 |
City of Seattle
Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor
|
NEWS ADVISORY
|
| SUBJECT: 2006 State of City speech focuses on housing, education, pedestrian safety and graffiti
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
3/6/2006 2:00:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alex Fryer (206) 684-8358
|
Nickels proposes new efforts on transportation, homelessness
State of City speech focuses on housing, education,
pedestrian safety and graffiti
SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels will propose a major funding package and
ballot measure this year to end the backlog of road and bridge repairs and
prepare Seattle’s transportation system for the next century, he announced
during his State of the City Speech today.
The mayor also proposed a new initiative to provide housing and services to
the estimated 500 to 700 chronically homeless people living on the city’s
streets.
During the annual speech, Nickels also announced a series of measures to support
public education, improve pedestrian safety and combat graffiti, as well as
improve public safety by adding eight more police officers.
Nickels declared “the state of our city is strong,” and cited
the tremendous progress Seattle has made over the past four years after weathering
an economic recession that forced the city to slash $120 million from its budget.
Today, Seattle enjoys some of the strongest job growth in the nation, a low
crime rate, and new investments in housing and businesses. The city is also
recognized as a leader in the efforts to combat global warming.
In his speech, the mayor called for increased investment in roads and bridges.
A series of state court decisions and voter-approved initiatives in recent
years has cost the city nearly 66 percent of its dedicated transportation funding,
leading to a growing backlog of maintenance and repairs. More and more roads
and bridges will slip into dangerous disrepair unless the city acts now to
address the problem.
“The need is clear, not only for the routine work of paving streets
but also for the bigger projects, such as our aging bridges,” Nickels
said. “This funding gap presents both a challenge and an opportunity
for our city.”
Nickels will propose a specific financial package to the City Council this
year, including a ballot measure that would be voted on this November. Starting
next month, the city will hold a series of community meetings to gather public
comment and determine the size of the funding package.
While discussing transportation, the mayor challenged city and state leaders
not to repeat the mistake of building a bigger double-decker freeway along
Seattle’s waterfront. He pledged to move forward with building an Alaskan
Way Tunnel that will preserve existing traffic capacity and reconnect the city
to its spectacular waterfront.
“Let me state this plainly: The days of building double-decker elevated
freeways in the heart of great cities are dead,” Nickels said. “We
are a city of the future and we will not tolerate a larger and more disruptive
freeway blocking Seattle’s waterfront for another 50 years.”
Nickels also outlined proposals to help end homelessness and address affordable
housing in the city. He urged the Council to support his call to provide housing
and services for 500 to 700 people with drug, mental or alcohol problems who
are living on the streets and are considered chronically homeless.
It costs an average of $50,000 a year to provide shelter, sobering service,
emergency health care and other services to one chronically homeless person
living on the streets. Under a “housing first” program, these costs
can be reduced to an estimated $13,000 a year if that person is provided a
place to live with health care and support services available on site.
The mayor proposed building on the promise of the housing-first model this
year, by providing a home and services for an additional 20 chronically homeless
people at Plymouth Housing Group’s new “Plymouth on Stewart Apartments” project.
Nickels pledged to propose additional funding each year to create enough housing
first units to eventually serve the entire chronically homeless population.
“Providing intensive services for these individuals not only benefits
them, but benefits the entire community,” Nickels said. “It is
effective, it makes financial sense, and, most importantly, it’s the
right thing to do.”
The mayor noted in his speech that rising housing prices are making it difficult
for working families to find affordable places to live in the city.
The city has programs to encourage the creation of more affordable housing
through tax incentives, zoning and other programs that reduce the cost of construction.
In addition to those steps, the mayor said developers in every neighborhood
should be required to build affordable housing for families in exchange for
higher densities and other zoning changes.
“Seattle is not one of the most livable cities in the nation for those
who cannot afford a place to live in our city,” Nickels said. “We
must dramatically increase decent, affordable housing. Most of it will be produced,
not by government, but by the private market through private investment.”
The mayor unveiled a new program to help Seattle’s high school students
prepare for and pass the WASL test. Nickels noted that nearly one in four sophomores
was reclassified as a freshman this year due to academic struggles.
Under the program, the city will partner with the Seattle School District
and Seattle’s community colleges and universities to offer “summer
college” to 10th and 11th graders who will get both WASL preparation
and experience life on a college campus.
“We will accelerate their progress so they will pass the WASL and open
their eyes to the possibility of entering college and the work force with hope
for the future,” Nickels said.
Nickels outlined several public-safety and quality-of-life initiatives in
his speech. The mayor noted that while the number of pedestrian accidents has
dropped this year, the city must do even more to improve safety for walkers.
To that end, the mayor proposed using money approved by the City Council last
year to repair and upgrade crosswalks and signals around the city.
“Seattle has won many awards as a great city for walking,” Nickels
said. “I want Seattle to be the best city for walking safely.”
The mayor also turned his attention to a growing problem affecting the quality
of life in Seattle – graffiti. Nickels said the city will create a program
to respond to requests to remove graffiti on public property within 48 hours,
the same time the city now fills potholes. The city will step up efforts to
encourage private property owners to quickly remove graffiti.
“We need to re-examine this old problem and find creative ways to solve
it,” Nickels said. “What makes graffiti a major quality-of-life
issue is its high visibility. That’s why we’re going to educate,
and enlist the cooperation of, the general public and private property owners
to eliminate graffiti and related vandalism.”
The mayor noted Seattle’s crime rates remain near historic lows and
rank as one of the best for a major city in the United States. He thanked the
Council for approving the addition of 25 officers in last year’s budget.
And he announced that the city will add eight additional officers this year
for a total of 33 more police patrolling neighborhoods across the city.
“It will allow us to put more patrol officers in neighborhoods, while
freeing up resources to further our commitment to combat burglaries, open-air
drug dealing and auto thefts,” Nickels said.
Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s
inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic
opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter
at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm
- 30 -
Office of the Mayor
| 
