Streets For All Seattle

Seattle's Westlake Park/photo by Millie Magner

Cascade Bicycle Club announced today that along with Sierra Club Cascade Chapter and Great City, they join with nearly 35 additional organizations to campaign for dedicated funding for alternative modes of travel. The campaign entitled, Streets for All Seattle, strives to enhance Seattle's livability by working with City Council, Major McGinn and other stakeholders. Through their collaborative efforts, the coalition will press for adequate funding of bicycling, walking and transit infrastructure.

Timing is an interesting entity. Of special note is recent news. An editorial by Neal Peirce in Sunday's Seattle Times discussed the role grocery stores will play in the future as Americans reject the suburbs for urban living. He continues to cite examples of how that is already happening, e.g., Seattle's Westlake Whole Foods. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's statement declaring "This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized," made the news last month.

The League of American Bicyclists urges that supporters of Secretary LaHood's transportation policy make their stance known. Recommended actions include thanking Secretary LaHood, urging local government leaders to support the US policy, and to join advocacy organizations. Neither Ray LaHood nor the League of American Bicyclists are alone in this stance. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) "Eighty-four percent of people polled agreed (strongly or somewhat) that bicycling is “a great form of exercise” for them; seven in 10 said that they would like to bike more than they do now; but less than half of those surveyed were satisfied by how their communities were designed for bicycling. The most popular changes for bicyclists were additional bike lanes, paths, and trails, followed by improvements to existing facilities." Additional results of a survey of Americans can be found in the NHTSA Final Report, Volume II Findings Report, August 2008.

Americans want more personal mobility in their cities and neighborhoods. That will require infrastructure funding to support projects that make it easier and safer for people to walk and bike. Streets for All. Seattle has made a start. However, with cuts to Metro and lack of funding for both the bicycle and pedestrian master plans bolsters the need for a concerted effort. Seattle needs Streets for All.