“Recent tragedies on our streets have reminded Seattle of the dangers of impaired driving”, said McGinn. “Seattle Police will be out there to protect people on our roads and enforce the law against those choose to drive drunk.”

More DUI officers will be patrolling Seattle roads this weekend, with special emphasis near nightlife hotspots and on major thoroughfares. The Washington State Patrol will also be out in force on I-5, I-90 and SR 520. The City’s network of Dynamic Message Signs will display a special enforcement message all weekend long to alert drivers to the increased enforcement patrols. With more than 20 Dynamic Message Signs across Seattle, the City will be able to reach more than 1 million drivers over the holiday weekend and make them think twice about driving impaired.

“The days of the police just giving you a ride home if you’re caught drunk driving are long over – if you drink and drive, you will be arrested,” said Interim Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel.

“Through our Road Safety Action Plan, the City of Seattle is making our street safer for everyone and drivers can help by making good decisions about drinking and driving,” said SDOT Director Peter Hahn. “Rather than getting behind the wheel after a few drinks, take advantage of our late night pre-paid parking program, catch a cab back home and pick up your car safely in the morning.”

The City will also be conducting Be Super Safe educational outreach at bars and other nightlife hotspots in areas of DUI emphasis patrols, which are places the data shows are problem areas for impaired driving. High-visibility enforcement such as emphasis patrols have been shown to increase effectiveness of DUI enforcement. The more people know that these efforts are occurring, the bigger the reduction in risky behavior.

Nearly 50 percent of the fatalities that occur on the streets involve someone who made the decision to travel impaired. On average, someone in the United States is killed in an alcohol-related motor vehicle collision every 51 minutes. As part of the Seattle Nightlife Initiative, the City has developed safe alternatives for people out enjoying the holiday weekend. In November 2011 the City installed five late night taxi stands that provide a safe and visible sidewalk location for people to grab taxis in the city’s entertainment hubs. They operate nightly from 10PM to 6AM in Fremont, Belltown, Downtown, Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill. In addition, every on street parking pay station opens at 10 p.m. so drivers can pay for the first two hours of parking the next morning, giving themselves a little more time to get home safely and retrieve their vehicles the next day. King County Metro also offers late night bus service that connects many of Seattle’s busiest nightlife areas. More information can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/nightlife.

This effort is part of an on-going partnership including law enforcement, the Seattle Department of Transportation, Public Health – Seattle & King County, and many community stakeholders and concerned neighbors, with the long-term goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Seattle roads by 2030. It is also part of a statewide “Target Zero” effort to crack down on impaired drivers, coordinated by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Seattle has 122 bridges that are managed by SDOT bridge engineers. All bridges are inspected at least once every two years and many are inspected every year. Our bridge engineers are trained by the Federal Highway Administration in specific techniques to ensure bridges remain safe. If engineers determine a bridge is unsafe, it would be closed.

The I-5 bridge that collapsed was classified as “fracture critical” as defined by the National Bridge Inspection Standards. This is a designation that describes a structural design type that does not have multiple beams to carry the weight of vehicles. Seattle has 13 fracture critical bridges. SDOT bridge engineers perform special inspection on fracture critical bridges in accordance with federal standards. Yesler Way over 4th Avenue is an example, and we are currently in design for a replacement of that bridge.

The I-5 bridge that collapsed was a steel truss bridge. Seattle does not have any steel truss bridges.

The I-5 bridge over the Skagit River was also classified as “functionally obsolete” as defined by the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inspection Standards. This designation describes bridges that do not meet the standards of a bridge if it were built today. It does not mean the bridge is unsafe for public travel. The I-5 bridge that collapsed was built in 1955, and our bridge standards have changed many times since. Most things that would cause a bridge to be classified as “functionally obsolete” are related to geometry, lane width, clearance, and guard rail type. Seattle has 40 of these bridges, including the Fremont bascule and the Jose Rizal bridges. Both of those bridges have undergone significant repairs in recent years to extend their useful life.

All transportation agencies work with the trucking industry to provide safe travel of overweight and over sized trucks. Seattle’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement group in the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) regulates over height vehicles. Our officers require truckers to acquire a permit which defines a safe route and often escort the vehicles through the city to ensure they stay on the approved safe route.

Thanks to the voter-approved Bridging the Gap, we have been able to make several important investments that have strengthened and added life to existing bridges:

• East Duwamish Waterway Bridge – Deck Replacement, (Spokane Street from East Marginal to Harbor Island)
• Jose Rizal Bridge – Structural concrete repairs – (14^th Avenue over Dearborn Street)
• 15^th Avenue Northeast @ Northeast 105^th Street – Strengthening (over Thornton Creek)
• Airport Way over ARGO RR Yard – Deck replacement (Georgetown)
• East Marginal Way @ Horton Street – removed timber bridge
• Northeast 45^th Street Viaduct – removed timber approach and rebuilt with concrete.

We have also been conducting seismic retrofitting and strengthening of several bridges:

• Fauntleroy Expressway
• Albro Place over Airport Way
• King Street Station Bridges
• Ballard Bridge

We have the following bridge projects currently in design:

•  Fairview Avenue North – Replacement
• Yesler Way over 4^th Avenue – Replacement

We have also worked with King County to invest in a new South Park bridge over the Duwamish River, which is slated to open in spring 2014.

Since taking office I have added $30 million in funding to maintain our roads and bridges. This funding includes investments in bridge maintenance and bridge seismic work. It also invests in maintenance on our roads, our sidewalks, traffic signals, and signage. We restored SDOT’s crack seal and chip seal programs as well. But there remains a sizable backlog that is currently beyond our means to fund.

Many cities around Washington State face similar challenges. That’s why I brought together 47 mayors from across the state to propose a solution to local communities’ transportation needs. In February we agreed on a joint proposal that we brought to the governor and the legislature to provide us with new funding to support our transportation needs. In Seattle, those options will help us tackle our road maintenance backlog, including our bridges, as well as help preserve and expand transit service. This was an unprecedented collaboration between mayors from both parties, from cities large and small, who all agreed that giving local governments these tools was essential to our economy and our quality of life.

I urge our legislators to come together, as we mayors have, on this important issue. The collapse of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River should be an urgent call to action in Olympia. Now is the time to provide cities with the options and funding we need to finish the job of making all our roads and bridges safer.

“The Pride flag is a symbol that represents Seattle’s longstanding commitment to equality”, said Mayor McGinn. “By flying the flag over Seattle City Hall we honor that commitment to leading by example in the march toward equal rights for all.”

The City of Seattle continues to lead other municipalities in support of its LGBTQ employees, offering transgender health benefits, filing an amicus brief against the DOMA and in support of Marriage Equality in 2012, and opening City Hall for 140 weddings the first day it was legal for same-sex couples to wed in December 2012.

“We are excited to be able to host this event and play a role in this historic occasion,” said Sabina Neem, Co-Chair the Seattle LGBT Commission. “As the first Pride festivities following marriage equality in Washington State, it is especially fitting as we move forward in thinking about how we build an inclusive LGBTQ movement”.

“SEqual is incredibly proud that the City of Seattle continues to support LGBTQ employees and community in raising the Pride Flag at City Hall”, said Amy Herndon, co-chair of SEqual, the organization of City of Seattle employees supporting equal rights for all. “We are proud to be part of a municipality that desires to lead in inclusivity and diversity.”

The ceremony will be held in the courtyard outside Seattle City Hall, which is located in downtown Seattle at 600 Fourth Avenue. The ceremony is free and open to the public. More information about the ceremony will be available at www.facebook.com/seattlelgbt closer to the event. The City’s flagpole is located on the west side of City Hall off of Fourth Avenue. The Pride Flag will be flown in addition to the U.S. flag.

