Transit - Colleen Echohawk
Candidate transit link
- Prioritize investments where access needs are greatest. Transit service and stops, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure must be built where the need is greatest. This will be determined through our community engagement and equity assessment framework.
- Expand bus, walking, and rolling connections. Build basic infrastructure to support the health and safety of communities, such as sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and curb ramps.
- Participation in planning processes. Access is not just about the end product and expanded services. A truly equitable transportation system must start with deep community engagement. This requires early inclusion in development of priorities and regular engagement from early concept development through project construction.
- Build a robust regional public transit network. Ensure our public transit services operate as a regional network, and are more frequent, reliable, and affordable, prioritizing investments where need is greatest. Work with King County and transit agencies to find regional solutions and funding for public transit.
- Maintain bridge and road projects. We are currently underfunded for our infrastructure that has critical updates and maintenance needs. Will advocate for progressive funding sources while closely partnering with federal, state, and county governments to pool our resources to rebuild bridges and roads that encourage safe and long-term multimodal use, without the fight for funds or wasting resources on siloed work.
- Prioritize building basic safety infrastructure. Build sidewalks, protected bike lanes, curb ramps, green space buffers, dedicated bus lanes, and invest in safety programs like the Safe Streets to School program to support the health and safety of communities. Prioritize high density streets such as Aurora Ave and Rainier Ave, as well as connections to transit hubs.
- Invest in safe streets and achieve our Vision Zero goals. Update dangerous infrastructure and street design that disproportionately affects BIPOC and low-income communities, contributing to more fatalities. Reduce speeds on streets with high pedestrian deaths by utilizing data that identifies Seattle’s high injury network. Find better ways than increased police enforcement to reduce traffic deaths.
- Free transit passes for public high school students.
- Expand Orca Lift program. Ensure people have access to free or subsidized transit passes, including essential workers.
- Incentivize businesses to provide subsidized transit passes. Work with businesses to expand employee transit pass programs.
- Electrify our transportation system. Electrify 100% of the City of Seattle’s fleet. Expand and incentivize electrification of personal vehicles and bus fleets. Work with the Port and businesses to transition freight to zero emission technology. Pair electrification with increased transit service to reduce traffic and pollution.
- Reduce sprawl. Invest in affordable housing near transit and expand transit service.
- Will conduct a thorough and transparent assessment of transportation needs, using an equity framework and People-First lens that is community led to identify their greatest transportation needs.
- Will prioritize transportation projects, ranked through our equity framework and continuous additional community input, to ensure funding is appropriately and efficiently being allocated to meet the needs of each neighborhood.