$$$ for a Capitol Hill Superblock? 2024 city budget includes cash for ‘public space activation concepts’

The mother of the Capitol Hill Superblock is hoping she has left a lasting final gift to the neighborhood’s pedestrianization dreams.

Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda says a portion of $600,000 carved out of the city’s 2024 budget with revenue from the JumpStart tax on its largest employers will go to creating “public space activation concepts” including a $300,000 pedestrian and bike friendly effort on Capitol Hill.

“I’m very excited about the $600,000 in Jumpstart economic revitalization funding included in the 2024 budget for public space activation in Capitol Hill, Mt. Baker, and Rainier Valley,” Mosqueda told CHS in a statement on the earmark. “This funding will build on the years of community organizing and advocacy in Capitol Hill and beyond—led by organizations such as the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict—for healthy, activated, pedestrian-oriented public spaces, to begin to actually implement public space activation concepts inspired by leading cities like Copenhagen.”

Mosqueda, who will be leaving Seattle City Hall in the new year to take the seat she won in the November election on the King County Council, has been supporting the efforts around a so-called Capitol Hill Superblock for years and sponsored the budget amendment this fall “to build momentum and lead to tangible improvements in these neighborhoods.”

“This is exactly the type of investment we envisioned for the JumpStart economic revitalization dollars to create healthy, safe, vibrant spaces in our neighborhoods that support small businesses, and provide places for the community to enjoy,” Mosqueda said. Continue reading

Seattle Police Chief: No more stops for ‘low-risk’ traffic violations like expired tabs, biking without a helmet

Responding to concerns about equity and disproportionate enforcement, Seattle Police will no longer make stops over traffic issues like expired tabs or riding a bicycle without a helmet.

In a decision announced heading into the MLK Day weekend, Chief Adrian Diaz said the new direction “de-prioritizingnon-criminal, low-risk public safety traffic violations” comes after discussions involving “a multi-disciplinary working group” convened by the Office of Inspector General to review ” city, county and state ordinances; and emerging reforms in other cities.” Continue reading

Rest of Seattle set to join Capitol Hill with 25 MPH speed limits as traffic deaths rise

The rest of the city is about to join Capitol Hill’s core and downtown with 25 MPH speed limits on arterial streets. The lower speeds were implemented here in 2016. They have not done enough.

Citing a troublesome rise in dangerous collisions, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced plans Tuesday for the expanded citywide limits plus more crossings that give pedestrians a head start, more red light traffic cameras, and a new Major Crash Review Task Force “which will convene a panel of experts to analyze every serious and fatal collision” in Seattle. Continue reading

Mayor’s ‘Fare Share’ plan would add minimum wage for drivers and 51 cent fee to every Uber and Lyft ride in Seattle to pay for streetcar, housing, and industry regulation

(Image: CHS)

Seattle is preparing to target one of the most lucrative — and easily the most traffic-bloating — corners of the city’s “app” economy to raise more money for public transit, affordable housing, and, yes, further regulating and monitoring the industry.

Mayor Jenny Durkan has rolled out a 2020 “Fare Start” budget proposal calling for new legislation that would add 51 cents to the cost of every Uber and Lyft ride in the city and set new minimum wage requirements for the industry’s freelance drivers.

“Economic models really vary from app to app,” Mayor Durkan said Wednesday in a media briefing outlining the new proposal and explaining why the “transportation network company” industry tax and regulation ended up in Seattle’s fast lane. Continue reading

Busted: SDOT to remove rogue North Capitol Hill ‘PHOTO ENFORCED’ stop sign

Nope, the city says, this Capitol Hill traffic circle is definitely not home to Seattle’s first and only photo enforced stop sign.

“As you probably suspected, we did not put up this sign. We do not photo-enforce stop signs,” a Seattle Department of Transportation spokesperson tells CHS about the peculiar signage that appeared a few weeks back after a sign was wiped out in the traffic circle at 20th Ave E and E Crescent during Seattle’s bout of February snow. Continue reading

Ready for ‘period of maximum constraint,’ Seattle rolls out Rapid Response Team to keep streets clear — UPDATE

(Image: Seattle.gov)

Seattle may need some guidance on making faster, smarter street investments but Mayor Jenny Durkan’s new team is set to clean up some of the messes along the way.

Set to be unveiled by the mayor Wednesday in South Lake Union, the city’s new Rapid Response Team is planned to “help quickly clear debris and vehicles” from the city’s streets “so people and goods can keep moving, and help ensure that Seattle can make the most of its existing streets as we grow.”