“We heard from the community that this was an issue, that people weren’t feeling safe or able to fully utilize these parks, so we’re responding to those concerns” said Mayor McGinn. “By hiring new Park Rangers, we can create a safer and more welcoming atmosphere in our parks. And we’re asking park users to be proactive as well – our officers need your help to keep our parks safe. We encourage you to call 911 when you see any kind of disturbance or crime in our parks.”

The funds for the new Park Rangers will come from underspent Seattle Parks and Recreation operating budget dollars. Through careful management, Seattle Parks and Recreation was able to stay under budget this year, allowing the city to make this investment at a critical time.

“Park Rangers are key to the city’s efforts to keep Seattle parks safe” said Parks Security Supervisor Corby Christensen. “We remind park users of the rules, moderate disputes that can sometimes arise over things like use of playfields, and keep an eye on the park in general. We work closely with Seattle Police officers to address issues as they arise. I encourage all park users to approach Park Rangers with any questions or concerns you may have. We need the public to be actively involved in our efforts to keep our parks safe.”

“Thank you to the Mayor’s Office, Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Police Department for listening to concerns from the community and acting on them” said Michael Wells, President of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce. “Having a full-time Park Ranger on duty in Cal Anderson will make a huge difference in the way people perceive the park.”

The new Park Rangers will be hired, trained and on duty by the end of June, just in time for summer weather. In the meantime, police will contribute to this effort with emphasis patrols in Cal Anderson and Occidental, with existing Parks employees working overtime to create a safer atmosphere in these parks as well as others. Parks will be working with police to determine optimal shift schedules for the rangers to most effectively deter crime.

“With the warmer weather we are seeing an increase in public safety issues in Cal Anderson Park. We’ve begun several new approaches in response” said East Precinct Commander Captain Ron Wilson. “Our Anti-Crime Team will be spending more time proactively working to address public safety issues within the park and surrounding neighborhoods.  Patrol officers will be making more frequent visits during park closure times to ensure all is well. Our Community Police Team has begun to assist our patrol resources by outfitting some of their officers with bicycle uniforms. These bicycle-trained CPT Officers will periodically break away from their traditional role in order to expand police presence in various hotspot areas within the East Precinct.”

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Families: Please take our school road safety survey
Seattle Public Schools is partnering with the City of Seattle on the School Road Safety Initiative, announced by Mayor McGinn earlier this month. Our goal is to increase safety on streets near schools and make it easier for children to get to and from school safely, however families choose to travel.

This initiative will include a School Road Safety Plan, which will look at the environment on streets near schools as well as the other things that involve safety, like education, enforcement, encouragement, and more.

If you’re a family with children going to school in Seattle (public or private), please help by filling out this survey of questions related to road safety by clicking one of the links below. This survey should take between 6-10 minutes and will close on June 30.

English
Spanish – Español
Chinese – 中文
Vietnamese – Tiếng Việt
Korean – 한국의
Somali – Af Soomaliga (Luqadda af Soomaliga)
Tagalog

If you have questions about the survey, please contact SchoolRoadSafety@seattle.gov.

Seattle needs the legislature to help save transit
This morning nearly 43% of commuters to downtown Seattle used transit to get to work. Throughout the day and across our city, buses help carry people to their jobs, to their schools, to their local businesses, and to their homes. The buses operated by King County Metro, Community Transit, Sound Transit, and other systems also help provide everyone with an affordable option to get around, saving households money at a time when gas prices continue to climb. Without transit, traffic would be worse. With transit, we can help reduce our carbon emissions.

Across America we’re seeing that more people are choosing to take transit. But here in Washington State we’re not keeping up with demand. In fact, we’re struggling to maintain funding for the bus system we already have.

Unless the state legislature steps up and provides us with the local revenue authority we need to preserve transit service, King County Metro will be forced to cut 17% of its bus service next year. Those cuts would be devastating to our community.

That’s why Mayor McGinn brought together 47 mayors from across the state to propose a solution to local communities’ transportation challenges. In February we agreed on a joint proposal to the governor and the legislature to provide us with new funding to support our transportation needs. In Seattle, those options will help us preserve and expand transit service, as well as tackle our road maintenance backlog.

Read Mayor McGinn’s blog post for more details.

“Predictive Policing” software rolled out citywide
Mayor McGinn and Deputy Chief Nick Metz announced that new “Predictive Policing” software will be deployed in all five precincts, and asked community members to get involved by reporting crimes proactively. The software has been used by police departments all over the nation to reduce crime through deep analysis of crime and location data. The software makes predictions about the places where crime is likely to occur, based on crime and location data from police reports. It does not predict who, only where. But by knowing the places where crimes are likely to occur, it enables SPD to deploy patrols where they are most needed, and it allows the community to develop strategies to make places safer.

“We’ve heard from communities, particularly in the North Precinct, through our Safe Communities outreach process that we need better data analysis to prevent property crime” said Mayor McGinn. “We’ve had anecdotal successes with the pilot project in East and Southwest Precincts, so we’re expanding Predictive Policing citywide. We’re asking the community to get involved by reporting even minor property crimes so we can improve our data set and predict where crime is likely to occur. This is a tool that can help us prevent some crimes before they happen, so it’s very important that community members get involved.”

Mayor and City Librarian launch “Books on Bikes” program
Mayor McGinn and librarians from The Seattle Public Library are launching a pilot program, Books on Bikes, to bring Library services to popular community events via bike this summer.

Mayor McGinn joined ten librarians for the inaugural bicycle ride to TOPS K-8 School. The group will arrive at TOPS where a fourth grade class met the mayor and City Librarian Marcellus Turner, heard book talks, got new Library cards and chose from among the many books from the special Books on Bikes trailer.

“This is a great program that will help people access library services wherever they are” said Mayor McGinn. “Books on Bikes will build awareness of library resources, as well as of the health benefits and fun of bike riding.”

Books on Bikes was the inspiration of Montlake Branch Librarian Jared Mills, who submitted the idea to a staff committee for grant funding. “I thought it would be great to combine two things Seattle loves: our libraries and bikes,” Mills said. The proposal was enthusiastically received by the committee.

Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
May 29, 4:00 p.m. – First Hill Streetcar Construction-Little Saigon, Asian Resource Center (1025 S King St)

May 29, 6:30 p.m. – RPZ Zone 6 Public Hearing, University Lutheran Church (1604 NE 50th St)

Wed-Sat through June 1 – The Other Gun Show: Artists with Guns, Gallery 110 (110 3rd Ave S)

June 1, 10:00 a.m. – Fire Station 18 Design Open House, 1521 NW Market St

Video highlights (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/photos/videos.htm):

Investing in Arts Education	Data-driven Policing

What we’re reading:
No coal trains, no export ports, say Northwest Indian tribes

Police use Twitter to relay news, communicate with journalists more quickly

Strong debut: Tableau closes first day of trading up 63%

Macklemore credits Seattle’s park system with launching his rap career

Mayor McGinn joined ten librarians for the inaugural bicycle ride to TOPS K-8 School. The group arrived at TOPS where a fourth grade class met the mayor and City Librarian Marcellus Turner, heard book talks, got new Library cards and chose from among the many books from the special Books on Bikes trailer.

“This is a great program that will help people access library services wherever they are” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “Books on Bikes will build awareness of library resources, as well as of the health benefits and fun of bike riding.”

Books on Bikes was the inspiration of Montlake Branch Librarian Jared Mills, who submitted the idea to a staff committee for grant funding. “I thought it would be great to combine two things Seattle loves: our libraries and bikes,” Mills said. The proposal was enthusiastically received by the committee.

