Dear friends,
We hope your year is off to a great start. Here at TCC, we’re feeling energized! We’re thrilled to be onboarding our new Executive Director, Kirk Hovenkotter, who you can get to know a little better below. We’re also excited about the start of the WA State Legislative Session, which runs from January 8th to March 7th this year. Sign up for our email list to get our weekly Dispatch from Olympia for opportunities to take action!
Read on for more news, upcoming events, resources, and ways to get involved.
Keep moving,
– Transportation Choices Coalition
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Welcoming Kirk as Our New Executive Director!
Kirk Hovenkotter has officially joined our team, and we’re excited for you to get to know him. Kirk believes that fast, frequent, and reliable transit is key to building more accessible and inclusive communities. Prior to Transportation Choices Coalition, Kirk served as Executive Director of Commute Seattle, the non-profit that makes walking, biking, and transit the first choice for everyone in the Emerald City. He previously served as the Executive Director of Move Redmond, where he led the organization’s work to make it easier to walk, bike, and bus for the 100,000 people who go to work or school in Redmond, Washington. During his six years at TransitCenter, he developed the organization into a nationally recognized leader in transit policy. He advised mayors, county executives, and transit agencies on effective approaches to bus network redesigns and fare policy. In his spare time he loves film, cooking, croissants, and going on adventures by bike.
Stay tuned for more from Kirk, and join us in welcoming him to Transportation Choices! Send Kirk a quick note.
Jumping Into the New Legislative Session
The 2024 WA State Legislative Session is officially underway, and we’re hitting the ground running. Take a look at our 2024 legislative agenda to learn more about our work to protect the critical investments in Move Ahead WA, continue our mobility justice work by ending harmful jaywalking enforcement, and educate legislators on transit safety and workforce shortage issues. Be sure to get on our email list to receive a weekly Dispatch from Olympia early each week. Stay tuned for more details about bills we’re tracking and opportunities to testify, share your position, and contact your legislators.
Continuing Our Efforts to Reform Jaywalking Laws in Washington
Last year, a key component of our mobility justice work was collaborating with the Free to Walk Washington coalition to try to address the harms of jaywalking enforcement. Our jaywalking repeal bill made it farther than many thought possible, but did not make it to the finish line. This session, we’re excited to renew this effort! Our updated bill is modeled after successful legislation that passed in California, and would protect pedestrians from being stopped by police unless they suddenly move into the path of a vehicle. Original research by coalition member Ethan Campbell shows that jaywalking enforcement disproportionately impacts Black and unhoused people, and we’ll be publishing a first-of-its-kind report in just a couple of weeks. In the meantime, keep an eye on our weekly Dispatch from Olympia for ways to take action for this campaign!
Read more about our jaywalking reform work in a new blog post. And if you’ve ever been stopped for jaywalking in Washington, we invite you to share your story here.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Join America Walks for “The Year Ahead in Transportation”
2024 holds some big questions. With transportation now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, what will be done to rein that in? Can the trend to bigger and more dangerous cars be reversed? Will transit, biking, and walking investments pick up momentum? Join noted national leaders, Corrine Kisner of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, and Beth Osborne of Transportation for America, along with hosts Nailah Pope-Harden of Climate Plan CA, and Mike McGinn of America Walks, for a review of what went down in 2023, and a discussion of the likely big topics for transportation in 2024.
Wednesday, January 17, 11 AM PT
Zoom
Attend a Listening Session on Sound Transit with Girmay Zahilay
King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay was just appointed to the Sound Transit Board, and he’s hosting two upcoming listening sessions. Join him to share your experiences, ideas, and concerns regarding Sound Transit.
Wednesday, January 17, 6 – 7:30 PM via Zoom
Thursday, January 18, 12 – 1:30 PM via Zoom
To RSVP, email Carly.Pena@kingcounty.gov
Get Ready for Transit Equity Day
Transit Equity Day is held each year on or around the birthday of Rosa Parks (Feb. 4). This year it will be held on Monday, Feb. 5, and groups across the country will be organizing for affordable transportation. Check out resources from the Labor Network for Sustainability to learn more and plan your actions.
Get Your Tickets for the Equity Summit in D.C.
