We Councilmembers will make a decision next Monday whether and how to create a funding source dedicated to Parks alone. We have loved our parks and greenspaces for more than a century. We look to parks for health, sanctuary, and play.  Unfortunately, we have been unable to maintain them as if they will be around […][More]

This week is spring break for Seattle Public Schools, which means we got a special opportunity to hear from elementary and preschool teachers at the Council’s Education and Governance Committee this morning. They delivered powerful testimony about what Preschool for...[More]

The City Council and the Office of Professional Accountability Review Board (OPARB) will jointly sponsor a public hearing as directed by Ordinance 122809, adopted in 2008 and sponsored by myself and Councilmember Tim Burgess.  The hearing will allow us to hear directly from the public before the City begins labor negotiations with the Seattle Police […][More]

The Seattle School Traffic Safety Committee is accepting applications for new members to help make walking and biking to school in Seattle safer and easier. The volunteer board, which was created by the Seattle City Council in 1975 to improve traffic safety for all of Seattle’s school children, plays an influential role in implementing Seattle’s […][More]

The current online code incorporates ordinances passed through 24 February 2014. The most recent codified ordinance is Ordinance 124425.   Ordinance # SMC Section(s) affected 124375 Amending   Ch. 25.32 124376 Amending   Ch. 25.32 124378 Amending   §§ 23.22.062, 23.22.066, 23.22.074, 23.22.100, 23.24.020, 23.24.040,   23.24.045, 23.28.030, 23.40.020, 23.41.004, 23.41.012, 23.42.124, 23.43.008,   23.43.010, […][More]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/14/2014

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Council Approves Bicycle Master Plan Update

SEATTLE - Following a year-long discussion about safe and comfortable bicycling in Seattle, the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update (BMP) was passed by Full Council today with a vote of 9-0.

Resolution 31515, which officially approves the BMP, emphasizes the transformational new way of thinking about bicycle projects within Seattle. The Plan makes safety a top priority for all roadway users, including cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicle drivers. The Plan also makes recommendations for 238 new miles of neighborhood greenways that will create safe, healthy streets in our neighborhoods. The Plan additionally incorporates new and improved bicycle project design standards developed by National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) for intersections, signs and markings, and protected bicycle lanes.

The BMP legislation, sponsored by Transportation Committee Chair Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, expands on the 2007 BMP.  The 2014 Plan Update was developed in partnership with members of the Council's Transportation Committee, the Executive, and the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board (SBAB), and reflects comments submitted by stakeholder groups and neighborhood representatives during numerous community open house meetings over the last eighteen months. 

Rasmussen expressed pride following Full Council adoption.  "I want to thank my colleagues and the members of our community who have demonstrated continued interest in the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.  Your comments have been appreciated, and the adoption of this Resolution ensures bicycling in Seattle is safe and comfortable for users of all ages and abilities," said Rasmussen.  "I also want to thank the local representatives and stakeholders who care deeply about bicycling in their neighborhoods.  I am committed to ensuring that SDOT will include you during the development of bicycle projects in your community."

"Public transportation and safe cycling are two issues that brought me to City Hall," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien, and member of the Transportation Committee.  "I've been a steadfast supporter of safe streets and city cycling from the beginning, and updating the BMP is a big step in that direction."

"I am confident that as we move forward with the Bicycle Master Plan, community engagement and input will play an important role in shaping priorities and ensuring the Plan is consistent with the needs of residents," said Councilmember Jean Godden, and member of the Committee.

"With this Plan we will enhance neighborhoods across the city and create a network of Neighborhood Greenways for all ages and abilities," said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw.  "Thanks to Councilmember Rasmussen and to SDOT, our growing Seattle Neighborhood Greenways group is brimming with potential and possibility."

The Plan requires an annual implementation progress report be submitted to Council and reviewed and endorsed by SBAB; and, will be updated every 5-7 years.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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Action Summary of the Seattle City Council Full Council Meeting Monday, April 14, 2014   (No absences)   FULL COUNCIL: 1.  Clerk File 313679  (PDF Version)  CONFIRMED (9-0) Appointment of Quinnie Tan as member, Housing Levy Oversight Committee, for a term of confirmation to December 31, 2016.   FINANCE AND CULTURE COMMITTEE: 2.  Council Bill 118028 Â[More]

Dance the Dream aims to create a shared life-affirming experience that brings people together to inaugurate a new era of progress and possibility.[More]

It was Toasted Cheese Sandwich Day on Saturday, quite appropriate for the fun, yet formal ribbon cutting at the Bell Street Park, a four-block long play space for the many residents of Belltown.

Celebrating the sunny opening were several hundred enthusiastic Belltown residents, a handful of winsome youngsters, many of them toddlers, and at least a dozen adorable dogs. There were jugglers and musicians, artists and brightly-colored food trucks – one of them, of course, selling toasted cheese sandwiches. And what kicked off the celebration? A lively bunch of Lion Dancers, accompanied by ritual drummers.

Mayor Murray was there to wield the ceremonial scissors, as were former Parks Chair Sally Bagshaw and myself, the new … Continue Reading »

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Comptroller File 145668 contains the following letter from the Seattle Baseball Club: December 22, 1934 To the Honorable City Council Seattle, Washington Gentlemen: The Board of Trustees of the Seattle Baseball Club Inc. has instructed the undersigned to respectfully call to the attention of your honorable body that at no time during the 1934 playing […][More]