“The Seattle Public Library is always looking for new ways to meet our patrons where they are,” said City Librarian Marcellus Turner. “This project brings mobile Library services to neighborhoods and events we might not otherwise reach in a fun and innovative way.”

Mills, a Central District resident, said Books on Bikes is a “full-service library model. I’m not aware of any other library that does this. We will be able to provide people with help on digital downloads, as well as offer reading suggestions, have popular new titles available for check-out, provide Library card sign-ups, assist with research and much more,” he said. The trailer to accommodate all the librarians’ needs was developed and constructed by Colin Stevens, who runs Haulin’ Colin in Seattle.

“It was specially designed to haul a lot of weight, as well as display books and other materials on the built-in shelves,” Mills said. “It also has a handy umbrella holder so we can keep our new books from getting wet if the weather changes while we are out riding.”

After TOPS K-8 Schools, the next stop for Books on Bikes will be at Pratt Park, 1800 S Main St., on Saturday, June 1, as part of Hopscotch CD. Other confirmed visits to date include the Pride Parade and PrideFest on June 30, Cyclefest on July 18, Umoja Fest on Aug. 3 and Fiestas Patrias on Sept. 14. The Books on Bikes team also plans to attend selected KEXP Concerts at the Mural and do pop-up story times at parks and farmer’s markets throughout the city.

Coal export will have damaging local economic, cultural, and health impacts. The numbers also show that Northwest coal exports could generate more carbon emissions that the Keystone XL pipeline.  I’m concerned this will exacerbate global climate change and impact our region with changing weather patterns, rising sea level and more destructive storms.  Together with the other members of the Alliance, my City Council colleagues and I will work to raise awareness about these damaging impacts and call on the regulatory agencies to deny the permits for Northwest coal terminals.

“We’ve heard from communities, particularly in the North Precinct, through our Safe Communities outreach process that we need better data analysis to prevent property crime” said Mayor McGinn. “We’ve had anecdotal successes with the pilot project in East and Southwest Precincts, so we’re expanding Predictive Policing citywide. We’re asking the community to get involved by reporting even minor property crimes so we can improve our data set and predict where crime is likely to occur. This is a tool that can help us prevent some crimes before they happen, so it’s very important that community members get involved.”

“Predictive Policing is a technology tool that increases our odds of stopping crime because it tells law enforcement when and where crime is likely to occur” said Deputy Chief Metz. “With the community’s help, we can prevent some crimes before they take place by being in the right place at the right time.”

Using computer models similar to those used to predict earthquake aftershocks, Predictive Policing analyzes crime data dating back to 2008 and forecasts times and locations where crime is likely to occur—down to a geographic area as small as 500 feet by 500 feet. Officers receive new crime forecasts at the beginning of each shift, telling them when and where they should focus their patrols in between 911 calls. But the predictions are based on police reports, so they can only be effective if community members are proactive about reporting even minor property crimes with the department’s online tool at seattle.gov/police/report. The more data the system has, the better the predictions it produces.

“As an active community member and business owner in the North Precinct, I’ve seen firsthand how community members can make a difference in public safety,” said local business owner Pete Hanning. “I encourage everyone who is concerned about public safety in their neighborhood to get involved in their neighborhood or local block watch by visiting seattle.gov/police/blockwatch. And be sure to report any crimes in your neighborhood by calling 911 or through the police department’s online reporting tool. The Predictive Policing software is only as good as the data we plug into it.”

Former Youngstown student Sammy Tekle speaks about the importance of arts education

Investment dollars will ensure that every student in the Central Pathway of Seattle Public Schools receive a minimum of two hours per week of arts education programming, as well as support the purchase of instruments and other art supplies for classrooms. The Central Pathway, which consists of schools in and around Seattle’s Central District, was chosen due to strong existing partnerships with community-based arts education organizations. The eventual goal of the program is to expand the program each year until all students at Seattle Public Schools receive two hours per week of arts education programming by 2020.

This investment was made possible by higher than expected admission tax revenue, primarily due to the new cultural facilities Chihuly Garden & Glass at Seattle Center and the Great Wheel on the waterfront. City bylaws require that 75 percent of admissions tax funding be dedicated to arts-related programming, allowing the city to invest $500,000 in arts education programs over the next two years.

“This investment will allow us to deepen our existing partnership with Seattle Public Schools to improve access to arts education for all students in our community” said Mayor McGinn. “Arts education has been consistently shown to improve educational outcomes, increase attendance rates and decrease discipline rates.”

Studies have found that Seattle students do not have consistent access to arts education, and access can be predicted based on ethnicity, English-language-learner status or free-and-reduced-lunch status.

This investment builds on the innovative partnership between the city of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools (SPS), now called The Creative Advantage.  In 2011 the city and SPS received a Wallace Foundation planning grant of $1 million, which provided for the creation of a comprehensive K-12 arts plan that ensures that every student will receive 120 minutes of arts instruction per week. This investment kick-starts the implementation phase of the Creative Advantage.

“Our community has spent the last two years developing and writing this plan, and the time is now to make it a reality,” said Superintendent Jose Banda. “Our first investment area is the Central Pathway.”

“Furthering our work in arts education is the most important thing I can do in this job,” said newly appointed Director Randy Engstrom, Office of Arts & Culture. “This initiative will change the way nearly 50,000 of our city’s young citizens engage with their community and think about the world. This investment is a major turning point.”

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013

More funding for road safety projects
Mayor McGinn announced a proposal for $3.25 million in transportation investments made possible by additional savings from the Spokane Street viaduct project. These investments include pavement maintenance and bicycle safety improvements on East Marginal Way in SoDo, improvements to Lower Spokane Street, a cycle track on the Westlake Avenue corridor on the west side of Lake Union, pedestrian projects, and funding for transit-oriented design near light rail stations.

Last month McGinn announced $11.75 million in transportation investments resulting from savings on the Spokane Street Viaduct project. Those savings occurred because of cost savings due to a favorable bidding climate and strong management of this $163 million project. Today’s funding comes from additional project savings, bringing the total savings to $15 million.

“We have heard from the public that they want safety improvements on our roads,” said McGinn. “These improvements will help protect safety for people on these busy corridors whether they’re in their cars and trucks, on foot, or on a bicycle.”

The $3.25 million in funding is proposed for projects outlined here.

Panel discussion on coal trains this Saturday
Dan Jaffe, a University of Washington chemist and air pollution expert, and Mayor McGinn will lead a discussion of the economic, environmental, health and safety impacts of an additional 18 trains passing through Seattle en route to the proposed coal export terminal near Bellingham.

Please join us this Saturday, May 18th at the Queen Anne Community Center (1901 1st Avenue West), starting at 12:15 p.m.

For the latest on the Leadership Alliance Against Coal’s work, “Like” the alliance on Facebook and follow @NoCoalNW on Twitter.

Mayor announces $500k investment in arts education
Mayor McGinn announced that the city of Seattle will deepen their partnership with the school district to invest in arts education.

Investment dollars will ensure that every student in the Central Pathway of Seattle Public Schools receive a minimum of two hours per week of arts education programming, as well as support the purchase of instruments and other art supplies for classrooms. The Central Pathway, which consists of schools in and around Seattle’s Central District, was chosen due to strong existing partnerships with community-based arts education organizations. The eventual goal of the program is to expand the program each year until all students at Seattle Public Schools receive two hours per week of arts education programming by 2020.

