Once adopted, the Seattle Transportation Plan will formally become Seattle’s vision for the future of transportation
Seattle – Today, Mayor Bruce Harrell submitted the recommended Seattle Transportation Plan to the City Council for their review, feedback, and adoption. The detailed plan outlines the vision for the city’s streets, sidewalks, and public areas for the next two decades, and was informed by two years of focused public involvement by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).
“The Seattle Transportation Plan is one important piece of our city’s long-term vision for the future,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “Together with the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan Update, we are looking at every neighborhood across our city to shape the next 20 years of Seattle’s streets and public spaces. We are creating the Seattle we want to see, where families, workers, neighbors, and visitors can safely get where they need to go, no matter how they travel. From safer routes to schools, parks, transit, and community gathering spaces to proactively maintaining our streets, sidewalks, and bridges, we are laying out a comprehensive vision for a transportation system that serves everyone.”
An Inclusive Approach for Tomorrow’s Transportation
The STP is a 20-year vision for the future of Seattle’s streets, sidewalks, and public spaces informed by thousands of people who live, work, and play in Seattle. The STP establishes a vision, goals, key moves, and recommendations for a transportation system that works for our city now and in the future. The plan will inform and help shape everything from future transportation funding to projects and programs that enhance the way we enjoy public space and move through the city.
The STP identifies six key goals for Seattle:
- Safety: Prioritize safety for travelers in Seattle, with no serious injury or fatal crashes. This includes measures such as implementing traffic calming techniques to reduce vehicle speeds and enhance safety, along with establishing safer routes to schools, parks, transit hubs, community gathering spaces, and other frequented destinations.
- Equity: Engage with and invest in historically underserved neighborhoods. Also prioritize investments in impacted communities to address transportation inequities.
- Sustainability: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. This involves planting additional trees and establishing green spaces along city streets to mitigate the effects of climate change.
- Mobility & Economic Vitality: Help people and goods get where they need to go. For instance, this involves achieving world-class access to transit while promoting increased frequency and reliability of service.
- Livability: Reimagine city streets as inviting places to linger and play. This can include creating public spaces and community hubs for community to gather.
- Maintenance & Modernization: Improve and future-proof critical transportation infrastructure. This includes maintaining streets, sidewalks, and bridges, and integrating planned safety and network improvements with maintenance efforts.
Key Enhancements Reflect Public Voice
Key updates were made to the original draft based on public suggestions, including:
- Supporting public safety through maintenance of critical access routes and planning for a climate resilient network.
- Supporting shifts toward non-punitive transportation enforcement approaches that reduce harm and enhance public safety on city streets.
- Expanding the goal on mobility to include economic vitality, emphasizing the importance of getting people and goods to where they need to go.
- Expanding the Implementation Strategy to give more details on how SDOT will bring this future vision to life.
The Levy to Move Seattle expires at the end of 2024. Mayor Harrell and SDOT are currently working on a levy renewal proposal, which is expected to be presented to the public and City Council this spring. Renewing the levy will ensure the continuation of essential transportation services and funding.
For more information on the Seattle Transportation Plan and its development process, please visit seattle.gov/transportation/seattletransportationplan.
What People Are Saying
Many government processes take place at a table—whether in-person or online. Creating the STP was different because our staff was determined to bring the table to people who didn’t know there was an opportunity to participate. Using innovative methods from our Transportation Equity Framework, we convened conversations in multiple locations and languages with a diverse set of residents, community members, and businesses who hadn’t previously been involved in such a process. We were honored to meet with community members across social identities, languages, and cultural experiences. We held focus groups with our city’s indigenous and immigrant communities, hearing themes that included honoring the city’s ecosystem, improving safety for our most vulnerable travelers, and repairing past transportation planning decisions that have separated communities rather than bringing people together. – SDOT Director Greg Spotts
Climate change is a sad reality and it has been strongly affecting us, especially those of us who live in the Duwamish Valley. But we are also aware that the City of Seattle has been making enormous efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions in the city’s transportation sector. and this is reflected in the projects that we have and have been carrying out together where we communicate to our community the public policies for the fulfillment of said objective as well as educating our youth, as in the case of the electromobile project that we are currently executing. – Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA)
As a community that has often felt invisible in Seattle, this project was a chance to elevate Khmer voices and the voices of those in our community to inform key planning and decision-making around anti-displacement, housing, and transportation policies. We appreciate the opportunity for our community to weigh-in on a planning process that they may have never been involved in otherwise. – Khmer Community of Seattle King County in partnership with Noio Pathways & Kim Yu Consulting
Informed by the voices of our diverse community, we embrace the Seattle Transportation Plan’s vision for a future where every step, pedal, or wheel turns toward safety, equity, sustainability, mobility, and economic vitality in the Central Area neighborhoods. We champion equity, advocating for transportation solutions that bridge divides and uplift underserved voices, creating pathways for all to thrive. With sustainability at the core, we embrace initiatives that reduce our carbon footprint, foster cleaner air, and preserve the beauty of our environment for generations to come. We celebrate mobility as a cornerstone of our community, striving for seamless connections that empower residents to reach their destinations efficiently and affordably. Through collaborative efforts, we believe this plan will help pave the way for safer streets, ensuring all residents, regardless of background, can navigate our neighborhood without fear. – Central Area Collaborative