Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda released her rebalancing package for the 2021 budget this week with $83 million in changes to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s budget proposal. The Move All Seattle Sustainably (MASS) Coalition’s transportation package made it in, including even more money than requested for the Georgetown-to-South Park Trail, fully funding it through construction.
The Georgetown-to-South Park Trail has long been a priority for Duwamish Valley advocates and bike and pedestrian activists citywide. The trail fills a big hole in the city’s network of safe biking and pedestrian facilities. In 2017, Duwamish Valley Safe Streets advocate Jamie Sharrick made the case for the trail in The Urbanist. Mayor Durkan’s 2018 Duwamish Valley Action Plan promised to design the trail and come up with a funding plan to built it, but the second half never materialized in her subsequent budgets. Thankfully, Duwamish Valley Safe Streets and their allies kept pressing the case, and the Seattle City Council allocated the funding to make it a reality this time around.
“The Georgetown to South Park Trail will provide a safe, accessible, and climate friendly walking/biking path along E. Marginal Way. Connecting people to schools, medical facilities, employers, businesses, a public library, and most importantly each other,” said Peaches Thomas, lead organizer for Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, in a statement. The group recently released video that compellingly made this argument through the stories of Georgetown and South Park residents.