This investment was made possible by higher than expected admission tax revenue, primarily due to the new cultural facilities Chihuly Garden & Glass at Seattle Center and the Great Wheel on the waterfront. City bylaws require that 75 percent of admissions tax funding be dedicated to arts-related programming, allowing the city to invest $500k in arts education programs over the next two years.

Bringing the Portland Loo to Seattle
There will be a public meeting tonight to share details about our work to tackle the challenging issue of public restroom access in our city. There is an ongoing need in many neighborhoods for safe, accessible public restroom facilities. One neighborhood in particular has been active and vocal about the need for this service – Pioneer Square.

To address the need, City departments partnered with the Alliance for Pioneer Square to map current publicly accessible restrooms and identified a big gap in the middle of the neighborhood where the need is greatest. We analyzed several alternatives and concluded the best option was the regionally famous Portland Loo, which is designed specifically for the needs of urban neighborhoods. The west end of the Sinking Ship Garage was identified by neighborhood stakeholders and City staff as the preferred location. Much progress has been made – SDOT traffic has approved the site, Seattle Public Utilities has located water and waste water infrastructure nearby and the Pioneer Square Preservation Board is supportive of the Loo facility and the proposed location. Most importantly, we have identified non-City sources of funding for both installation and maintenance of the facility.

Read more here.

Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
May 15, 6:00 p.m. – Genesee CSO Reduction Project drop-in meeting, 4800 Lake Washington Blvd S

May 16, 7:00 p.m. – Parks Legacy Plan Draft Report Public Meeting, Jefferson Community Center (3801 Beacon Ave S)

May 17, 4:00 p.m. – Volunteer Park Play Area Renovation Celebration, Volunteer Park (1247 15th Ave E)

May 18, 12:15 p.m. – Coal train impacts in your neighborhood: a panel discussion, Queen Anne Community Center (1901 1st Ave W)

What we’re reading:
Young Americans Lead Trend to Less Driving

Fight Brewing Over New Tent Cities – Bill Would Allow Homeless Encampments on Public and Private Property

Washington state jobless rate now at 7%, lowest since 2008

Cyclists Aren’t ‘Special’, and They Shouldn’t Play by Their Own Rules

Across America we’re seeing that more people are choosing to take transit. But here in Washington State we’re not keeping up with demand. In fact, we’re struggling to maintain funding for the bus system we already have.

Unless the state legislature steps up and provides us with the local revenue authority we need to preserve transit service, King County Metro will be forced to cut 17% of its bus service next year. Those cuts would be devastating to our community.

More people will have to wait longer for increasingly overcrowded buses, travel out of their way or transfer to make trips, or find another way altogether to get where they need to go. For many, driving would be the only alternative. That will hit low income communities especially hard. It’ll make traffic worse – equivalent to closing lanes on Interstate 5. And it will add more carbon emissions to our climate.

This problem has been coming for some time. That’s why I brought together 47 mayors from across the state to propose a solution to local communities’ transportation challenges. In February we agreed on a joint proposal that we brought to the governor and the legislature to provide us with new funding to support our transportation needs. In Seattle, those options will help us preserve and expand transit service, as well as tackle our road maintenance backlog. This was an unprecedented collaboration between mayors from both parties, from cities large and small, who all agreed that giving local governments these tools was essential to our economy and our quality of life.

This mayors’ coalition and other groups have lobbied our legislators to adopt new transportation revenue tools, including local options, in this legislative session so that we can avoid the catastrophe that would result from having to cut transit funding, and address our cities’ road maintenance backlog. Transit funding must be a top priority for our legislators. I urge them to come together, as we mayors have, around a common solution to keep our buses rolling on well maintained, local roads.

It’s time for your voice to be heard. King County Metro is soliciting feedback on the future of the system. If you would like to weigh in on these important issues, you can also contact your legislators. Seattle’s future is riding on this.

Last month McGinn announced $11.75 million in transportation investments resulting from savings on the Spokane Street Viaduct project. Those savings occurred because of cost savings due to a favorable bidding climate and strong management of this $163 million project. Today’s funding comes from additional project savings, bringing the total savings to $15 million.

“We have heard from the public that they want safety improvements on our roads,” said McGinn. “These improvements will help protect safety for people on these busy corridors whether they’re in their cars and trucks, on foot, or on a bicycle.”

The $3.25 million in funding will be used for the following projects:

• Improvements to East Marginal Way in SoDo
  • $700,000 for pavement maintenance, restriping, and exploring interim cycle track options to provide further separation of bicycles and auto traffic.
  • $200,000 will be included for conceptual planning and pre-design for a permanent reconstruction to the road, which will also include a long-term design of separated bicycle facilities such as a cycle track.
• Westlake Avenue Cycle Track
  • $1.2 million for final design and construction of this project to improve separation between bicycles and vehicles and link the Ship Canal trail to South Lake Union. When combined with previous funding from the City and Puget Sound Regional Council, this project will have $2.3 million of funding which may be enough to build the facility depending on final design.
• $500,000 for Lower Spokane Street Safety Improvements. Project elements will be developed with input from the community, the Port, and other stakeholders and may include:
  • Improving pavement conditions along the pathway.
  • Improving crossing at Port driveways
  • Improving crossing for bicyclists at Chelan (5-way) intersection.
  • Improving crossing for bicyclists from the path to SW Avalon Way/SW Admiral Way.
  • Increase separation for bicyclists on SW Admiral Way.
  • Improving Delridge to Andover connection to the bicycle path.
• $400,000 for implementation of the Pedestrian Master Plan
• $250,000 for transit-oriented design in multiple neighborhoods:
  • Study at Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South to identify alternatives, conduct a traffic analysis, conceptual design, develop conceptual cost estimates and conduct public outreach
  • New transportation analysis near Roosevelt light rail station, assessing station area access issues including evaluation of the Roosevelt/11^th one-way couplet
  • Station access and transit-oriented design near Othello Station

This is in addition to the previously announced $11.75 million in transportation investments from Spokane Street Viaduct savings. That funding was included in the First Quarter Supplemental Budget, and includes:

• $4.5 million for major road improvements on Northgate Way, closing the funding gap for this approximately $14 million project. This project includes paving, sidewalks and curb ramps, traffic signals, and lighting.
• $1 million in new funding for Pedestrian Master Plan implementation
• Design work on pedestrian projects currently being identified through the Lake City Way Traffic Safety Corridor Project and other community processes, and additional pedestrian mobility improvements along the length of the corridor and intersecting streets.
• Planning for intersection improvements at Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, which was identified as a high priority in the Southeast Transportation Study.
• Installation of a special pedestrian flashing beacon at 47th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Admiral Way. We will also work with the community to begin the technical design process for a permanent traffic signal at that location, and are working to identify funding sources for its construction.
• Installation of safety improvements on Northeast 75th Street near Nathan Eckstein Middle School. In April we described these improvements in greater detail. They include a flashing school zone beacon, evaluation of this site for a school zone speed camera, remarking of crosswalks, evaluation of Northeast 68th Street and 25th Avenue Northeast for a traffic signal, and new pedestrian countdown heads at existing traffic signals in the area. We have also been working with the community to examine possible physical changes to the roadway to reduce speeds. SDOT is currently analyzing this feedback and will develop a proposal in the coming weeks.

Be sure to take our community survey on school road safety so your input can be included in this process.

To address the need, City departments partnered with the Alliance for Pioneer Square to map current publicly accessible restrooms and identified a big gap in the middle of the neighborhood where the need is greatest. We analyzed several alternatives and concluded the best option was the regionally famous Portland Loo, which is designed specifically for the needs of urban neighborhoods. The west end of the Sinking Ship Garage was identified by neighborhood stakeholders and City staff as the preferred location. Much progress has been made – SDOT traffic has approved the site, Seattle Public Utilities has located water and waste water infrastructure nearby and the Pioneer Square Preservation Board is supportive of the Loo facility and the proposed location. Most importantly, we have identified non-City sources of funding for both installation and maintenance of the facility.

