As a member of the Seattle Streetcar Coalition, the Downtown Seattle Association has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Center City Connector project. We view this 17-block center city connector as a key component of a broader downtown mobility plan, augmenting light rail expansion, transit enhancement and other capital transportation projects. Intended to leverage hundreds of millions in public and private investments, including federal funding, the streetcar will provide important connections to key downtown neighborhoods. However, given the estimated $23 million shortfall for the streetcar and utility work, we understand the mayor’s decision to pause the project until the city can complete its review. We look forward to continuing to work with her administration as we strive to meet our downtown mobility goals and as they work to bring this project in on budget.
Resisting Trump?
Anxiety over the threat to the Center City Connector’s future was compounded by rumors that Mayor Durkan is planning to announce a “reset” on Move Seattle investments, possibly involving cutting promised RapidRide, bicycling, and/or pedestrian projects. The Durkan administration will blame these cuts on expected federal dollars to supplement project budgets drying up when Trump took office, apparently. While Mayor Durkan has framed many of her actions around resisting Trump, cutting and running on transit projects would seem to let the president and his anti-transit ilk get their way. Seattle’s reneging on a Federal Transit Administration grant that had already been approved for the project could also spell trouble for future grants, like the Seattle is applying for in conjunction with the Madison BRT and Roosevelt RapidRide projects.
What is Mayor Durkan’s Plan?
We have a few loose frameworks for what Mayor Durkan intends to invest in rather than cut, but not much. On Wednesday, Mayor Durkan announced her support for decongestion pricing shortly after announcing some delays and revisions to the One Center City plan to overcome Downtown congestion. Mayor Durkan’s Climate Action plan, also released this week, didn’t have much to say about active transportation or the land use policy to support it. That leaves the administration facing a very tough political lift to carry forward Seattle’s climate action goals: becoming the first American city to enact a decongestion pricing plan. And more immediately, the period of maximum constraint on Downtown streets is nearly upon us, and we still lack a clear plan to keep people moving. With all the uncertainty around federal funding, Seattle would be foolish to give back the $83 million in federal funding it did secure for the Center City Connector. Amazon could help fill this funding vacuum and make sure Seattle doesn’t let another major transit project almost within its grasp slide between its fingers.What Does Amazon Want?
One constant for this administration has been a desire to trim budgets–a boom-time austerity that has some scratching their heads. Last month, Mayor Durkan did ascribe some numbers when announced she intended to cut City department budgets 2% to 5% because–although we’re riding a major economic boom–we’re due for a recession she said. So perhaps the business community will get a lowered tax burden over the course of the Durkan administration, but Amazon also claims to want high quality transit and made one of its major criteria in their search for a second headquarters. Perhaps the answer has to do with the paradox of wanting to eat your cake and have it too. Corporations like Amazon want low taxes, but they also want high quality infrastructure. Unfortunately, budget trimming leaves precious little money for public works many in the business community say they want–especially when the Seattle’s boom is driving up construction costs and enticing population growth exceeding 20,000 people per year. That rapid population growth is forcing the City to stretch services farther than they’ve ever been stretched before.The Price of Inaction
If Amazon does not save the Center City Connector, one of the mightiest corporations in America will continue to be locally recognized for stinginess, a rinky-dink low-ridership streetcar, protected bike lanes that don’t go anywhere, and the Mercer Mess–a car sewer with “cutting edge” adaptive signals that prey on pedestrians. Amazon wants to be known for urbanism; that’s why it chose a campus in Seattle’s downtown core. But good urbanism takes investment. This faux urbanism going on in South Lake Union right now needs mending. Seattlietes often associate South Lake Union and Amazon with traffic and Mercer Street gridlock. Wouldn’t a project projected to make the streetcar the region’s busiest transit line–save for Link light rail–be a much better trademark?
Action Alert: Build the Center City Connector Streetcar
