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City of Seattle
Seattle City Council
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NEWS ADVISORY
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| SUBJECT: Council Restores Critical Cuts to Transportation Budget
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
11/18/2004 1:44:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sara Nelson (206) 684-8805
Nancy Roberts (206) 684-8146
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COUNCIL RESTORES CRITICAL CUTS TO TRANSPORTATION BUDGET
"Our budget stopped the bleeding...but major surgery is required." --Richard Conlin
SEATTLE-The City Council restored critical transportation funds cut in the Mayor's proposed 2005-2006 budget. Most of the cuts were from bridge and street maintenance, neighborhood traffic services, pedestrian improvements, and transportation planning. Council restored $2.1-million in 2005 and $1.8-million in 2006. The final vote on the budget package takes place this coming Monday at Full Council, 2 p.m.
"The proposed cuts were slashes straight to the bone," said Councilmember Richard Conlin, Chair of the Transportation Committee. "Our budget stopped the bleeding, but this band-aid is not enough. Major surgery is required to get our roads and bridges healthy again," he said.
Among the budget cuts that the Council restored are:
Bridge maintenance- The Mayor's proposed budget cut of $866,000 from bridge and retaining wall maintenance would have reduced full bridge inspections from 3 to 1 per year. The Council succeeded in restoring $551,000 in 2005 and $886,600 in 2006 for bridge and major structures maintenance. "Council's restoration brings us up to the minimum standard, but we're still just running in place and not making progress on the deterioration of our bridges," Conlin said.
Neighborhood Traffic Safety- The Mayor cut this entire program, which funds traffic circles and other safety improvements as well as the Neighborhood Street Fund. The Council restored $422,000 to the budget in 2005 and $434,000 in 2006, to preserve the basic safety program for neighborhood streets. "These are where our kids walk to school. We cannot neglect the basic safety of our children, our elders, our families," Councilmember David Della, Chair of the Parks Neighborhood and Education Committee said.
Pedestrian Improvements- The Mayor cut the Neighborhood Pedestrian Program, which responds to citizen requests for pedestrian facilities improvements. The Council restored the program in 2006, adding $129,000 to the budget for pedestrian improvements such as safer intersection crossings.
Arterial paving- The Council restored $1,000,000 in 2005 to arterial paving. This represents a 20% increase in this crucial program to maintain Seattle's arterials.
Trees- The Mayor cut the tree maintenance staff in half, down to one crew for the entire City. This meant only urgent safety hazards could be addressed. The Council restored $83,000 in 2005 and $170,000 in 2006 to restore the second crew and keep minimal work going.
Transportation Planning- The Council restored $50,600 in 2005 and $96,000 in 2006 for transportation planning. "This work is crucial to keep our transportation system working, especially in fast-growing neighborhoods," Councilmember Conlin noted. "If we don't plan now, we'll have bigger, more expensive problems in the future."
These restorations signal the importance Council places on transportation. "Keeping Seattle's transportation system healthy is vital to maintaining the city's economic viability and its residents' safety and quality of life," Budget Committee Chair Richard McIver said. "Even in hard budget times, we can't cut corners on these basic transportation programs."
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City Council
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