The developer of a proposed building nearby, Urban Visions, has stepped in to provide this facility as the project’s  public benefit, in exchange for the ability to build to 130 feet, above the current height limit. We are proposing that the developer acquire, transport and install the facility, transferring ownership to the City once the Loo is operational.  The City will lease the Loo to the Alliance for Pioneer Square who will be responsible for operation and maintenance, contracting with a vendor to provide twice daily cleaning.

Through creative thinking and collaboration, we have a plan to bring public restroom access to Pioneer Square as a pilot program. If this effort is successful, this model could be duplicated in other neighborhoods across the city. We anticipate the Loo will be installed in late summer or early fall. Check back on our blog for more as this plan develops.

FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Launching the Startup Seattle initative
Leaders of Seattle’s startup community and the city of Seattle have teamed up to launch Startup Seattle, an initiative to support the growth of the Seattle technology startup community and establish Seattle as an internationally recognized home for emerging technology companies. Yesterday, Mayor McGinn hosted a press conference to announce the group’s action plan at the downtown Seattle headquarters of Zillow, one of Seattle’s most successful startups in recent years.

“Startup companies are an important part of Seattle’s innovative local economy,” said McGinn. “That’s why we are working hard to support startup businesses that could turn in to the next Microsoft or Amazon. I thank all of our partners in this work to help support our local economy, which is growing faster than the rest of the region, state and country.”

Read more on our blog, GeekWire, or Xconomy.

Mayor McGinn announces ‘million gallon challenge’
Mayor McGinn announced this week that he has directed City departments to build on earlier “green fleet” efforts to meet the challenge of cutting the City’s annual use of petroleum-based fuels by 1 million gallons by 2020. Accomplishing this goal will require improving operational efficiencies, making investments in alternative-fuel infrastructure, and ramping up purchases of alternative vehicles.

“Reducing consumption of petroleum-based fuels is good for the climate and good for the economy,” said McGinn. “By ramping up demand on the government side we can help support businesses that are interested in innovating sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. I encourage my colleagues across the region and country to take similar actions.”

Outreach effort on gun violence
Mayor McGinn announced an outreach effort to inspire conversation among the youth of Seattle about gun violence. The City of Seattle, with the support of Chihuly Studio and Schnitzer Steel is launching a contest called “Weapons to Words” that asks children in Seattle to come up with a short quotation on the subject of gun violence. Plaques made from metal upcycled from guns recovered from future Seattle gun buyback programs will feature quotes from Seattle students about what a violence-free future means to them.

“Our city has been through a lot lately. Gun violence has left many in our community wondering what they can do to help” said Mayor McGinn. “These upcycled plaques, inscribed with the hopes and dreams of the next generation, will transform weapons of violence into something positive. It is my hope that this project will spur a conversation in our community about what kind of city we want to be, and how we can get there together.”

Students can enter by submitting their quote on the subject of gun violence to seattle.gov/weaponstowords, where you can also find contest guidelines and rules. Contest entries should come from students in the first through twelfth grades living in Seattle, and should be no more than 50 words. The panel will select the winning entries by September 15th, 2013.

Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
May 13, 5:30 p.m. – Parks Legacy Plan Draft Report Public Meeting, Northgate Community Center (10510 5th Ave NE)

May 14, 4:00 p.m. – King County Council hearing on potential Metro cuts, Union Station (401 S Jackson St)

May 17, all day – F5 Bike to Work Day (citywide)

Video highlights (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/photos/videos.htm):

Changes to SPD recruitment policies	Weapons to Words overview
Million Gallon Challenge	Startup Seattle launch

What we’re reading:
Five years of Seattle bicycle collision data makes case for cycle tracks

Wednesday Video: Speaking Out Against the Coal Trains

McGinn deserves recognition for work on parks, infrastructure

The Fight Against Small Apartments

The Latest on Bringing the NBA Back to Seattle

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Leaders of Seattle’s startup community and the city of Seattle have teamed up to launch Startup Seattle, an initiative to support the growth of the Seattle technology startup community and establish Seattle as an internationally recognized home for emerging technology companies. Today, Mayor Mike McGinn hosted a press conference to announce the group’s action plan at the downtown Seattle headquarters of Zillow, one of Seattle’s most successful startups in recent years.

“Startup companies are an important part of Seattle’s innovative local economy,” said McGinn. “That’s why we are working hard to support startup businesses that could turn in to the next Microsoft or Amazon. I thank all of our partners in this work to help support our local economy, which is growing faster than the rest of the region, state and country.”

“Economic recovery doesn’t happen all on its own and this initiative is consistent with Council’s economic recovery resolution calling for actions that make it easier to do business in Seattle,” said Councilmember Richard Conlin.

During the next year, the City plans to hire a startup business sector liaison, relaunch the resource website startupseattle.com, form partnerships with local organizations such as Code.org and Startup Weekend to increase access and connect high school students with local technology opportunities, and develop a marketing campaign to help attract talent to Seattle from across the country. In addition, the City will continue to support “innovation hubs” that make neighborhoods more attractive to early-stage technology companies and initiate a market assessment of real-estate needs for startups that will be used to guide new transit-oriented development in the University District.

“Designating the University District as an ‘innovation hub’ will create a magnet for tech companies of all sizes, and terrific opportunities for companies, students and faculty. The University of Washington already is the region’s educational hub and a great source of entrepreneurship; adding flexible low cost office space and other amenities will make the U-District an extremely desirable area for technology innovation,” said Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. “The City put a stake in the ground to do something really important and the time is right for this kind of transformation.”

Seattle already offers significant resources for technology companies such as an internationally recognized computer science program at the University of Washington, a vibrant tech community and an unmatched quality of life that is significantly more affordable than in the San Francisco Bay Area or New York City.

Many of Seattle’s iconic companies such as Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon and Costco were venture-backed and put Seattle on the startup map. Today, Seattle’s technology startup community is comprised of more than 700 companies such as Big Fish, DocuSign, Tableau, Zillow and zulily. Seattle’s entrepreneurs are a significant and growing segment of the local economy and Startup Seattle will create an even more robust environment for them and future generations.

“Seattle’s current economic success was built by prior generations of entrepreneurs who chose to build their companies here such as Bill Boeing, John Nordstrom and Craig McCaw’s namesake companies to Bill Gates with Microsoft, Howard Schultz with Starbucks, Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman with Costco, and Jeff Bezos with Amazon,” said Chris DeVore, co-founder and general partner at Founders’ Co-op. “Innovation is the bedrock of our culture and the entire Seattle community is working together to ensure that we attract and support the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

The advisory group that worked with the City to create the Startup Seattle initiative was comprised of the following individuals:

• Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow
• Marcelo Calbucci, EveryMove
• John Cook, GeekWire
• Chris DeVore, Founders Co-op/TechStars Seattle
• Emer Dooley, University of Washington/Alliance of Angels
• Greg Gottesman, Madrona Venture Group
• Seaton Gras, SURF Incubator
• Ed Lazowska, University of Washington
• Amy McCullough, Trilogy Partnership
• Omri Mor, Ziibra
• Marc Nager, Startup Weekend
• Marcus Womack, Familiar

A smaller advisory group will continue to support the initiative going forward, including several of the individuals above as well as representatives from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services.

“Reducing consumption of petroleum-based fuels is good for the climate and good for the economy,” said McGinn. “By ramping up demand on the government side we can help support businesses that are interested in innovating sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. I encourage my colleagues across the region and country to take similar actions.”

