Thanks to the voter-approved Bridging the Gap (BTG) transportation levy, funds from the School Zone Camera Enforcement Program and savings from the Spokane Street Viaduct Project, the city will invest nearly $9 million over the next three years in enhancements for Seattle’s neighborhoods.
The Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) Large Project Program provides approximately $4.5 million to community-based projects on a three-year cycle, which allows neighborhoods to build larger projects with greater impacts for walking and biking. This year, an additional $1 million was added to the funding pool by the Mayor and City Council as part of the savings from the Spokane Street Viaduct Project, bringing the total funding available for this third and final round to $5.5 million and $2.9 million from the
During the first two three-year cycles completed in 2009 and 2012, the city invested $10.5 million in 27 large projects across Seattle. The Fairview project, pictured above, is an excellent example of one of the neighborhood projects completed in 2012.
School Zone Camera Enforcement Program will be used to fund four NSF projects near schools. Projects selected in 2013 will be designed in 2014 and constructed in 2015.
Projects were submitted by community members to their District Councils for review and selection based on their importance to the community. Projects were then forwarded to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) for some initial design work and cost estimating. Each project was then reviewed and evaluated by BTG Oversight Committee members and they then made a recommendation to the Mayor and Council. The full BTG Oversight committee bases their decision on the following factors: geographic mix, “bang for the buck,” quality of life enhancement, safety considerations and, when appropriate, Pedestrian Master Plan and Bicycle Master Plan criteria.
Four projects received funding through the School Zone Camera Enforcement Program. Funding from this program goes to projects that aim to improve safety around schools…the four projects selected total about $3 million and all were part of the original NSF process. In addition to these four projects, the 47th and Admiral Crossing Improvement Project was also part of the original NSF projects submitted. It was selected to be funded as part of the First Quarter Supplemental Budget passed by the City Council in July. In the end, 17 projects that were submitted as part of the NSF process were selected to be funded. The preliminary work done by the applicants, neighbors and the District Councils made all 38 projects submitted viable for consideration. The BTG committee had a challenging decision to make. In the end, the additional funding made it possible to fund nearly half of the projects that were submitted.
To learn more about the Neighborhood Street Fund Large Project program and details about the projects selected, please visit their website.
For more information on Bridging the Gap please visit the BTG webpage.