Dear friends,
Happy November!
We’re proud to announce the 2023 inductees into the Transportation Choices Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Senator Rebecca Saldaña, Downtown On the Go, People for People, and the Sound Transit Fare Ambassadors! These inspiring transportation champions will be honored on November 17 at Tuxes & Trains: Waves of Change.
Speaking of Tuxes & Trains, tickets are officially sold out – a first for us two weeks out from the event. We’re so looking forward to celebrating our 30th (pearl) anniversary and a sea change in Washington State’s transportation priorities with many of you. If you’d like to join our waitlist for the event, please email McKenna Lux at mckenna@transportationchoices.org.
If you won’t make it to Tuxes & Trains, you can still help make it a success! Keep an eye out for an email next week about our online auction and some exciting items you can bid on.
Read on for more news, events, resources and opportunities to get involved.
Keep moving,
– Transportation Choices Coalition
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Announcing the 2023 Transportation Choices Hall of Fame Inductees!
Our awardees represent a diverse group of individuals, programs, and organizations that are helping to create sustainable and equitable transportation systems that serve ALL people regardless of age, ability, income, or race.
This year we are recognizing the following inspiring transportation champions from across our state:
Senator Rebecca Saldaña
Downtown On the Go
People For People
Sound Transit Fare Ambassadors
Releasing Our New Strategic Plan for 2023-2026
After more than a year of collaborative planning, reflection, and engagement work, we are thrilled to share Transportation Choices Coalition’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan! Since our 2018 Strategic Plan, we have grown as advocates and as an organization, and our new plan reflects who we are and where we’re going as we continue to usher in “waves of change” for our transportation system, mobility justice, and statewide transformation.
This plan is straightforward enough to read cover to cover — and we invite you to do so here. It also includes some exciting updates that are worth calling out, specifically new mission and vision statements, a set of defined organizational values to guide our work both internally and externally, and strategic goals that integrate our commitment to racial equity, and strengthen our commitment to transformative policy and advocacy work for communities across Washington.
Welcoming New Team Members
We’re excited to welcome Natalie Lubsen (she/her) as TCC’s new Communication Manager. We’ve worked with Natalie over the past several months as a communications consultant, and we’re thrilled to have her join our team full time. Natalie got a taste of transportation advocacy working with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways in 2014, and then honed her communications skills at YES! Media, where she managed audience development and marketing for more than 8 years. Most recently, she worked with the Kicking Gas campaign to help 118 homes electrify their heating, and created a revolving loan fund to support projects related to the just transition. She believes moving away from car-dependence is critical for equity, accessibility, and climate resilience, and as a non-driver herself, she deeply appreciates both public transit and walkable neighborhoods. She enjoys taking long walks to eat pastries and watch birds.
We’re also grateful to add Andrea John-Smith (she/her) to our team. Andrea recently joined Transportation Choices as Interim Director of Operations and Development as TCC progresses through its leadership transition and gears up for the 2024 legislative session. Andrea offers extensive interim executive leadership experience, having served in leadership roles with more than twenty Puget Sound area nonprofit organizations over the last twenty-five years. Most recently, Andrea served as Executive Director of an education equity organization called Sound Discipline, and in interim leadership roles for a variety of youth development organizations. Coming out of the pandemic, she embarked on a Masters program in clinical mental health counseling at Antioch University. One day she hopes to run a neighborhood-based wellness center. A long-time practitioner of Zen Buddhism, she aspires to talk less and listen more. Her passions are music, cooking, baking, paddling, and traveling.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Our Online Silent Auction Launches Next Week
Get ready to bid! The Tuxes & Trains 2023 silent auction will feature some fabulous items including first class Alaska Airlines tickets anywhere they fly, a stay in a lovely vacation home in the Catskills, a bike history tour of Seattle with Seattle Bike Blog’s Tom Fucoloro (and a signed copy of his new book, Biking Uphill in the Rain), and so much more! The auction will open on Thursday, November 9, and run through Friday, November 17 (the night of Tuxes & Trains). All proceeds go to support Transportation Choices’ work to bring more and better transportation choices to all Washingtonians.
Keep an eye on your email for more details next week!
Webinar: The Voices of the Next Generation in Transportation
Join America Walks and NOYS (National Organization for Youth Safety) to learn how youth voices can shape the future of transportation. You will hear what NOYS has been doing to transform the transportation landscape for youth, gain insights about how youth are championing active transportation, and familiarize yourself with youth voices who are working towards a safer, more equitable, more accessible and sustainable transportation system across the U.S.