Using the city’s 2012 fuel usage as a baseline, a reduction of 1 million gallons of petroleum-based fuel would equate to a 42 percent reduction in overall petroleum-based fuel usage by the City’s fleet.

To meet the “million gallon challenge,” McGinn has instructed the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) to update the City’s 2007 Clean and Green Fleet Action Plan. The plan will focus on four key areas to reduce Seattle’s use of petroleum-based fuels by 2020:

• Using advanced vehicle technology, such as automatic vehicle locators, to create operational efficiencies:
  • Route Planning – ensure vehicles travel the most-effective routes
  • Reduced Idling – avoiding excessive idling
  • Optimal Speeds – identifying ideal speeds to achieve optimal gas mileage

• Purchasing alternative-fueled vehicles:
  • All-Electric passenger vehicles, parking enforcement scooters, and light-duty trucks
  • Electric-Hybrid vehicles, heavy-duty trucks and large work vans
  • Other alternative-fueled vehicles that run on biofuels.  

• Investing and working with regional partners to develop electric vehicle infrastructure to support city fleet needs and enable Seattle residents to purchase all-electric vehicles:
  • Install additional charging stations in strategic locations throughout Seattle and travel points throughout Washington

• Using a biodiesel blend made with waste vegetable oil at the city’s three main fueling sites.

FAS will update the Clean and Green Fleet Action plan in 2013, so that this effort can start in earnest in 2014. McGinn will propose an adjustment to the 2014 endorsed budget to cover the costs associated with achieving this goal in 2020. This includes funding to purchase approximately 36 all-electric vehicles to replace traditional fuel vehicles due for replacement in 2014; to install and maintain 200 Advanced Vehicle Locator systems for supporting more efficient use of vehicles; for installing additional charging stations throughout the city; for preparation of existing tanks for biodiesel use; and to fund a new Green Fleet Coordinator, who will be responsible for implementing the Green Fleet Action Plan and cultivating regional partnerships to achieve green fleet goals. Actual funding amounts will be worked out during the 2014 budget process.

The City has already seen positive results when transitioning from petroleum-fueled vehicles to alternative-fueled options. Since 2011, the City’s 43 all-electric Nissan Leafs have traveled more than 240,000 miles. The switch from petroleum-fueled vehicles to all-electric reduced fuel consumption by more than 5,000 gallons and prevented 53 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The cost of electricity to power the Leafs is cheaper than the cost of petroleum fuels for other vehicles. Over the lifespan of the electric vehicles the City anticipates they will have a net cost savings over petroleum-fueled vehicles.

Seattle has been a leader in green fleet development for more than 20 years – starting in 1991 when Seattle built a regional compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station on city-owned property. Having CNG fueling infrastructure ultimately led to the purchase of CNG fleet vehicles, spurring others to convert to CNG-fueled vehicles and laying the groundwork for requiring Seattle’s waste hauler contractors to use CNG garbage trucks. Seattle was also an early adopter of hybrid technology and grew its fleet of Toyota Prius to be one of the largest in the U.S. The City’s green fleet efforts culminated in 2010 when Seattle was recognized as the “#1 Green Fleet in North America” by Government Fleet Magazine and The 100 Best Fleets™.

Leslie Chihuly speaks about the impact of gun violence on kids

“Our city has been through a lot lately. Gun violence has left many in our community wondering what they can do to help” said Mayor McGinn. “These upcycled plaques, inscribed with the hopes and dreams of the next generation, will transform weapons of violence into something positive. It is my hope that this project will spur a conversation in our community about what kind of city we want to be, and how we can get there together.”

The plaques, made from upcycled steel that includes the weapons we recovered, will be placed in Seattle parks. Chihuly Studio is helping to design the upcycled plaques and The Office of Arts & Culture will convene a panel to select the entries from the students to be engraved on the plaques.

“The history of gun violence in our city is tragic” said recently appointed Director of the Office of Arts and Culture Randy Engstrom. “This initiative underlies the ways in which the creative process can be used to confront challenging social issues.”

Students can enter by submitting their quote on the subject of gun violence to seattle.gov/weaponstowords, where you can also find contest guidelines and rules. Contest entries should come from students in the first through twelfth grades living in Seattle, and should be no more than 50 words. The panel will select the winning entries by September 15th, 2013.

“Chihuly Studio is proud to support this program” said Leslie Jackson Chihuly, President of Chihuly Studio. “Weapons to Words allows our youth to express themselves in their own way about the world in which they are growing up. I have confidence in them, and I know this contest will bring out the best in all.”

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013

Improving SPD recruitment policy
Mayor McGinn announced that as part of SPD 20/20: A Vision for the Future, new recruitment policies and outreach strategies have been adopted to encourage more diversity among Seattle Police Department officers.

“When we announced SPD 20/20, we promised to do everything possible to make sure we’re recruiting new officers for our police force who reflect the diversity and values of the community they serve” said Mayor McGinn. “We project that in the next 5 years we will hire more than 300 police officers to replace officers who will be completing their careers. We are determined to make the most of this opportunity to shape the police department of the future.”

The mayor also announced the next round of testing for new officers – the test will be conducted on July 13th, with enrollment open as of May 6th. Interested applicants can attend upcoming workshops Wednesday, May 8th at 7:00 at the Atlantic Street Center (2103 S Atlantic St) and Monday, May 13th at 6:00 at El Centro de la Raza (2524 16th Ave S). More information on these and more community workshops can be found at SPD’s new recruitment website seattlepolicejobs.com.

There was some good coverage of the announcement by Q-13, KOMO, KING5, The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, West Seattle Herald and The Stranger.

Making excuses for the gender pay gap doesn’t help women who face discrimination
The Seattle Times recently published a point/counterpoint opinion piece on the gender wage gap, with Bruce Ramsey arguing that the dramatic differences between men and women’s compensation can be explained away by women supposedly choosing to pursue lower-paying jobs. This argument has been made and debunked time and time again. Though Lynne Varner did an excellent job responding, there are some basic factual inaccuracies in Bruce’s piece that Mayor McGinn points out here.

Building a great neighborhood in South Lake Union
Monday Seattle took an important step toward sustainable, environmentally friendly economic growth. The City Council, after thoughtful deliberation, has adopted our proposal to rezone the South Lake Union neighborhood to support more jobs and housing. This rezone helps to secure Seattle’s future as a global economic leader. It provides more opportunities for people to live, work, and enjoy a modern urban neighborhood while also bringing important investments in infrastructure, parks, and affordable housing.

This comprehensive rezone of South Lake Union will help us continue to build shared prosperity in Seattle. We anticipate that by 2035 this rezone will have created 12,000 new housing units (reducing the pressure on tenants in existing housing stock) and 22,000 new jobs, along with $378 million in new property tax revenue for the City.

Read more here.

Leadership Alliance Against Coal
Mayor McGinn continues to lead the fight against the proposal that would have up to 18 additional coal trains pass through Seattle. On Saturday, he joined State Representative Reuven Carlyle, Kyle Griffin of the Seattle Great Wheel, Cary Moon of the People’s Waterfront Coalition and the Sierra Club for a rally against coal trains on the waterfront.

The Leadership Alliance Against Coal now includes 30 mayors, councilmembers, representatives and tribal leaders all along the proposed route. To keep up with the latest news from the alliance, please “like” the Leadership Alliance Against Coal’s facebook page and follow @NoCoalNW on twitter.

Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
May 7, 6:00 p.m. – City Council Town Hall on Climate Action, University Heights Center (5031 University Way NE)

May 14, 4:00 p.m. – King County Council hearing on potential Metro cuts, Union Station (401 S Jackson St)

May 17, all day – F5 Bike to Work Day (citywide)

May 18, 9:00 a.m. – Light Search and Rescue, Warren Magnuson Park (7400 Sand Point Way NE)

What we’re reading:
The City Council’s SLU Rezone Actually Provides Less Affordable Housing Than the Mayor’s

Seattle plan would make city carbon neutral by 2050

Seattle’s Invisible 28-Lane Freeway

Seattle Leads by Example with Green Buildings

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“When we announced SPD 20/20, we promised to do everything possible to make sure we’re recruiting new officers for our police force who reflect the diversity and values of the community they serve” said Mayor McGinn. “We project that in the next 5 years we will hire more than 300 police officers to replace officers who will be completing their careers. We are determined to make the most of this opportunity to shape the police department of the future.”

The mayor also announced the next round of testing for new officers – the test will be conducted on July 13, with enrollment opening May 6. Interested applicants can attend a workshop tonight at the Filipino Community of Seattle from 5:30-7:30. More information can be found on community workshops at SPD’s new recruitment website seattlepolicejobs.com.

“SPD is in a period of transition. It is essential that as we move forward with implementing the Settlement Agreement and charting a new path for SPD’s future, we recruit candidates who are ready and willing to make that transition with us” said Deputy Chief Dick Reed. “We’re looking for men and women who are committed to serving their community, and we’ll do everything we can to support their success in the application process.”

Policy changes and initiatives affecting recruitment include:

• Elimination of $25 application fee
• Partnerships with community-based organizations including Atlantic Street Center, Filipino Community of Seattle and El Centro De La Raza
• Community based workshops to prepare candidates for testing
• New advertising and recruitment materials based on community input
• Changes to the minimum hiring standards policy including:
  • Marijuana policy has been updated to require that new hires have not used marijuana in the past year, rather than fewer than 25 times overall
  • Elimination of some clauses under Traffic Record that may have unnecessarily disqualified applicants
  • Changes in Professional Appearances standards regarding tattoos, scarification, and elimination of the policy regarding dental ornamentation. Tattoos and scarification will now be reviewed on a case by case basis.
  • Additional context included for applicants: during the background investigation process SPD is interested in learning greater detail about challenges applicants may have faced, as well as the lessons the applicant has learned and the changes the applicant has made as a result. This context will be included in the review process
  • Strategic ethnic media advertising plan in partnership with the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
  • Full redesign of website designed to make application process more accessible
  • Recruitment outreach through social media

“I’m proud to have been a part of this effort” said community leader Kip Tokuda. “SPD needs diverse perspectives to be able to police effectively and build bridges with the community. These changes will bring more diversity and connection with the communities they serve to the SPD.”

This comprehensive rezone of South Lake Union will help us continue to build shared prosperity in Seattle. We anticipate that by 2035 this rezone will have created 12,000 new housing units (reducing the pressure on tenants in existing housing stock) and 22,000 new jobs, along with $378 million in new property tax revenue for the City.

It’s taken almost ten years to get to this point. The process for a comprehensive rezone of South Lake Union began in 2004 when the neighborhood was designated as an Urban Center as part of the 10-year update of the Comprehensive Plan. The City partnered with the community to update the neighborhood plan to establish goals and policies for the neighborhoods future growth as an Urban Center. That was done in 2007, and the City then began working with the community and stakeholders to develop a new zoning ordinance for the neighborhood to implement the neighborhood plan.

Upon taking office in 2010, I began working with members of the City Council, the Department of Planning and Development, King County Executive Dow Constantine, property owners and businesses in the community, housing advocates and neighborhood activists to move this process to completion. After two years of hard work we agreed to a proposal that allows us to leverage private investment in the area to provide more affordable housing, improve local infrastructure and provide other public benefits that serve Seattle residents, visitors and the South Lake Union neighborhood.

The proposal as adopted includes greater height and development capacity for much of South Lake Union, but excludes most of the Cascade area, a long-standing residential enclave in the eastern portion of the neighborhood. Some of the elements of the rezone include:

• Establishing new development standards to ensure towers are well-spaced and floor plates are limited to preserve openness to the sky and public views through the neighborhood
  • The number of permitted towers is limited to 2 per block, or 1 per block on blocks fronting Lake Union.
  • Floor plates for residential towers are limited to 10,500 up to 240 feet or 12,500 up to 160 feet.
  • Floor plates for commercial towers are limited to 24,000 square feet.
  • Tower setbacks are required on Fairview, Thomas and John Streets to preserve view corridors.
• Ensuring active public spaces through well-designed ground floor retail along key streets, façade transparency and parking standards, and pedestrian pass-throughs on large blocks
• Creating new incentives to preserve landmark properties and existing open space
• Significant public benefits for height and size beyond new baselines:
  • Saving up to 25,000 acres of farm and forest lands in King County,
  • $28 million for infrastructure improvements in South Lake Union and downtown Seattle
• Significant new funding for affordable housing
• Providing Incentives for development of a public school:
  • Exempt floor area in a project that is used to establish a school in the neighborhood,
  • Projects that include a public school may exceed the residential height limit by 30% or the commercial height limit by 20%.

I want to thank the City Council for voting to approve the rezone today. In particular, I want to thank Councilmember Richard Conlin for his work in helping develop the proposal and shepherding it to approval by the City Council.

Let’s start with the basics. Though this problem exists nationwide, Seattle was recently found to be the worst offender of any major city in the U.S. This is shocking. We must do better. Women in Seattle make 73 cents for every dollar earned by a man, and the wage gap gets even worse when you include race as a factor. African American women are paid 64 cents and Latina women are paid just 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.

This cannot be conveniently explained away by arguing that men choose high-paying jobs like tech, construction and engineering while women choose health care and other “pink collar” jobs. First of all, those choices are not made in a vacuum. Women are socialized from childhood to believe they are better suited for jobs in traditionally “female friendly” industries. One of the biggest barriers to women entering the tech industry is lack of role models (not to mention institutionalized sexism and frequently unfriendly workplaces). This is a self-perpetuating problem – without older women to look up to in the sciences and tech fields, young women fall out of the science and tech career pipeline at much higher rates than men, who often benefit from mentorship, peer connections and other advantages that women don’t have. Workplace policies in companies that employ primarily men are often not written to accommodate women’s needs. And the fact that many women choose to “lean out” of their careers when they begin families isn’t simply a matter of personal choice either – when women are making 73 cents on the dollar, why wouldn’t they choose to stay home with the kids and rely on their male partner’s salary? All of these “choices” are informed and influenced by the reality of institutionalized sexism.

Leaving “personal choice” aside, even women who follow a man’s playbook and pursue leadership positions in high-paid industries are still paid less than their male counterparts. This gap persists even when you control for education, experience, ambition and choice to start a family. This study from non-profit advocacy group Catalyst surveyed only men and women who graduated from an MBA program and were recruited by top firms across industries. They found that even when they only looked at men and women with similar levels of experience, education and ambition, women were still being paid nearly $5,000 less in their first job out of their MBA program. These findings were consistent even when examining only men and women who did not have children. So when Bruce Ramsey says “the “gap” everyone talks about is not between men and women with the same jobs” he’s just factually incorrect.

Seattle has a problem with gender inequality in pay. Let’s not make excuses and blame women for their “personal choices.” That isn’t going to help the 141,949 households in the Seattle metro area that are headed by women, 23 percent of which are living below the poverty line. For these families, the wage gap isn’t just a matter of fairness – it’s a matter of survival.