Early bird tickets for the Equity Summit: Meeting the Moment with Smart Growth America are available through tomorrow, January 12! The Summit gathers housing, transportation, and community development advocates and leaders to learn from one another and identify tools to advance racial equity through smart growth. The dynamic two-day program will be held in person for the first time on March 27-28, in Washington, DC, at the iconic Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
GET INVOLVED
Weigh in on Spokane Transit’s Proposed Service Revisions
Spokane Transit Authority is seeking public input for their 2024 Service Revisions Draft Proposal. You can still submit written comments through January 18 by emailing routefeedback@spokanetransit.com. This feedback will be used to guide the 2024 Service Revision Final Recommendation.
Adopt a Seattle Healthy Street Planter with Your Neighbors
SDOT recently announced that Healthy Street locations at Alki Point, Beacon Hill, and the Central District will become permanent in 2024. Hooray! In addition, neighbors in High Point, Lake City Cedar Park, Lake City Olympic Hills, Othello, and Rainier Beach can sign up by January 18 to replace the standard concrete sign bases for their permanent Healthy Streets with new planters. SDOT installs the planters during construction of the permanent Healthy Street, and then neighbors are responsible for maintaining the planters. Planters for other newly permanent Healthy Streets will be up for adoption later in the year.
Learn more about the new Healthy Streets and adopting a planter.
Help the Department of Transportation Improve Accessibility at Transit Facilities
To continue to promote equity in public transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public input on ways to improve the accessibility of public transportation facilities for people with disabilities. The Department recently extended through February 20 the period for people to submit comments to its Request for Information (RFI).
Native Language Speakers: Help Translate Safety Messages
Native language speakers are invited to translate highway safety messages as part of a recent initiative launched by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation Tribal Affairs and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The purpose of this initiative is both to bring attention to traffic safety campaign slogans as well as to help preserve native languages by documenting a set of non-typical sentences. Native language speakers are asked to translate the traffic safety slogans that are posted here. If you have questions or would like to provide these messages in your language please contact Milo Booth, Director of Tribal Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, at 202-309-9786, milo.booth@dot.gov.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Uphold WA’s landmark Climate Commitment Act — Seattle Times
“The Climate Commitment Act and its investments deliver on the most crucial findings of the National Climate Assessment: to mitigate every 10th of a degree of warming by rapidly reducing our emissions and increasing community and ecosystem resilience.”
Wash. voters sound off on biggest priorities for new legislative session — KIRO
“For the House and Senate Transportation Committee members, paying the bills will be essential as contract prices to build roads, remove culverts, and overhaul ferries continue to soar.”
New report shows air pollution hits Washington’s most vulnerable the hardest — WA Dept of Ecology
“‘The findings in this report underscore the importance of the strong air quality and environmental justice provision contained in the Climate Commitment Act,’ said Laura Watson, Ecology’s director.”
2024 is Poised to be Puget Sound’s Biggest Transit Year in Decades — The Urbanist
“Public transit enthusiasts and elected officials looking to pose at a ribbon-cutting will have busy calendars in 2024 as brand new transit lines across three different agencies are all set to open.”
Spokane plans to clear bike lanes with new and ‘transformative’ snow plow — The Spokesman-Review
“Spokane may soon have the city’s first purpose-built sweeper and plow to remove snow and debris from protected bike lanes, which are too narrow for most of the city’s equipment to navigate.”
Keep this unsung transit benefit rolling for another 30 years — The Seattle Times
“We can revitalize our downtown, address our affordability challenges, act on climate, and support public transit by building upon the success of unsung but impactful programs like ORCA Business Passport.”
City council passes law to begin to tackle Seattle’s daunting sidewalk shortage — Real Change
“While most abled people can navigate sidewalks in disrepair with relative ease, for people with limited mobility it can mean dealing with costly delays, having to take a circuitous route or being forced onto the street or bike lane.”
STAFF PICK
Building Transit-Oriented Communities, from London to Miami
Soaring housing and transportation costs are impacting the quality of urban life globally, prompting a need for innovative solutions. Transit-Oriented Communities (TOCs) is a transformative urban model promoting vibrant neighborhoods centered around accessible public transportation to reduce car dependency and enhance sustainability. This article by the World Economic Forum showcases TOC success stories in Miami-Dade County, USA, and London, UK, highlighting their strategic approaches. Miami steered growth towards mixed-use urban centers, championing innovative land use, walkable cities, accessible transit, and planned development. On the other hand, London employed transit development as a catalyst for urban land redevelopment, utilizing innovative financing mechanisms that generated additional housing, jobs, and tax revenues. These cases provide valuable insights for diverse communities aiming to achieve local sustainability, inclusivity, and equity goals through TOCs.
Nivya Murthi
Policy Analyst
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