Seattle Transportation Levy Proposal
The City of Seattle encourages everyone to participate. For disability accommodations or accessibility information, contact: (206) 319-5892 | MoveSeattle@Seattle.gov.
You can provide input on the draft before the Mayor refers the draft levy proposal to the Seattle City Council. Please visit our engagement hub to provide feedback before April 26, 2024.
The engagement hub is available in more languages, including Spanish, Chinese (Traditional), Korean, Amharic, Somali, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, via the links below:
Visite el centro de participación
造訪活動中心
참여 허브 방문하기
የተሳትፎመገናኛን ይጎብኙ
Booqo Xarunta Ka Qeybgalinta
Bisitahin ang Hub ng Pakikipag-ugnayan
Truy Cập Trung Tâm Tương Tác
What's Happening
Mayor Harrell collaborated with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to develop an 8-year, $1.35 billion draft transportation levy proposal to replace the existing Levy to Move Seattle expiring this year.
The draft proposal is based on the Mayor’s One Seattle initiative and the Seattle Transportation Plan (STP). Later this spring, the Mayor will finalize the Seattle Transportation Levy Proposal and send it to the City Council for consideration.
Materials:
Read the full draft for public input (PDF)
Read a summary of the draft for public input (PDF link)
Summary of the draft for public input - 11X17 foldable print (PDF link)
Translated Materials:
- Lea un resumen de la propuesta del impuesto al transporte de Seattle en su idioma - Español | Spanish (PDF)
- 閱讀您所使用語言的 Seattle 運輸稅建議摘要。- 中文 (香港) | Chinese Traditional (PDF)
- 귀하의 언어로 Seattle Transportation Levy Proposal 요약을 읽어보십시오. - 한국어 | Korean (PDF)
- የSeattle የትራንስፖርት ታክስ ጽንሰ-ሀሳብ (Seattle Transportation Levy Proposal) ማጠቃለያ በእርስዎ ቋንቋ ያንብቡ። - አማርኛ | Amharic (PDF)
- Akhri soo koobitaabka Soo jeedinta Canshuurta Gaadiidka Seattle oo ku qoran luuqadaada. - Soomaali | Somali (PDF)
- Basahin ang buod ng Panukala para sa Pagpapataw ng Buwis sa ng Transportasyon ng Seattle sa iyong wika. - Tagalog (PDF)
- Đọc bản tóm tắt Đề Xuất Thuế Vận Tải Seattle bằng ngôn ngữ của quý vị. - Tiếng Việt | Vietnamese (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions:
For the last 18 years, voter-approved levies have provided important funding, enabling us to create a safer and more connected transportation system that keeps Seattle moving.
The current $930 million Levy to Move Seattle will expire in 2024. The levy provides roughly 30% of SDOT’s annual budget and funds transportation projects and programs that people rely on daily.
To determine what a levy renewal should fund and how much it would cost, we asked Seattleites about their transportation priorities, assessed the maintenance and repair needs of our streets, sidewalks, and bridges, and identified the projects required to accommodate the growing demand on our transportation system.
Here is some of what we heard from people across Seattle:
“We need fast, safe, affordable transit that doesn’t require walking more than a few blocks to a hub.”
“Maintenance is the unglamorous but incredibly important job that makes our city tick.”
“Pay attention to the majority who want safer, more equitable, more climate-resilient ways to move around Seattle.”
“Accommodate freight and commercial traffic, especially north of the ship canal. Have sufficient alternate traffic corridors in case of an emergency, i.e., earthquake and/or tsunami.”
“[Transportation] should be affordable to everyone, in that everyone should be able to use transit, walk, or bike cheaply.”
SDOT is responsible for managing transportation assets worth $40 billion. These include, but aren’t limited to:
Streets and bridges: 3,900 lane miles of streets, 135 bridges, 191,000 signs, and 1,100 traffic signals
Public spaces: 7 million square feet of landscaped area and 41,000 street trees
Sidewalks: 2,300 miles of sidewalk and 32,000+ curb ramps
Other resources: 600 retaining and sea-walls, 1,580+ pay stations, and 502 stairways
Seattle has funded transportation needs with the help of voter-approved levies for the past 18 years, starting in 2006 with the $365 million Bridging the Gap levy. In 2015, voters renewed their levy support by approving the $930 million Levy to Move Seattle.
Here’s some of what the past two levies have funded:
- 345 blocks of new sidewalks
- 261 Safe Routes to School projects
- 3,019 curb ramp upgrades
- 509 lane miles of new paving
- 23 seismic bridge retrofits
- 57 miles of neighborhood greenways
- 197 miles of bike lanes
- 332 transit spot improvement projects
- 9,335 trees planted
The levy renewal is designed to be a thoughtful investment in our city’s future. This proposal would continue a property tax costing the median Seattle homeowner about $435 per year. This would be about $148 more per year, or $12 more per month, compared to the current levy.