If we’re willing to be honest with ourselves and take a hard look at this problem, we can do better. My first step will be to make sure our own house is in order. I have directed Dave Stewart, Director of the Personnel Department of the City of Seattle, to take a hard look at our numbers and make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure equitable pay for every City of Seattle employee. We’re also working on a proposal to address this issue more broadly. Check out my blog for more news on this issue coming soon.

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2013

Improving road safety near our schools
Mayor McGinn announced details of a new School Road Safety Initiative this week. First mentioned in McGinn’s State of the City address in February 2013, the School Road Safety Initiative will analyze conditions near Seattle schools and develop an action plan to make improvements to address road safety issues. A School Road Safety Task Force and agency partners have been assembled to advise the City in implementing the plan.

Rafael Regan, high school student and Seattle Youth Commissioner, speaks about the importance of road safety

“I’ve heard from parents, teachers, and neighbors that roads near our schools need to be safer. And recent tragedies in our city remind us of the urgency of this work,” said McGinn. “We will address school road safety through physical improvements and enforcement, while encouraging more people to look out for each other on our roads.”

Mayor announces national police reform expert as new OPA director
Mayor McGinn announced that after an extensive search process, he has nominated a new director of the Office of Professional Accountability, the office responsible for investigating complaints about police misconduct. The new director, Pierce Murphy, has served as the city of Boise’s Community Ombudsman since 1999, successfully implementing a long-term plan to restore public trust and build stronger connections between community and police.

“As we work with the DOJ and Community Police Commission to implement reforms and earn public confidence in the Seattle Police Department, we knew we needed a strong leader with experience in bringing the community and police together to head the OPA” said Mayor McGinn. “Pierce Murphy has decades of experience in finding common ground on difficult issues, and is recognized as a national expert on police accountability and reform. He brings new ideas and a fresh eye to the challenges we face, and I look forward to working with him closely.”

An update on feedback from Safe Communities
Earlier this year we launched the Safe Communities Initiative as part of SPD: 20/20 with the goal of meaningfully engaging our community in reducing crime and creating the safest possible neighborhoods. Safe Communities brought together residents and officers together in living rooms, cafes, barber shops and community centers across Seattle to develop a list of priorities to address community concerns.

Across the city we engaged with over 1,000 participants at 101 community meetings. Delegates of the Safe Communities Initiative had 320 separate recommendations for the city to do to improve safety in our neighborhoods. Many of these recommendations are similar across all 5 precincts, while some are precinct specific.

The community feedback is summarized here.

Public feedback shows support for Ballard to downtown transit options
We’re working hard to connect our neighborhoods with more rail. This year we’ve partnered with Sound Transit to begin the planning process for high capacity transit to connect Ballard to downtown. Last month we invited the community to share their thoughts about how to bring better transit to their neighborhoods.

People are clearly excited about better transit. Nearly 150 people joined us at the open house at Ballard High School on March 12, and 270 others shared their comments online. Here are some of the key themes that emerged from public comments.

Upcoming events (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/Engage/access.htm):
May 4, 11:00 a.m. – Neighborhood Town Hall with Mayor McGinn, University District Masonic Lodge #141 (4338 University Way NE)

May 7, 7:00 p.m. – Parks Legacy Plan Draft Report Public Meeting, Parks Administration Building (100 Dexter Ave N)

May 8, 7:00 p.m. – Parks Legacy Plan Draft Report Public Meeting, Green Lake Community Center (7201 E Green Lake Dr N)

May 9, 2:00 p.m. – Rental Registration & Inspection Ordinance (RRIO) Stakeholder Meeting (700 5th Ave, Room 4050)

Video highlights (for more see http://seattle.gov/mayor/photos/videos.htm):

King Street Station reopening	Fireworks announcement
Seattle Promise announcement	School Road Safety Initiative

What we’re reading:
What’s wrong with Seattle’s micro-apartments?

The Apartheid Playbook: Activists Push Fossil Fuel Divestment

U-District to South Lake Union transit corridor plans move forward

‘Bike infrastructure’ means more than paint on the road

To subscribe to The Reader via email, click here.

People are clearly excited about better transit. Nearly 150 people joined us at the open house at Ballard High School on March 12, and 270 others shared their comments online. The following are some of the key themes that emerged from public comments:

• In order to deal with congestion on existing bridges, a new Ship Canal crossing is preferred.
• If a new system is to be built, commenters prefer prioritizing reliability and speed. To that end, they prefer grade-separation for either transit mode to minimize interference with existing traffic and bus service.
• Connections with the existing and future transit system, including Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail and the City of Seattle’s South Lake Union Streetcar, should be prioritized.
• Commenters are interested in a system that mobilizes and connects people and places reliably, efficiently and without redundancy.
• A single route did not emerge from the comments received. Two general corridors south of the Ship Canal received the most comments: Westlake Ave North and 15th Avenue West.

In June, members of the public will then have another opportunity to provide feedback and comment on possible routes, possible station locations, and much more.

I met with Seattle Department of Transportation director Peter Hahn and City Traffic Engineer Dongho Chang this morning. I directed them to report back on what we can do immediately with existing resources to improve safety on this corridor. They have also been looking at the feasibility of a separated cycle track at this location as part of the Bicycle Master Plan update.

This tragedy, like other recent tragedies, reemphasizes the importance of safety on our streets. We want everyone to get home safely.

Rafael Regan, high school student and Seattle Youth Commissioner, speaks about the importance of road safety

“I’ve heard from parents, teachers, and neighbors that roads near our schools need to be safer. And recent tragedies in our city remind us of the urgency of this work,” said McGinn. “We will address school road safety through physical improvements and enforcement, while encouraging more people to look out for each other on our roads.”

The School Road Safety Initiative will include:

• A traffic safety analysis of streets near schools and a prioritization framework for improvements
• Creation of a safety education toolbox that can be used at all schools, building on the “Be Super Safe” road safety outreach campaign
• A plan for installing more traffic school zone speed cameras and other potential enforcement programs
• A review of existing legislation and policies related to school traffic safety

In the last year, school zone speed cameras were installed at four schools in Seattle, and Safe Routes to Schools investments were made at six other schools. The Road Safety Action Plan and a “Be Super Safe” outreach campaign were also launched.

“A road safety plan for schools on a citywide scale will be a big boost to Safe Routes to Schools efforts”, said Lisa Quinn, director of the pedestrian advocacy organization Feet First.

“Encouraging active travel routines when children are young helps establish lifelong healthy habits. But Seattle’s neighborhood streets should be safer, making it easier for children to get around,” said Julie Salathé of the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation. “This initiative is a significant opportunity for people to work together to make our neighborhoods safer for our children and all families that want to walk and bike more.”

The Mayor’s Office and the City of Seattle are working with Seattle Public Schools to examine road safety at schools across the city. In addition to forming a School Road Safety Task Force, the City will be reaching out to school communities across the City and developing a network of school road safety liaisons that can provide local input on the schools they know best.

“Getting to school by walking and biking is fun – and research shows it improves children’s grades, keeps them fit, and happier during the school day. Let’s do more to protect our kids and give them the freedom to safely walk or bike to school”, said Cathy Tuttle, director of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.

This planning effort will result in a product for each school that can be a guide for the City, School District, and school communities to help increase safety near schools.

This initiative was announced before the recent tragedy near Nathan Eckstein Middle School. Since that collision, caused by an allegedly impaired driver, the Seattle Department of Transportation has continued implementing safety enhancements on Northeast 75th Street and has started working with the community to examine long-term physical changes to the street. The School Road Safety Initiative envisions similar work near schools across the city.

Photo by: Lauren Othon