Dear friends,
Next week, from September 30 through October 6, people in all 50 states will participate in the Week Without Driving challenge. Led by Disability Rights Washington and America Walks, this is an opportunity for people who have the option to drive to learn about the barriers and challenges that nondrivers face when trying to move safely in their communities, and to work with nondrivers to create more accessible communities for all. If you drive, please consider taking part in this challenge.
Read on for more news and updates, including two exciting transit openings, and opportunities to fight for transportation choices at the ballot this year.
Keep moving,
– Transportation Choices Coalition
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Celebrating New Transit Openings!
In the last month, we celebrated two major transit openings: the Lynnwood Link extension and the RapidRide G Line!
On August 30, our team rode light rail to Lynnwood, and then hopped off at all four of the new stations. With great, food, music, and community, it was a celebration to remember! Sound Transit anticipates the line will serve around 50,000 riders by 2026.
We also had a blast at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the RapidRide G Line. This line will serve one of the busiest corridors in Seattle with 6 minutes between buses and state-of-the-art coaches. Riders are already using it to get swiftly up and down Madison Street. Check it out if you’re in the neighborhood!
Helping Launch the Campaign to Pass Prop. 1, Seattle’s Next Transportation Levy
Over the last year, we’ve worked with a broad coalition to shape the next Seattle Transportation Levy. On September 9, we were thrilled to attend the launch of the Keep Seattle Moving campaign to pass the levy at the ballot this November.
Proposition 1 will make it safer and easier for all Seattleites to get around, whether they walk, bike, drive, or take transit. Check out our op-ed in The Seattle Times endorsing the levy.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Sign Up for a Week Without Driving
How do you get groceries without a car? What’s it like to ask for and receive rides when you don’t have another option? These are just a few things nondrivers experience as a routine part of their lives.
Take the Week Without Driving challenge from September 30 to October 6 and see firsthand the barriers and challenges to getting around without a car. Then, put these experiences into action. Learn how you can work alongside nondrivers to advocate for more and better transportation options for all people.
You can also join in on Week Without Driving events across Washington:
- September 28 — Pasco Week Without Driving Forum at Cafe Con Arte. 430 W. Columbia Street, 2-4pm
- September 29 – South Seattle Community Bicycle Ride w/ Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. RSVP here.
- October 1 — Olympia Lunchtime Transit Ride Along with Thurston County Regional Planning Council. To RSVP email here.
- October 1 — Pierce County Council Proclamation, 3pm.
- October 1 — South Seattle Judkins Park Station Access Walk/Roll with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. Meet at Hiawatha Pl S & S Bush Pl, 4:30pm. RSVP.
- October 2 — Webinar & Screening with Real Change News, 1pm. Register.
- October 3 — Downtown Seattle Elevator Access Tour with Seattle Dept. of Transportation. Meet at 2pm at Pier 58 (Alaskan Way & Union St)
- October 4 – Join Tacoma Council Member Kristina Walker for a walk from 8:30 – 10 AM and you can hop on along the way. The walk will start at lion statues in Wright Park, traverse through Wright Park to the Stadium District Light Rail Stop, ride the Tacoma Link to 11th/MLK stop, and walk back to Wright Park along J Street. Staff from City of Tacoma and Sound Transit will also be available for questions.
Tuxes & Trains Will Be a Night to Remember!
On Friday, October 4, at 7 PM, we’ll host our annual gala fundraiser at the gorgeous Seattle Art Museum and celebrate “The Art of Mobility” in Washington State transportation.
Tickets are officially SOLD OUT, but you can still participate by making a donation to support our work, or bidding in our Online Silent Auction. Keep an eye out for the auction launch next week!
Join an Indigenous Walking Tour & Discussion
On Thursday, October 10, from 4 – 7:30 PM, experience a walking tour of the University of Washington Seattle campus, highlighting the Indigenous presence and history on campus. Part of the King County Climate Justice Learning Series, the tour tells the story of Indigenous places through an Indigenous community member’s eye across seven stops. Then join up after for a meal and discussion reflecting on the tour’s information!
