Transportation Levy Updates
Thank you very much to all of the individuals who reached out to City Council in support of highway mitigation funding over the past few months. With your support and our volunteer advocacy, we scored several wins in the Transportation Levy package that will go to the voters in November:
- $500,000 is dedicated to studying the private development of freeway lids in North Seattle, in the areas of NE 45th to 65th Streets and at the future 130th Street light rail station (see page 8). Sponsored by Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6). While different than our proposal for a more general feasibility study, this will advance the work of the emerging North Seattle Lid I-5 group, under the leadership of U District Partnership.
- Lidding I-5 is eligible for one or more categories of funding from the 2024 Transportation Levy, per Resolution 32137 (see page 8). Sponsored by Councilmember Tammy Morales (District 2). While this falls short of our specific proposal, it leaves the door open to a variety of funding scenarios for future phases of work after the federal grant expires.
- In other highway-related wins, $30 million is earmarked for Vision Zero safety work on Aurora Avenue, including new sidewalks.
Read more about the Transportation Levy proposal on the SDOT website.
The Lid I-5 team is announcing we are endorsing a YES vote on Transportation Levy Proposition 1. Look out for it in your general election ballot, arriving to your mailbox in October.
Reconnecting Communities Grant Update
Since announcing the award of a $2 million Reconnecting Communities grant in March, our team has been hard at work coordinating the next steps with Seattle staff. We are currently talking with community stakeholders, subject matter experts, and the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) on how the funding should be prioritized and spent. Seattle OPCD “owns” the funding, but our team wrote the grant application and we will be trusted advisors going forward.
There may be adjustments to the original budget submitted with the grant application, and we need to fill in the details on desired engagement strategies and products needed to advance the project. At a minimum, technical feasibility will be assessed for the expanded study areas north of Denny Way and the south extension around Yesler Way, and some assumptions from the original 2020 feasibility study need to be revisited. A new scope of work may include urban design “visioning” that rallies all of Seattle on how we want to reconnect our neighborhoods. And we are examining the opportunity to create a permanent advisory committee to help guide the project for years to come.
We anticipate it will take until the end of the year to finalize the spending plan and then hire consultants to do most of the work. We will keep providing updates in this newsletter, along with ways you can get involved.
Ask WSDOT to Preserve the Roanoke Lid Bike/Ped Tunnel
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is planning to delete a key bike and pedestrian connection from the future Roanoke Lid over SR-520 between Capitol Hill and Eastlake. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways has organized a petition telling WSDOT that removing this community-supported connection to the SR 520 Trail is unacceptable.
Known as the Harvard Connection (yellow line above), this path would offer a vital lower-incline and safer connection towards Capitol Hill for users of all ages and abilities via a tunnel under 10th Ave E and a gently sloping path from the Roanoke Lid up to E Miller St. Cutting the Harvard Connection would only save about 1% ($10-15 million) of this project’s $1.4 billion budget.Learn more at the petition page.
Summer Walking Tours Lineup
We have a walking tour of the expanded Lid I-5 study area coming up this Saturday, August 3. Register here.
These are *free* tours that get you up and close personal to the freeway infrastructure that we aiming to transform into spaces for people. A new extended tour takes place on Saturdays to include the added north/south study areas. Learn more and register at one of the links below.
Saturday, August 3, 9:00 AM
Expanded Lid I-5 Downtown Study Area (2 hours) *NEW*
Where: Thomas Street Mini-Park, 306 Bellevue Avenue East
Registration
Tuesday, August 20 @ 5:30 PM
Core Lid I-5 Downtown Study Area (1.5 hours)
Where: Polyclinic parking lot, 703 Marion Street (corner of Marion St & 7th Ave)
Registration
Thursday, September 12 @ 5:30 PM
Core Lid I-5 Downtown Study Area (1.5 hours)
Where: Polyclinic parking lot, 703 Marion Street (corner of Marion St & 7th Ave)
Registration
When: Saturday, September 21 @ 9:00 AM
Expanded Lid I-5 Downtown Study Area (2 hours) *NEW*
Where: Thomas Street Mini-Park, 306 Bellevue Avenue East
Registration
Lid I-5 