In response to the Seattle administration’s recent backpedalling to planned improvements for better biking, walking, and transit, community members and groups are joining together to hold “The Ride for Safe Streets” on Sunday, June 16, 1-3 p.m.
A rally will be held at Seattle City Hall, followed by a ride down 4th Avenue to Westlake Park. Hundreds of people are anticipated to participate in this fun, family-friendly, music-filled, and parade-like protest.
The Seattle administration has cut the funded bikeway projects by 27% and is on track to build less than half of the planned projects outlined in the 2014 Bicycle Master Plan. Hundreds of miles of arterial streets lack sidewalks with no end in sight for fixing the problem. Seattle is legally obligated to add fix thousands of curb ramps, and meanwhile continues to deprioritize pedestrians through beg buttons and “intelligent traffic signals.” Planned RapidRide+ corridors have been cutback, such as the Ballard to U-District corridor.
As a result of the inaction, traffic fatalities and serious injuries continue to remain too high. Transportation remains the #1 source of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions at a time when global concentrations have reached unprecedented levels. And historically marginalized communities continue to have unsafe streets and insufficient access to opportunities to enable economic mobility.
That’s why community members and groups are coming together on June 16 to decry the City’s inaction and to call for bolder transportation leadership to deliver on its modal plans.
Organizers are planning the event to be filled with live music, speeches by public officials, and a parade-like atmosphere. More details will be released as the date draws near.
People who wish to attend are encouraged to sign-up online so that organizers know how many people will attend and can plan accordingly.