OPINION | New Study Finds Mobility Justice Is Needed in South Seattle. Here’s How Voters Can Help
by Katherine Hoerster, KL Shannon, Evalynn Romano, and Barbara Baquero
Mobility needs of Seattleites and Washingtonians who walk, roll, and use transit are on the line and on the ballot Nov. 5. We collaborated to understand mobility needs and opportunities of South Seattle Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community members, as leaders of the Participatory Active Transportation for Health in South Seattle (PATHSS) study. To advance mobility justice for the South Seattle community, voters should support Seattle’s Transportation Levy (Proposition 1) and vote no on State Initiative 2117, which would repeal Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA).
PATHSS’ findings were published Oct. 23 in Health Equity. Whether traveling by foot, car, bike, transit, or wheelchair, the following changes are needed for South Seattle residents to enjoy safety, health, and economic, educational, and social freedom:
Reliable, abundant, frequent, free or low-cost, accessible public transportation.
Covered bus shelters, benches and real-time updates.
Programs like Flex to help with the “final mile” from transit.
Positive, nonpunitive support for those having mental health crises, using substances, or not paying their fare while riding transit.
More and clearly marked crosswalks; more flashing beacons.
Better street lighting.
Traffic-calming measures.
More Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb cuts.
More sidewalks.
Smooth and unobstructed sidewalks.
Protected bike lanes.
These South Seattle community needs are precisely what’s covered with both Washington’s CCA and Transportation Levy. You can find translated levy fact sheets on the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) website.
The levy would provide about 30% of SDOT’s budget for the next eight years. It invests substantially in South Seattle, recognizing that we bear an unjust burden of traffic accidents and casualties. Levy projects that would directly improve freedom, safety, and mobility in South Seattle include improving transit on streets with high-ridership bus routes in equity priority areas (e.g., Rainier Avenue South, Beacon Avenue South, South Henderson Street, South Graham Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Way South); pedestrian safety at Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and Rainier Avenue South; and protection for South Seattle cyclists (e.g., near Cleveland High School).
Some $111 million would be spent to build more sidewalks and sidewalk alternatives, with at least 17% in South Seattle. This would be a huge win for South Seattle, where we’re missing more sidewalks than most other Seattle regions. Other citywide investments will include $30 million to build ADA-accessible curb ramps and $10 million on pedestrian lighting. And this is just the active transportation investments, which make up about one-third of the levy. The rest of the levy will fund things like road and bridge maintenance.
Meanwhile, the CCA funds other such projects throughout Washington. For example, nearly all PATHSS respondents asked for improved access to public transportation and to make riding free for youth. Thankfully, the CCA now funds free transit for youth. If we repeal it with I-2117, we put that program and many other vital investments at risk.
The levy is imperfect. For one, it plans to “invest in strategies that increase transit rider safety and security, including transit and public safety personnel services.” While some PATHSS participants said they felt vulnerable riding transit with people experiencing mental health or substance-use issues, they preferred that social services and mental health care be provided rather than security or police involvement. Leaders should use non-punitive, supportive approaches to ensure safe travel for all.
Further, BIPOC communities weren’t adequately engaged in crafting the levy. Seattle and Washington leaders must better engage people with disabilities, youth, and BIPOC communities in transportation planning, outreach, and implementation, from start to finish.
They can look to organizations, like co-author KL Shannon’s Whose Streets? Our Streets! program, which is dedicated to improving mobility policies to meet BIPOC communities’ needs and has established key recommendations. Our PATHSS youth engagement also serves as an engagement model.
Still, we need these critical investments. And we can afford them. The CCA is funded with a cap-and-invest system wherein the largest polluters in the state invest in it. So it is institutions — not individuals — funding it. The levy is funded through property tax, so you only pay for the levy if you own property. To fund the levy, owners of a million-dollar home would pay $54 per month. And many Seattleites would be eligible for property tax relief. Indeed, the levy includes $1.5 million for property tax relief outreach and education to assist those who would be unduly burdened by the property tax. Meanwhile, Seattle’s median household income for families with children is $245,000/year — and we have the third-highest median income in the country. Given we do not have an income tax in Washington, this sort of property tax is one of only a few ways we can fund essential investments.
In light of our rising pedestrian casualty rates — and how active transportation promotes physical activity, which in turn helps to address some of our biggest public health challenges, such as diabetes and depression — these investments are a matter of life and death. Further, a vote for the levy and against I-2117 supports crucial access for the roughly one-third of people in Washington who don’t drive.
South Seattle bears too great a burden of traffic stress, fatalities, and injuries. And great things happen when South Seattle unites to advocate for our community. Let’s show our South Seattle family love, fairness, and justice by voting yes for Proposition 1 and no on State Initiative 2117.
This piece solely represents the personal views of the authors. It does not reflect the positions of the University of Washington or UW Medicine.
Katherine Hoerster, Ph.D., MPH, University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health, Health Systems and Population Health
KL Shannon, Whose Streets? Our Streets!
Evalynn Romano, MPH, MSW, University of Washington School of Public Health graduate
Barbara Baquero, Ph.D., University of Washington School of Public Health, Health Systems and Population Health