Seattle Mobility Advocates Say City Should Triple Transportation Levy

A measure set to go before voters in November will fund road safety and mobility projects, but advocates say a much bigger investment is required to meet the city’s needs.

1 minute read

February 19, 2024, 12:00 PM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


An adult man, stopped on a Seattle, Washington street corner, preparing for a rainy morning bike commute.

woods / Adobe Stock

A coalition of Seattle mobility advocates are calling on the city to seek a transportation levy package worth $3 billion, a number much larger than is currently being considered.

As Doug Trumm explains in The Urbanist, “Move Seattle, the nine-year transportation levy approved in 2015 and set to expire at year’s end, was a $930 million package. However, with the City falling behind on key climate goals and actually going backward recently on its pledge to end traffic deaths by 2030, the coalition argues now is the time to accelerate investment rather than coast.”

The coalition claims that the city needs the $3 billion investment to redesign its most dangerous streets, add sidewalks to streets lacking them, build new dedicated transit lanes, add new bike lanes, and make pedestrian safety upgrades to intersections.

Trumm points out that “Tripling the size of the levy may be seen as a dramatic step, but it is one the Harrell administration just took when renewing the Seattle Housing Levy in 2023. Voters supported that decision to the tune of a landslide 69% victory.”

According to Trumm, “Mayor Bruce Harrell is expected to unveil his proposal for the levy package this spring, and it should go to the city council for approval by the summer so that it can appear on November ballots.”

Saturday, February 17, 2024 in The Urbanist

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight