[nfbwatlk] FW: [Updates] Council budget plans will hurt bike & pedestrian transportation

[Jacob Struiksma]

-------- COUNCIL BUDGET PLANS WILL HURT BIKE & PEDESTRIAN TRANSPORTATION
-----

We're emailing to let you know that the Seattle City Council is making some
critical budget decisions that will affect the city's bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure.

Email the Council or speak at the budget hearing at 5:30PM on Monday (more
details below).

Here are the three issues at issue, and that you should discuss in your
communication to the Council:

1) Funding for the Pedestrian Master Plan needs to be increased. Funding for
pedestrian projects is slated to be around $16 million. That is only 5% of
the total Department of Transportation budge,t and only $400,000 more than
last year's budget. So the Council is doing little to address the backlog of
pedestrian projects or to implement the Pedestrian Master Plan -- a grand
vision for making Seattle a great, pedestrian-friendly city. In essence, the
City is keeping the status quo. We need to do better if we really want to be
the most walkable city in the nation.

2) The Council is planning to repeal the Head Tax (aka Commuter Tax).
Encourage them to vote against repeal. Some facts about the tax:

-- At a time when the City has a $72 million budget deficit, the revenues
from the tax bring in $5 million every year for transportation projects like
bike and pedestrian infrastructure

-- Individual businesses pay an average of only $91/year for the tax (which
is a per-employee tax)

-- A business does not have to pay the tax for an employee who carpools,
rides transit, bikes, or walks to work.

So why foresake the revenue when we need it for so many other things? Ask
the Council not repeal the Commuter Tax.

3) We need a dedicated fund set up for implementation of the Bicycle and
Pedestrian Master Plans. Setting up a dedicated fund with a specified dollar
amount will let the public know how much money is actually being spent on
implementation of our transportation plans. Right now it's very hard to find
that out.

So please attend the budget hearing and speak publicly (preferred!), or
email council, or both.

BUDGET HEARING

Monday, October 26th

City Council Chambers (City Hall, 600 4th Ave, Seattle)

4:30-5:00 PM Call-In

5:00 PM Sign-In

5:30 PM Public Hearing

 

EMAIL

sally.clark at seattle.gov mailto:sally.clark at seattle.gov,

richard.conlin at seattle.gov mailto:richard.conlin at seattle.gov,

richard.mciver at seattle.gov mailto:richard.mciver at seattle.gov,

jan.drago at seattle.gov mailto:jan.drago at seattle.gov,

tim.burgess at seattle.gov mailto:tim.burgess at seattle.gov,

bruce.harrell at seattle.gov mailto:bruce.harrell at seattle.gov,

nick.licata at seattle.gov mailto:nick.licata at seattle.gov,

jean.godden at seattle.gov mailto:jean.godden at seattle.gov,

tom.rasmussen at seattle.gov mailto:tom.rasmussen at seattle.gov



-- Unsubscribe from this newsletter:  
http://www.friendsofseattle.org/newsletter/confirm/remove/2ca85c12e9299t13