New Bike and Pedestrian Protections Are Coming to Beacon Hillby Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Katherine Hoerster and Julie Cella
Earlier this month, people everywhere celebrated Bike & Walk to School Day. But as parent leaders of a walking school bus for South Seattle K–5 students, active transportation is a meaningful — yet challenging — year-round ritual. For more families to access joyful, healthy, active transportation, Seattle leaders must drastically improve policies and infrastructure. These investments should center on South Seattle, where we experience a disproportionately high burden of driving-related casualties, compounding broad health inequities.
Continue reading OPINION | Seattle Public Schools and City Government Must Support Safe Walk, Bike, and Bus Routes for South Seattleby Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Arvia Morris and Iris Antman
To address expected population growth, promote economic development, and develop a more sustainable transportation system, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has been studying an ultra-high-speed ground transportation (UHSGT) system between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Portland, Oregon, for the past six years and is required to report progress to the Washington State Legislature. Its most recent report to the Legislature is shockingly substance-free, casting doubt on WSDOT’s ability to communicate effectively about this enormous infrastructure commitment. Most egregiously of all, the report does not include any updated cost estimates, which is not only essential information but is also required by law in updates such as this.
Continue reading OPINION | WSDOT Must Be More Transparent About High-Speed Transportation Projectby Vee Hua 華婷婷
by Sarah Goh
With a growing population in the Pacific Northwest, the call for better public transportation heightens. This March, Washington’s State Legislature signed off on a transportation milestone, allocating $150 million to a high-speed connection between Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
Though this funding could reduce congestion, cut carbon emissions, and better connect these coastal cities, a high-speed rail that travels above 200 miles per hour between major cities has never been done before in the United States. How will Washington get started? How will the State ensure a successful project?
Continue reading Plans Develop for High-Speed Rail in the PNWby Phil Manzano
Could the decades-old government housing discrimination program, commonly called redlining, have anything to do with pedestrian fatalities today?
According to a recent national study that compared federal redlining maps of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation with data on 2010–2019 pedestrian deaths from the national Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the answer is yes.
Continue reading Redlining Continues to Reverberate in Seattle Nearly a Century Later in Pedestrian Deaths