Seattle Department of Transportation

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a municipal government agency in Seattle, Washington that is responsible for the maintenance of the city's transportation systems, including roads, bridges, and public transportation. The agency is funded primarily by taxes that are supplemented by voter-approved levies from other sources; its budget in 2017 was $450 million.[1]

Seattle Department of Transportation
Department overview
FormedNovember 18, 1996 (1996-11-18)
Preceding department
  • Seattle Engineering Department
TypeDepartment of transportation
JurisdictionSeattle, Washington
HeadquartersSeattle Municipal Tower
700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3800
Seattle, Washington
47°36′18″N 122°19′47″W
Employees758
Annual budget$450 million (2017)[1]
Department executive
  • Greg Spotts, Director
Child department
Websiteseattle.gov/transportation

History

The Seattle Transportation Department was formed in 1996, as part of the re-organization and eventual dissolution of the Seattle Engineering Department.[2][3] The division was renamed to the "Seattle Department of Transportation" in 2004.[4]

Administration and management

Director

The department is managed by the Director of Transportation, a position appointed by the Mayor of Seattle and confirmed by a majority vote from the Seattle City Council. The position is subject to re-appointment and re-confirmation every four years.[5]

Since 1997, nine people have held the office of Director of Transportation.[6] Greg Spotts was nominated in 2022 for the position.[7]

Name Tenure Mayor(s)
Daryl Grigsby 1997–2002 Norm Rice, Paul Schell
Grace Crunican 2002–2009 Greg Nickels
Peter Hahn 2010–2013 Michael McGinn
Goran Sparrman (acting) 2014 Ed Murray
Scott Kubly 2014-2018
Goran Sparrman (acting) 2018 Jenny Durkan
Linea Laird (acting) 2018–2019
Sam Zimbabwe 2019–2021
Kristen Simpson 2022 Bruce Harrell
Greg Spotts 2022–

Funding

In 2015, SDOT had an adopted budget of $429 million. The largest portion of the budget, approximately $186 million, is allocated to major capital projects, including collaborations with regional and state agencies.[8]

Transportation levies

Much of SDOT's long-term funding comes from voter-approved funding levies and other taxes. In 2006, the $365 million "Bridging the Gap" levy was approved by Seattle voters, using property taxes and parking fees to fund nine years of transportation improvements.[9][10] The levy was replaced in 2015 by the voter-approved "Move Seattle" levy, funded by a new property tax, that will provide $930 million over a nine-year period.[11]

Programs

Seattle Streetcar
Main article: Seattle Streetcar Network

SDOT maintains the citywide streetcar network, which consists of two lines, as of 2016: the South Lake Union Streetcar, opened in 2007; and the First Hill Streetcar, opened in 2016.

Transit funding

In addition to road funding, SDOT also provides funding for public transit improvements through partner agencies. The 2015 "Move Seattle" levy includes funding for expansion of King County Metro's RapidRide system into Seattle, replacing existing bus routes.

Cycling infrastructure

Since the passage of "Bridging the Gap" levy in 2006, SDOT has funded $36 million in bicycle infrastructure, including 129 miles (208 km) of bicycle lanes and sharrows, 98 miles (158 km) of signed bicycle routes, and 2,230 bicycle parking spaces.[12] A bikeshare system, Pronto Cycle Share, debuted in 2014 and was initially operated by a non-profit organization until it ran into financial issues a year later. SDOT took over operations until the system was shut down in early 2017.[13] It was replaced with a permitting system for private companies operating dockless bikeshare that launched in 2017.[14] The permitting system was expanded beyond its initial pilot to several companies with bicycles distributed across the city;[15] dockless scooter-sharing was allowed beginning in 2019.[16]

Autonomous vehicles

In November 2022, SDOT introduced a permitting system for autonomous vehicle operators in the city that would allow them to use public streets with a driver. Zoox, Nvidia, and Cruise have since begun testing their vehicles in the city.[17]

Facilities

As of 2015, SDOT has an estimated $20 billion in transportation assets within the city of Seattle. It maintains 3,954 miles (6,363 km) of streets, 122 bridges, 609 stairways, 158 traffic cameras, 1,061 signalized intersections, and 29,073 curb ramps. The Urban Forestry division maintains over 41,000 street trees, as well as 110 acres (45 ha) of managed landscape areas.[8][18]

References
  1. "Funding - Transportation". www.seattle.gov. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. Seattle City Council (November 18, 1996). "City of Seattle Ordinance 118409". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  3. Lewis, Peter (November 19, 1996). "Council OKs $3.7 billion budget". The Seattle Times. p. B3. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  4. Seattle City Council (March 19, 2004). "City of Seattle Ordinance 121420". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  5. "Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 3.12: Seattle Department of Transportation". City of Seattle. Retrieved September 2, 2017 – via MuniCode.
  6. "Facts About Seattle: City Officials". Seattle Municipal Archives. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  7. de Luna, Ruby (July 28, 2022). "Meet Seattle's new transportation director: Greg Spotts". KUOW. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  8. "Seattle Department of Transportation". City of Seattle 2015 Adopted Budget and 2016 Endorsed Budget (PDF) (Report). Seattle City Budget Office. February 17, 2015. p. 426. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  9. "Bridging the Gap — Building a foundation that lasts - Transportation". www.seattle.gov. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. Lindblom, Mike (October 25, 2006). "Transportation levy would be biggest ever". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  11. Lindblom, Mike (November 8, 2015). "Move Seattle passage means $930M to hit the streets; repaving, school zones first". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  12. "Bicycle Program". Seattle Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  13. Lindblom, Mike (October 2, 2015). "Seattle plans to take over, expand underused Pronto bike-share network". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  14. Gutman, David (July 17, 2017). "Bike shares wheeling back into Seattle, but they're unlike Pronto in 2 big ways". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  15. Gutman, David (November 10, 2017). "Seattle planner who designed city's bike-share permitting now working for bike-share company". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  16. Groover, Heidi (May 9, 2019). "Electric scooters are coming to Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkan says". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  17. Rosenblatt, Lauren (August 31, 2023). "GM's Cruise takes first step to bring its self-driving cars to Seattle". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  18. "SDOT Transportation Infrastructure Inventory". Seattle Department of Transportation. December 9, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
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