Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.
Demography matters. Can a large, progressive city be pulled down by its more populous, conservative suburban neighbors? Essentially that's what happened in April with the defeat of Proposition 1 that reduced county bus service substantially. Seattle voters have been given the opportunity to save their bus transit come November.
"The Seattle City Council Thursday (July 17th) unanimously approved sending a funding package for (King County) Metro transit service to voters in November. The measure would levy a $60 car-tab fee and increase the city sales tax by 0.1 percent," writes Lynn Thompson, Seattle Times staff reporter.
As noted in April, 55% of King County voters rejected the same funding proposal known as Proposition 1, that is, a $60 "car tab" fee and .1% sales increase. The major difference between the county and city proposal is that tax revenues from the April county measure "would have been split 60 percent for transit and 40 percent for county and city roads."
"King County Executive Dow Constantine announced Wednesday (April 23) that, with the defeat of Proposition 1 in the special election, he will send legislation Thursday to the County Council to eliminate 72 Metro Transit bus routes and reduce service by 550,000 hours,..."
Seattle's November proposal will almost entirely fund transit: "$40 million a year for city transit, $3 million to support regional routes in partnership with other cities and $2 million to give low-income residents a $20 car-tab rebate," writes Thompson.
Interestingly, the city council debate on the measure centered on an "amendment...that would have replaced the sales-tax hike with increases to the city’s commercial parking tax and employee head tax, which (proponents) said were less regressive," adds Thompson.
In May, we noted that 66% of Seattle voters supported Proposition 1. The problem for Seattle, population 652,405, is that it represents 32% of the King County population of 2,044,449.
FULL STORY: Seattle vote set on tax, bump in car-tab fee to save bus service

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

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

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie