Commenters from the Seattle Times to KOMO News to KING5 have groused loudly about the city’s announcement earlier this week that it will spend $10 million to build a bike and pedestrian bridge connecting Myrtle Edwards Park to Queen Anne. The bridge has lately been stirring up outrage among members of a group to recall Mayor Mike McGinn, who accuse the mayor of spending money on pet bike projects when wading pools sit empty and potholes go unfilled.
Leaving aside the fact that the city can’t simply transfer money from transportation to wading pools, the majority of that $10 million is coming from a federal transportation grant earmarked for the bridge—in other words, it’s money that can’t be spent on anything else, and that wouldn’t exist if the city wasn’t building the overpass.
Moreover, a huge chunk of $10 million was allocated long before McGinn took office—$2 million of it back in 2000, when voters adopted the Pro Parks Levy. So if anti-McGinn bike opponents want to complain about anything, it should be that the federal government funds local transportation projects and that voters keep approving levies to improve Seattle’s infrastructure—and yes, that infrastructure includes bridges to make it safe for people to cross the street.
Here’s where the $10 million came from:
2000 Pro Parks Levy Fund:Â Â $2.069 million
2008 Pro Parks Levy Fund:Â $1.5 million
King County funds, Shoreline Parks Improvement Fund:Â $860,000
Federal grant funds—two Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program grants: $5.282 million
Private funding/donations:Â $100,000
Other city departments:Â $50,000
Real Estate Excise Tax:Â $239,000
Total:Â $10.1 million
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