This month brings cool breezes, dappled light, and perfect temps to bike, walk, roll, or take a train to TCC’s Tuxes & Trains Gala at the Burke Museum. Just three blocks away from the future U District station! Find the details below for this fully vaxxed event and get your dancing shoes ready.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their transit photography after last month’s call for pics! We received a fantastic response, and can’t wait to feature so many unique perspectives, color palettes, places, times, people, and most importantly experiences with our fellow transit enthusiasts. We received photos taken from as far away as Croatia and as near as Seattle’s own Gas Works Park, each one telling the remarkable story of transit in its own way.
Our first featured transit photo comes courtesy of Michael Dare who also wrote, “I’ve lived in a lot of cities. L.A, New York, New Orleans, etc., and Seattle has by far the best bus and rapid transit system, especially remarkable considering how complicated it is. . .” Michael’s photo of an empty KC Metro bus at the beginning of the pandemic captures a historic moment in transit history, but the sunlight shining across the interior reminds us that buses can be beautiful on the inside too.
If you’d like to submit your transit pics to be featured in an upcoming newsletter, send your images (JPEG works best) to Autumn, TCC’s Communications Manager, at autumn@transportationchoices.org. Be sure to include the title of your photo, your name, and where it was taken for full photo credit in the caption.
— The Transportation Choices Coalition team
TCC Updates
Join Us! TCC’s Tuxes & Trains Gala is October 1
Tuxes and Trains: All Dressed Up With Places to Go — An Evening Soiree
The opening of Sound Transit’s Northgate Link Extension heralds the golden age of light rail growth in the Puget Sound region, and we want to celebrate with all the people who’ve made it possible. Join TCC to toast the bright transit future and connect with our work to keep it going!
Date | Friday, October 1, 2021
Time | 7:30 pm PDT
Location | Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Dress | Black-tie, fancy dress, or party attire appropriate to your cultural background
Accessibility | All galleries, restrooms, and museum spaces are designed in accordance with ADA specifications. Please request any accommodations needed at registration, and for further assistance contact McKenna Lux, Events Specialist, at mckenna@transportationchoices.org.
Full vaccination and masks are required for this event. Please see the event page for full COVID-19 protocols.
Tickets are $150 for regular admission; non-profit partner tickets are $75. Please contact McKenna Lux at mckenna@transportationchoices.org for scholarship tickets.
Get your tickets for Tuxes & Trains now! You don’t want to miss it.
Come Work with TCC
TCC is hiring an Advocacy Director
Are you a changemaker and collaborator who wants to see real transportation solutions across WA? TCC is seeking an Advocacy Director who will work to build public will and political support to pass progressive transportation policy. They organize winning coalitions at the intersection of transportation, land use, environment, climate, labor, and social justice that advance TCC’s mission and vision of more transportation choices and opportunities for all.
TCC is hiring a Development Manager
Do you want to help fund the work that funds public transit? Know someone who excels at bringing potential supporters in, engaging with donors, foundations, members, and other key supporters? We’re seeking a Development Manager to lead key aspects of the fundraising program at TCC including department administration, implementing strategy, planning for our growth, and collaborating on the budget.
TCC is Seeking Volunteers!
Join the FUND PUBLIC TRANSIT Movement!
You’ve seen the FUND PUBLIC TRANSIT t-shirts, tanks, and sweatshirts — now get your best fall hoodie and help spread the FUND PUBLIC TRANSIT message while staying cozy on your commute!
Mobility Justice
States Must Reduce Police and Traffic Enforcement Bias: Report (STREETSBLOG — August 9)
“States must completely reform policing strategies to reduce racial bias, including no longer using traffic enforcement as a community policing strategy and training law enforcement officers better to reduce the impact of their implicit bias against Blacks and Hispanics, a new report from a crucial national group argues.”
Last Year, the Bike Industry Promised Inclusivity. But Advocacy Allies Still Don’t Get It (Bicycling Magazine — July 1)
“Bicycle advocates saw a moment to make their work more impactful and help new converts to bicycling understand the importance of advocacy for safe streets. What remained unclear is whether this shift would center race.”
