(The Center Square) – Seattle voters have approved the largest tax proposal in city history, with revenue going toward transportation needs.
Tuesday night results show the levy receiving 67% of collected votes.
The eight-year levy package totals $1.55 billion. It is expected to cost a median homeowner in Seattle approximately $546 a year.
The biggest portion of generated funding – $330 million – would go toward arterial roadway maintenance. Approximately 15 major corridors are planned to be repaved.
Another $115 million would go toward transit improvements on streets with high ridership bus routes and create better access to Sound Transit light rail stations.
The third largest allocation of levy funds is $111 million for the construction of at least 350 blocks of new sidewalks.
The levy puts $70 million toward the city’s Vision Zero program, which supports traffic safety projects with the ambitious goal of ending traffic deaths and injuries in Seattle by 2030.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell celebrated the levy’s passage on Tuesday night, adding that the results demonstrate Seattle voters’ commitment to advancing a safer transportation system.
“This levy will facilitate bridge upgrades, smoother roads, additional sidewalks, enhanced transit connections, and much more, all designed to support those who live, work, and play in Seattle,” Harrell said in a statement.
Former Seattle City Councilmember Alex Pedersen has been a staunch opponent to Proposition 1 since it was first sent to November ballots. He joined Latino Civic Alliance Chair Nina Martinez and former Seattle City Council President Margaret Pageler in calling on City Hall to act as a responsible steward of generated tax revenue.
“It appears that more than 50% of Seattle voters are deciding to increase taxes and rents on nearly everyone in the city and hand those public dollars over to the Seattle Department of Transportation,” the three wrote in a statement sent to The Center Square in an email. “But the divided result shows that the promise of ‘One Seattle’ crumbles when city hall listens to lobbyists instead of residents.”
The Seattle City Council will now have to implement the new levy into its 2025-2026 revenue projections as it works to approve its upcoming biennial budget.