Thursday, November 16, 11:00 AM PT
Online via Zoom
A Night to Remember: Tuxes & Trains 2023
Tickets are officially sold out, which means that many of you are already planning to join us at the Seattle Aquarium for Tuxes & Trains: Waves of Change on November 17. We look forward to a memorable celebration of our organization’s 30th year fighting for more and better transportation choices for all. To join our waitlist for the event, please email McKenna Lux at mckenna@transportationchoices.org.
Friday, November 17, at 7:00 PM
Seattle Aquarium, 1483 Alaskan Way, along the waterfront
Find more details at transportationchoices.org/tuxestrains2023.
Opt Outside with Transit Trekker
Join a fun transit-powered expedition from Seattle or Tacoma to Vashon Island’s Dockton Park, and enjoy a 6-mile round trip hike to the beach through the forest. Piggybacking on the Opt Outside campaign, you’re encouraged to enjoy an outdoor adventure in lieu of Black Friday shopping.
Friday, November 24
GET INVOLVED
Don’t Forget to Vote!
Ballots are due next Tuesday, November 7. Be sure to mail your ballot or bring it to a drop box before then. This year, TCC’s Board voted to endorse Prop 1, the Seattle Housing Levy. You can learn more about it here.
Weigh in on SDOT’s Potential Project List
Public comment is now closed for the Seattle Transportation Plan (you can read comments from TCC and Cascade Bicycle Club here), but there’s still time to share your feedback on a list of transportation projects and programs compiled by the Seattle Department of Transportation. These proposed projects and programs support the Seattle Transportation Plan’s 20-year vision for Seattle’s transportation network. Tell SDOT which projects and programs are most important to fund by November 20.
Share Your Experience Riding Sound Transit
Sound Transit recently launched its Passenger Experience Survey, which seeks to evaluate how passengers view all of Sound Transit’s services. The findings are used to identify key areas of improvement and prioritize efforts to provide a better passenger experience. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. Participants are eligible to be entered in a raffle for one of four $250 gift cards or one of 15 gift cards valued at $100.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Why Did 300 Elected Officials Give Up Driving for a Week? — America Walks
“National Week Without Driving allowed us to ask elected public officials and transportation professionals across the country to use the system they funded, designed, and built for us.”
Sound Transit to resume citations for passengers as it enforces fares — The Seattle Times
“After years of discussion, the rollout of a monetary punishment will be the fullest test of a new fare system intended to deliver a lighter and more equitable touch.”
Seattle Must Pursue ‘Rapid Progress’ Option and Transform Its Streets — The Urbanist
“The Urbanist joined with a group of transportation advocates — including Cascade Bicycle Club, Commute Seattle, Futurewise, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Transportation Choices Coalition — that pushed SDOT to pursue Alternative 3.”
Rearview reflections: Longtime WTA bus driver finds purpose in the front seat — Cascadia Daily News
“When Jeff describes his work, it’s sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, never mundane and always good for the spirit.”
Analysis of 7,000 King County bus stops shows where highest ridership remains — The Seattle Times
“Metro’s own evaluations have long shown that lower-income households, people with disabilities and people of color use the bus system at higher rates. The pandemic distilled ridership down to those who rely on it most, hastening plans for a service that better suits those who use it all times, for all reasons.”
New law makes top California transit agencies survey riders about harassment — LA Daily News
“Supporters say the new law will result in a better understanding of under-reported harassment incidents, and allow agencies to target the problem with resources.”
NYC launches ‘smart city testbed’: Here are the first 3 pilot technologies — Smart Cities Dive
“‘Computer vision’ sensors are collecting data about how New Yorkers use streets at 12 locations around the city. By measuring how and when people use different modes of transportation — and generating detailed reports — this pilot aims to inform safety measures and future street redesigns.”
STAFF PICK
More Electrification Is Coming to WA Transit!
I’m married to an employee at one of TCC’s partner organizations, Climate Solutions, so I get to hear about electrification — moving from fossil fuels to electric power for buildings, homes, and transportation — on a regular basis. (That’s not a complaint 😁). Electrification is one of the critical shifts we need to address the climate crisis and make the world safer and healthier for communities today and for generations to come. I’ve been excited to read about efforts across Washington (at Link Transit, Spokane Transit, Pierce Transit, Island Transit, Whatcom Transportation Authority, and Skagit Transit) to convert to electric buses. And close to home, I’m looking forward to the future roll-out of King County Metro’s battery-electric buses, featuring a brand-new color scheme.
Hot tip: watch for the electric bus livery-painting tour in our upcoming online auction, November 9-17!
Susan Gleason
Development Manager
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