Neighborhood Street Fund and Safe Routes to School project – Bridging the Gap working hard to make Seattle a safer and easier place to get around.
The Bridging the Gap (BTG) transportation levy program just wrapped up its seventh year of work. BTG is a nine-year, $365 million levy that is working to address years of deferred maintenance to aging infrastructure. Approved by voters in 2006, BTG enables much-needed work by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), such as roadway paving, sidewalk development and repair, bridge upkeep, and tree pruning and planting. It also supports the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans, the Safe Routes to School program and enhanced transit.
What has BTG accomplished over the past seven years you ask? Well, BTG has paved more than 205 lane-miles of road, constructed 99 new blocks of sidewalk and repaired 167 block equivalent of sidewalk. More than 4,729 crosswalks have been restriped; 15,300 linear feet of guardrail have been installed and 44,000 new regulatory signs have been installed and more than 9,870 intersections have received new street name signs all across the city. Add to that the 40 Safe Routes to School projects, the 185 crossing improvements made, the 5,569 new trees planted and 150 lane-miles of new bike lanes and sharrows installed and you have a lot of other work that has been completed all across the city. All this work has touched every neighborhood.
It is important to note that BTG work is supported by an appointed citizens’ Levy Oversight Committee that meets quarterly. This 15-member body monitors revenues and expenditures, and reviews program and project schedules to provide full accountability to voters on BTG activities. The committee meetings are open to the public. The group’s next meeting is scheduled for January 30, 6-8 p.m. in the Boards and Commissions Room at Seattle City Hall.
This next year will see even more work completed as SDOT strives to deliver on the promises made by BTG. For more information on BTG and the work it is doing please visit the web page!