Top Urbanist Action: Speak Up (Again) to Complete the Missing Link

It’s been more than 40 years of advocacy and the Burke-Gilman Trail is still not complete. That means our top action for this week is:

• Show up to support completing the Missing Link: Supporters need to send a clear message to the new mayoral administration to continue progress on the Missing Link. You can do this by attending the happy hour Wednesday at Peddler Brewery. For background, we’ve covered some of the recent developments on the Missing Link. Comprehensive coverage can be found on Seattle Bike Blog, including a timeline with more than 40 years working to build this project.

Other actions you can take this week:

• Attend a PLUZ Committee meeting: The Planning, Land Use, and Zoning (PLUZ) Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9.30am. There will likely be some interesting details from the meeting. First item on the agenda is a possible contract rezone on Dexter, changing a parcel from a 45- to 65-foot height limit. The committee will also be considering a fix to the frequent transit definition and neighborhood parking reform policies. Public comment is allowed at the beginning of the meeting for folks that are inclined to support transit and denser neighborhoods.
• Apply to the Your Voice Your Choice Steering Committee: The Department of Neighborhoods is looking for people committed to social and racial justice to help shepherd $3 million in funding for parks and street projects. Members of the steering committee will be paid for their work, but the rewarding part is watching ideas from the community get turned into real projects that help neighborhoods grow and thrive. Apply by this Friday at 6pm.
• Support ST3: It’s a good sign that Seattle legislators are starting to speak up for Sound Transit 3. We published why it would be a self-inflicted wound to cut funding and pushed readers to tell their legislators to vote no on HB 2201, that would’ve cut Sound Transit funding. The Seattle Times and The Stranger‘s coverage captured many people’s sentiments. The vote to cut funding was put off last week, likely thanks to the many people that contacted their legislators. If you haven’t already contacted your legislators, we made an easy to use form, although it’s better to call if you can.
• Submit an application to the Equitable Development Initiative: This initiative is one of the most interesting programs that Seattle committed money in the recent budget. Some of the money is coming from the new AirBnB tax. The money is being used to proactively invest in communities to create equity, showing a third route beyond freezing neighborhoods in amber versus entirely market-driven development.
• Attend the Housing For All Campaign Re-Launch: The Housing For All coalition pushed hard to get the HOMES tax last year. The debate was contentious but the city council committed to finding a progressive revenue sources this year. The Housing For All coalition plans to keep the pressure on and you can get involved by attending the event this coming Sunday.