Your Voice, Your Choice
Thank you for your previous participation in the Your Voice, Your Choice: Parks and Streets program. Through your partnership in this program, the City of Seattle was able to identify and invest in small park and street improvement projects that were community-initiated, community-chosen, and driven by equity. The model established by Your Voice, Your Choice (YVYC) has served as a launching pad for the City to explore other large- and small-scale participatory budgeting programs that share power with those generally left out of planning conversations and marginalized in the budgetary process.
The 2023-2024 City of Seattle budget was balanced by closing a $141 million revenue gap while also making progress on improving public safety, urgent action on housing and homelessness, and delivering the essential City services that residents expect and demand. At that time, the decision was made for the City to turn its focus to these other efforts and to end the YVYC program at the end of 2023. As we wind down the program, we are focusing on completing the implementation of previously awarded projects that have faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. You can track the progress and status of all YVYC projects at https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/pedestrian-program/pedestrian-program-racial-equity-analysis/yvyc-program.
Recognizing that many community-initiated improvement projects were not addressed since the program was paused in 2020, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is revisiting the unselected 2019 proposed projects located in geographic equity areas to see if any of them align with existing SDOT programs for funding. Any projects that are funded could start construction in 2024.
The end of Your Voice, Your Choice by no means marks the end of funding for community-driven projects at the City of Seattle. If you have ideas for a project in your neighborhood, here are some options to explore:
- Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund has a rolling application process to support grassroots projects that build stronger communities, with an emphasis on projects led by or impacting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
- Seattle Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to Schools Mini Grants fund schools, PTAs, and community groups to encourage safe walking and biking to school.
- Seattle Public Utilities' Waste-Free Communities Matching Grant supports community-initiated and -led waste prevention projects. Visit the City of Seattle Grants and Funding website to see the wide variety of funding opportunities available.
- Lastly, stay up to date on the Seattle Office for Civil Rights’ Participatory Budgeting Process. You can get involved at https://pbseattle.org/.
Thank you, again, for your partnership and collaboration over the years. If you have questions about the status of a Your Voice, Your Choice project, please contact Howard Wu at Seattle Department of Transportation: Howard.Wu@seattle.gov.