Expanding Federal Transit Operations Funding Could Help Achieve Equitable Access to Public Transportation (Urban Institute — August 26)
“Public transportation is an affordable mobility option for residents of communities nationwide, but it’s too frequently underfunded. This results in low-quality service and low ridership. It also forces people with low incomes to buy cars and encourages increased carbon emissions.”
Why We Can’t Afford to Ignore the Needs of Non-Drivers With Disabilities (STREETSBLOG — August 30)
“After interviewing more than a hundred Washington state residents with mobility challenges who can’t or don’t use a car, researchers at the Disability Rights Washington found that respondents “overwhelmingly” cited “the poor condition or absence of sidewalks” as the biggest barrier to getting where they needed to go, followed closely by problems with curb cuts, crosswalks and intersections.”
Visually impaired locals join statewide push for better transit options (The Daily News — August 31)
“Palm was one of several Cowlitz County residents interviewed for a new project by the Disability Mobility Initiative. The subgroup of Disability Rights Washington last week released the report, “Transportation Access for Everyone,” about the current status of public transportation and navigation for Washingtonians with disabilities.”
How cities can help protect transit riders from extreme heat (The Seattle Times — August 21)
While many people fled in air-conditioned cars to lakes and water parks to cool off, others, including transit-dependent essential workers, still relied on buses and trains to get to work. In some cases, that means standing outside on hot pavement in 90-plus degree temperatures to wait for a ride.
Recent News
Northgate Link light rail testing moves into final stages (Sound Transit — September 2)
We’re approaching the finish line as Sound Transit works to open three new stations at Northgate, Roosevelt and the U District on October 2. With just seven weeks to go as of this post, the tracks and stations will be a flurry of activity between now and opening day.
New measures to increase safety and security (King County Metro — August 30)
Earlier this year, King County Metro introduced their Safety, Security, and Fare Enforcement (SaFE) initiative to reimagine safety and security by reforming and restructuring our security and fare enforcement policies and practices. The implementation plan for these new measures is currently being developed and launch is slated for fall 2021. That plan will ensure that fair, just, and unbiased deployment and presence practices are in place so that they can increase safety and not perpetuate inequities.
Pierce Transit is excited to announce our new CEO, Mike Griffus! (Pierce Transit — August 11)
Pierce Transit is excited to announce their new CEO, Mike Griffus! The Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners approved a contract with Mike to serve as the agency’s leader. Griffus has served as Pierce Transit’s Chief Operating Officer since 2016, where he directly managed about 80 percent of the agency’s employees, including its 500 bus operators.
SDOT urges drivers to use caution as students go back to school (K5 — September 1)
Officials at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) are reminding drivers that, starting Wednesday, they will be sharing the road with children as Seattle Public Schools begins the new year.
WSDOT touted new placemaking engagement process for NSC, but Minnehaha residents say their input ‘didn’t matter’ (The Spokesman-Review — August 31)
The process was called “placemaking,” and Benn, Stout-Henggeler and Bryant took seriously the opportunity to provide input about what would happen when the $1.5 billion, four-lane highway landed in the northeast neighborhood that stretches from the Spokane River to Garnet Avenue and from Market Street to Havana Street.
Tri-Cities voters won’t see transit sales tax cut on their ballots (The Tri-City Herald — August 17)
Voters will not be asked to cut their Ben Franklin Transit tax bill with the intent of using the money instead for mental health services. Seven members of the nine-person board attending the recent transit board meeting voted unanimously against the proposal.
WSTC raises tolls by 15 percent while studying low income tolling program (Clark County Today.com — August 27)
On Aug. 24, the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) voted to raise tolls by 15 percent on Oct. 1 for Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel, and an average of 15 percent on SR 520 beginning July 2023. For the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the commission raised the toll by 25 cents beginning Oct 1. A few days later, the WSTC published their Low-Income Tolling Program Study for I-405 and SR 167 ETLs.
Getting There: Spokane seeks to link denser development to better transit, achieve a ‘green dividend’ (The Spokesman-Review — August 30)
With Spokane’s first bus rapid transit line slated to cross those corridors along Mission Avenue when the City Line opens early next year, developers have already begun erecting denser housing and more mixed developments on North Hamilton and Division streets.
