(The Center Square) – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has approved a $1.55 billion transportation tax, setting up voters to make a final decision this November on the largest tax proposal in city history.
If the tax is approved, it will generate funds. The funds will go towards other transportation needs, such as building sidewalks, resurfacing roads, repairing bridges and improving public transit connections.
If passed by voters, the eight-year tax package would cost the average Seattle homeowner about $546 a year.
The current Seattle Promotion Levy, which expires at the end of 2024, accounts for roughly 30% of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s budget. The median property tax for the levy, which expires in 2024, is $300.
Harrell acknowledged the size of the proposed $1.55 billion levy but said the money would benefit future generations.
“It’s certainly a lot of money, but [the levy is for] “The treasure and the reward, the benefit to our children and grandchildren,” Harrell said at a news conference Wednesday.
The largest portion of the funds raised, $330 million, will go toward highway maintenance, with plans to resurface about 15 major roads.
Another $115 million would be dedicated to transportation improvements on roads with high bus ridership and to improving access to Sound Transit light rail stations.
The third largest allocation of levy funds is $111 million for construction of at least 350 blocks of new sidewalks.
The tax will provide $70 million for Seattle’s Vision Zero program, which supports road safety projects with the ambitious goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries in Seattle by 2030.
Before the City Council approved the levy Tuesday, council members signed an amendment to use $20 million of the funds to fill in gaps on the 20-mile-long Burke-Gilman Trail in Ballard, something Harrell said has been an issue for more than 30 years.
While city officials have touted the proposed tax, some former Seattle leaders have expressed concern and frustration about the tax’s potential impact on homeowners and businesses in the city.
“This onerous transportation tax increase is like the Titanic: too big, too hard on the poor, and destined to disappoint everyone,” former Seattle City Councilman Alex Pedersen said in a statement. “It’s insensitive for politicians to act as if they’re cheering on such a massive transportation tax increase at a time when renters, homeowners, and small businesses are struggling to stay in Seattle.”
The general election is on November 5th.