Register here (registration is required)
GET INVOLVED
Volunteer with the No on 2117 Campaign
Have you seen the latest No on 2117 ad? It touches on the catastrophic impact that Initiative 2117 would have on transportation in our state.
If passed, I-2117 would cut one-third of our state’s already stretched transportation budget, making traffic congestion worse and commutes even longer. It threatens to drastically slash funding for transit service, ferries, road and bridge maintenance, and even the popular Youth Ride Free program, which provides fare-free transit to 1.6 million Washingtonians ages 18 and under.
The No on 2117 campaign is bringing together an unprecedented coalition of over 475 environmental and business leaders, Tribal nations, labor unions, and community organizations to protect our air and water, forests and farmlands, jobs, and transportation investments. Together we can defeat I-2117, but only if we all pitch in.
Please sign up to volunteer for the No on 2117 campaign.
Volunteer to Keep Seattle Moving
The next Seattle Transportation Levy will make it safer and easier to get around Seattle, with historic investments in sidewalks, increased funding for safe walking and biking, and targeted improvements to make bus trips faster and more reliable.
The Keep Seattle Moving campaign is working to pass this levy, and they need people to knock doors, make phone calls, and table at community events.
Sign up to volunteer with the Keep Seattle Moving campaign.
STAFF PICK
Students for Sustainability
This week, I had the pleasure of talking with a group of Sustainability Ambassadors, students who are driving collective action in their schools and local communities to address the climate crisis. I got to hear about their efforts to ensure as many students as possible are registered for a free youth ORCA card, and to calculate the average carbon footprint of students’ school commutes — and compare them across schools. It was clear these are just a fraction of the initiatives these students are working on. After a short presentation I gave on Initiative 2117, and how to write letters to the editor and op-eds, these students immediately started drawing connections between public transportation and other issues like climate change and historical disinvestment and redlining in communities of color. Thank you, Sustainability Ambassadors, for inviting me to present, and for leading by example with impact storytelling. To see some of the Sustainability Ambassadors in action, check out their TikTok channel here.
Natalie Lubsen
Communications Manager
WHAT WE’RE READING
‘Keep Seattle Moving’ Levy Campaign Kicks Off — The Urbanist
“Backed by high-profile endorsements from both transportation advocacy organizations and business groups, the campaign is pushing to get a majority of Seattle voters behind the $1.55 billion, eight-year transportation funding package that the Seattle City Council unanimously approved this summer.”
Vote yes on Prop. 1, Levy to Move Seattle — The Seattle Times
“For 18 years, we’ve relied on the Seattle Transportation Levy to invest in making our city safer and more connected. The current levy is about to expire, and we urgently need to build on it by passing Proposition 1.”
Metro Launches RapidRide G, Seattle’s Most Ambitious Bus Rapid Transit Project — The Urbanist
“With 2.8 miles of dedicated bus lanes covering the most congestion-prone areas of the route around Downtown and First Hill, and with many of those bus lanes occupying the center lane of the road to keep motorists out of the way of coaches, the RapidRide G will be as close to a gold-standard bus rapid transit (BRT) line that Seattle has seen to date.”
Earn a Transit Trip When You Ride Lime Bikes and Scooters to Light Rail! — SDOT Blog
“You’ll earn enough points to cover your transit trip by parking a Lime bike or scooter in preferred parking spots near the light rail stations listed above and taking your next transit ride within 24 hours.”
Feds OK key stretch of Eastrail in Snohomish County — The Seattle Times
“When complete, the trail will be part of a growing trail network spanning the region that connects to the urban bikeways in the Puget Sound area.”
This Bill Would Finally Address Huge Cars That Kill Pedestrians — Streetsblog USA
“A new federal bill would someday prevent automakers from selling tall vehicles with huge blind spots that studies show are more likely to kill pedestrians, and give consumers the information they need to choose cars that better protect people outside them.”
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