Why the House and Senate owe transit $10 billion (T4AMERICA — August 31)
Originally, the Senate proposed $49 billion in new transit spending in their infrastructure deal. But without any explanation, the final bill cut transit down to $39 billion. Reliable, accessible transit will be key to an equitable economic recovery after the pandemic, and there are two key reasons that the funding provided by the Senate is not sufficient and the $10 billion originally promised for transit is returned.
We Need a New Transit Pass For the COVID Era (STREETSBLOG — September 8)
As people moved to cars and non-motorized transport over fear of infection through what some have called “forced togetherness,” transit agencies are worried it may take years to regain lost users — up to 10 years in Montréal’s case.
Take Action
Demand Congress Include $10 Billion In Transit Funding In The $3.5 Trillion Build Back Better Act
Join the National Campaign for Transit Justice as we work alongside our allies in organized labor and environmental organizations to demand Congress include the $10 billion in transit funding in the Build Back Better Act that was stripped at the last minute from the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Sign the petition today!
WRITE YOUR REP: Co-Sponsor the Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act!
The Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act recognizes that building back better means investing in our public transit systems, particularly in transit operations in order to expand service and reach more people. Ask your representative to co-sponsor this important bill.
Get Engaged
Week Without Driving: October 22-29, 2021 (Disability Rights Washington — July 26)
At Disability Rights Washington, access to transportation is consistently listed as one of the top concerns for our constituents, and we know that more than a quarter of the people in our state don’t have a driver’s license. Transportation policy and funding decisions have been written by and for drivers, creating major barriers for those of us who cannot drive or cannot afford to drive. We want to challenge our elected leaders and transportation and transit agency staff to join us for our Week Without Driving. Sign up here.
Intercity Transit recruiting volunteers to help shape public transit
The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meets the third Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Meetings are currently held remotely. CAC applications are available at intercitytransit.com/agency/community-advisory-committee, or by calling 360-705-5857. Completed applications are due by October 8, 2021 and can be mailed to CAC Attn: Nancy Trail, PO Box 659, Olympia, WA 98507, placed in our vanpool payment dropbox located at 526 Pattison Street SE in Olympia, or emailed to ntrail@intercitytransit.com.
BRT Live-streaming Public Meeting
Pierce Transit invites you to learn about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the project plans for this new transit service along Pacific Avenue/SR-7 between Tacoma and Spanaway. The BRT project is about 60% designed. Submit your questions about the project here to get them answered during the meeting.
Light Rail Communities | 2021 Summer Survey
The Light Rail Communities Project team is continuing its multi-year public engagement process by continuing our outreach online in the form of a new survey about land use and transportation topics aimed at informing possible future changes to development regulations.
PSRC Future Transportation Survey
PSRC is developing the next Regional Transportation Plan, which will describe how the region will meet transportation needs into the future, addressing existing needs and future growth. The plan is updated every four years per federal law and will respond to the priorities and growth strategy identified in VISION 2050. Your answers to this survey will help PSRC plan for all aspects of the transportation system – pedestrian and bicycle systems, transit, ferry, rail, and roads– to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods.
Support our Resilience + Recovery Fund
Transit and inclusive transportation options will be an integral part of Washington’s recovery as well as an important piece of our continued effort to correct racial and economic injustice. In the months and years ahead, our efforts to fund transit in Washington will be more necessary than ever.
Join us in donating to the Fund today.
Staff Pick
Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) report on Gender, Climate and Transportation in the United States
55% of transit riders in the United States are women, transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. Households headed by women are significantly less likely to own a car, and that number is even higher for women of color. However, historical planning practices haven’t centered on their needs and the result is a transportation system primarily built around traditional male commuter patterns, including 9-to-5 work schedules. These service patterns, along with many other factors like fare structures, the built environment, a lack of representation in the transportation workforce, and gender-based harassment create barriers for women and transgender people. In this report, an intersectional gender lens is used to examine the impacts of inequitable infrastructure and transportation systems. The report also provides policy recommendations to implement a gender-inclusive transition to sustainable infrastructure and transportation. We have a chance to rebuild these systems to make them work better for the folks who count on them most, and set us all more free. Let’s go!
Executive Director
Meme in Motion
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