The new squad is powered by five “Response Team trucks” dedicated to the cause and armed with “tools needed to clear debris and vehicles, help stranded drivers, and to guide traffic around incidents, using sirens, red lights, variable message and bright pink ‘Emergency Scene Ahead’ signs.”

While it’s a bit like buying Liquid Plumr when you need new pipes, the team is coming together as Seattle enters its “period of maximum constraint” with major projects like the Washington State Convention Center expansion, the closure of the Viaduct, waterfront construction, and the end of bus service in the Transit Tunnel conspire to further clog Seattle streets.

A full announcement from the mayor’s office on the new team is below. Continue reading

Seattle’s bid to cut emissions and traffic includes downtown tolling by 2021, Pike and Pine protected bike lanes ‘ASAP’

City Hall is putting together a plan to toll downtown Seattle streets before the end of her first term in 2021, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Tuesday.

Meanwhile, City Council transportation committee head Mike O’Brien is pushing for a more immediate effort to complete new protected bike lanes on Pike and Pine with money from the Washington State Convention Center expansion.

Both efforts come as Seattle seeks to ease congestion in its core and cut the some 6 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions created every year in the city. Continue reading

Citywide speed limit reductions are coming to Seattle streets — UPDATE

Council member Mike O'Brien announces the speed change proposal on First Hill. (Image: CHS)

Council member Mike O’Brien announces the speed change proposal on First Hill. (Image: CHS)

screen-shot-2016-09-13-at-9-33-57-amUPDATE: Some of Capitol Hill’s busiest streets are poised to get a 5 MPH speed limit reduction as part of a larger speed reduction proposal announced by city officials Tuesday. Speed limits on Capitol Hill’s arterial streets would be reduced from 30 MPH to 25 MPH, which includes E Pike, E Pine, Broadway, Madison, E Union, 15th, 12th, and Bellevue among others.

Seattle officials announced speeds on all residential streets would be reduced from 25 MPH to 20 MPH — the same speed limit as school zones, which will remain unchanged. Officials said that slowing vehicles down by even 5 MPH can be significant in improving survival rates in collisions.

“Speed kills,” said Council member Tim Burgess during a media event outside the Horizon House on First Hill. The City Council’s transportation committee is slated to take up the legislation on September 20th.

Council member Mike O’Brien, who chairs the City Council’s transportation committee, said he was confident the speed change legislation would be approved by City Council within a month. Once the legislation is passed, around 500 new speed limit signs will be installed at $200-$300 per sign. The city would then enter a warning period before police officers begin enforcing the new speeds. The move is part of Mayor Ed Murray’s Vision Zero plan to end traffic deaths by 2030Continue reading

Department of Homeland Security and SPD training ties up Madison

Boren_Madison (1)If you’re wondering why traffic on Madison was a nightmare Thursday, blame a Department of Homeland Security-led training exercise involving Seattle Police near 6th and Madison.

SPD confirmed the training Thursday morning but referred CHS to the federal agency for more information. We’ve asked DHS for more on the nature of the training and the planned duration. The federal agency offers local law enforcement agencies a wide variety of “training opportunities,” according to its website.

Thursday morning, traffic backed-up to Boren and beyond as vehicles were re-routed around the training area for access to I-5. There were no local announcements of the training session.

You can check out the latest conditions on the CHS Traffic Cameras page.

https://twitter.com/kcmetrobus/status/690226239

23rd Ave small business owners say corridor overhaul is putting them on the ropes

701 coffee trying to make the best out of a difficult situation with deals for road workers. (Image: 701 Coffee)

701 coffee tries to make the best out of a difficult situation with deals for road workers. (Image: 701 Coffee)

The massive overhaul of 23rd Ave, and all the near-term traffic headaches therein, are coming to the E Madison intersection this weekend. The intersection will close and the 11 and 48 busses will be rerouted along with car traffic as crews will work around the clock until Monday morning.

23rd Ave is a workhorse of a road, running along the backside of Capitol Hill and through the Central District connecting neighborhoods and commercial areas. The $46 million overhaul of 23rd between S Jackson and E John will transform the artery into a much more efficient, much safer route for cars, transit, pedestrians, and — thanks to an adjacent greenway — bicyclists. But like so many massive transportation construction projects, while the long road may bring promise, the first few miles of the process are pure pain for local merchants. The city’s Department of Transportation and Office of Economic Development have pitched in with extra signage and communicating work plans, but some owners are saying it’s not enough. Continue reading