People board a King County Metro bus at a bus stop in southeast Seattle. Photo: SDOT In case you missed it, we’re sharing highlights from the SDOT Blog each month. Here are some of our top blog posts from February.
SDOT Blog Monthly Highlights – March 2022
1) SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION PLAN | Announcing our community partners and the beginning of public engagement
2) VISION ZERO | New signs at crosswalks remind drivers to stop for people walking or rolling, as first step in a larger public education campaign
3) Biden Administration recommends allocating $60 million to Seattle’s RapidRide J Line, which will connect downtown to the U District, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Eastlake
4) LEVY DOLLARS AT WORK | Our 2021 Annual Report highlights everything your Levy dollars made possible last year
5) Women’s History Month 2022: Roadside Chat with SDOT team members
Please note: You can click on the headlines to go directly to any specific blog post (#1-5) – or just read on for a shorter recap of each post and a photo.
1) SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION PLAN | Announcing our community partners and the beginning of public engagement
In March, we began to engage communities in developing the Seattle Transportation Plan (STP). The plan establishes a renewed vision for the future of our streets and public spaces. Together, we’ll reimagine how we move through and enjoy Seattle’s streets.
The plan is also our collective commitment – as One Seattle – to a racially-equitable and socially-just transportation system that meets the needs of everyone, connecting us all safely and efficiently to the places that matter most. We are partnering with community-based organizations, who have relationships with the communities they serve, to listen and ensure that the plan reflects the values and needs of everyone.
We want to hear from you! Here are a couple ways to participate, share your perspectives, and stay up to date on this important public engagement opportunity:
2) VISION ZERO | New signs at crosswalks remind drivers to stop for people walking or rolling, as first step in a larger public education campaign
We started to place and update new “driver report cards” signs last month at select crosswalks to show the percentage of drivers who stop for people waiting to walk or roll across the street.
This is the start of a larger multi-year public education campaign focused the important safety implications of following the speed limit, and making sure drivers understand that all intersections are crosswalks – and that state law requires them to stop for pedestrians and people in wheelchairs or other mobility assistive devices, who are attempting to cross the street.
Our work to install these “driver report card” signs at intersections throughout Seattle to count the percentage of drivers who stop for pedestrians is based on a traffic safety strategic tactic pioneered in St Paul, Minnesota. The signs are intended to make drivers think about how their behavior compares with other drivers, and encourage them to change their behavior to do better. We hope that this small bit of peer pressure will help nudge drivers to rethink their habits and make pedestrian safety a higher priority during daily travel.
3) Biden Administration recommends allocating $60 million to Seattle’s RapidRide J Line, which will connect downtown to the U District, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Eastlake
In March, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recommended allocating $60 million to Seattle’s RapidRide J Line project. The grant supports modernizing and expanding Seattle’s public transit system.
This recommendation is a critical milestone for the project and the City because it signals the project is on track to receive a grant from the FTA’s Capital Investment Grants Small Starts Program. If awarded, the City of Seattle will have the funding to complete the RapidRide J Line project by 2026.
The RapidRide J Line project is a close partnership between the City of Seattle and King County Metro. The project will upgrade the current Route 70 to a RapidRide corridor connecting downtown and the Belltown, South Lake Union, Eastlake, and University District neighborhoods. In addition to improving bus reliability, the project will install new bus stations, repave streets, add new protected bike lanes, and improve pedestrian accessibility.
4) LEVY DOLLARS AT WORK | Our 2021 Annual Report highlights everything your Levy dollars made possible last year
2021 was a big year for the Levy to Move Seattle! We completed thousands of projects, large and small, across our Levy-funded programs. We also improved our overall reporting system to increase accountability and transparency.
The 2021 Annual Report is a comprehensive summary of our work to deliver citywide transportation projects and services funded in part or in full by the Levy to Move Seattle. We
continue to improve and refine the way that we deliver projects equitably, prioritizing investments in communities most impacted by past and current transportation inequities.
Thanks to your investment in the Levy to Move Seattle, we finished miles of repaved roads, hundreds of new ADA curb ramps, thousands of sidewalk repairs, redesigned intersections that improve safety for people walking, rolling, and biking, and much more. Our bicycle network continues to expand, with new protected bike lanes and neighborhood greenways opening opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to ride across town. Seattle’s Vision Zero goal to eliminate transportation-related serious injuries and fatalities on city streets by 2030 remains a top priority.
We look forward to what’s ahead in 2022! Thank you for trusting us to deliver an equitable transportation system that provides safe, dependable, affordable access to places and opportunities.
5) Women’s History Month 2022: Roadside Chat with SDOT team members
March is Women’s History Month, a time when we recognize the many achievements women have made in the past, as well as celebrate the pathways we are currently forging for the future.
We spoke with a few of our SDOT colleagues about their careers and what this month means to them. Learn more about these women who have paved the path for themselves and others!
- Dawn Schellenberg, Director, Communications and Public Engagement, SDOT
- Holly Krejci, Talent Management Partner, SDOT People, Culture and Logistics (PCL)
- Missy (Melissa) Paulus, Asphalt Paving Manager, SDOT Maintenance Operations Division