DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AUDIT

Victims of domestic violence are most often women, and until only a few short years ago, police, courts, and social service agencies paid little attention to it. Only with the rise of the feminist movement was the widespread occurrence and serious nature of domestic violence recognized. Domestic violence has significant impacts on other social and economic issues, including homelessness, youth crime, public health, and educational achievement.

In Seattle, during the 1980's community organizations and city staff members began putting a response system into place to provide recognition, support, shelter, and assistance to victims of domestic violence. In the 1990's, joint work by police, prosecutors, courts and an expanding community-based network pioneered new approaches to addressing domestic violence, including adding batterer's treatment with special attention to cultural sensitivity.

Over the last several years, federal funding has diminished, and Seattle's budget problems have made it difficult to expand our commitment to addressing domestic violence. The Executive has proposed cuts in some domestic violence services, which the Council had to restore. Belt-tightening has reduced the effectiveness and apparent commitment of City agencies to domestic violence work.

Council is concerned that the City's program, long a model, may be losing ground. In preparation for the 2004 budget, we asked for reports on Seattle's domestic violence programs, including independent outside assessments. We did not receive the reports until November 2003, and apparently part of the delay was that the reviewers identified significant flaws in the City's system.

I believe that we should acknowledge problems where they exist, and find ways to address them, rather than minimizing their significance. For that reason, I, with Councilmembers McIver and Compton, asked the City Auditor to do a performance audit on the domestic violence system, taking the outside reports as a starting place, and identifying areas for improvement.

Our goal is not to cast blame, but to acknowledge that even a good system does not adequately address the issue, and to find ways to make things better. We cannot wait for a situation like the Brame case, where the Tacoma Police Chief murdered his spouse, to call our attention to further improvements on this extremely serious issue.

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SOUND TRANSIT

After several years of disappointment, Sound Transit has had an excellent 2003. The opening of Tacoma Link Light Rail, the beginning of the Everett to Seattle Commuter Rail, and the continued success of commuter rail from Pierce and South King Counties and the Regional Express Bus system are all signals that the new management team has put the agency on a positive course.

The signing of the Full Funding Grant Agreement in October by the federal government allowed Sound Transit to break ground on the downtown to SeaTac light rail route, which will go into full construction in 2004. At the same time, Sound Transit is selecting a route for the North Link to the University District and Northgate. Finally, the tentative agreement reached between Seattle and Eastside cities over improvements on I-90 clears the way for the next phase of light rail, crossing I-90 to Bellevue and beyond.

Public support for rail and transit solutions remains strong. While Initiative 776, which cut off one of Sound Transit's funding sources, passed narrowly statewide, the voters of the Sound Transit district opposed it by a 56% margin - identical to the margin by which the Sound Move plan originally passed in 1996. A recent survey done for the planners of the Regional Transportation Investment District gave strong support to both transit solutions in general and to Sound Transit and light rail specifically (see below).

The Seattle City Council will vote in February to express its preference on a route for light rail to the University District and Northgate. Key issues to be deliberated include:

1. Should the route go through Capitol Hill or Eastlake?
2. If through Capitol Hill, should a stop on First Hill be included?
3. Should the route go through the University District underneath Brooklyn, or east through Montlake and underneath the main UW campus?
4. Should the route continue in a tunnel under the Roosevelt Urban Village center, or emerge to the west and continue to Northgate in an elevated alignment?

   These choices range in forecast ridership from 72,500 to 113,500 daily, and in capital cost from $1.3 to $1.75 billion. Other issues include construction risk, displacements, and construction impacts. At this point, neither full costs nor full funding have been identified, but funding will likely include both locally generated taxes and federal grants.

   Light rail is a proven technology that serves many cities in the United States and around the world. There are still valid criticisms of Sound Transit and its historical errors, but the task now is to implement the system that has survived legal challenges, overcome management deficiencies and problems with financial projections, and will still clearly be a major step forward for transportation in the Seattle area. I will continue to monitor the construction of South Link through Beacon Hill and the Rainier Valley, and work to resolve issues with affected businesses and communities. I also look forward to working to identify the best route to the north and funding to implement it, possibly from the Regional Transportation Improvement District. And, like most Seattle residents, I can hardly wait until we can ride the entire system, from Northgate to SeaTac Airport - and beyond.

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   REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
   

   For the last year, Councilmembers from Pierce, Snohomish, and King Counties have been struggling to create a package to present to the voters for transportation improvements in the three counties. Despite much progress, the size of the package, nature of the funding sources, and mix of transportation investments remain unresolved.

   A recent public opinion survey, commissioned to try to answer these questions, validated the position already adopted by the Seattle City Council and Mayor. It found that voters might support a regional transportation package, but were skeptical about the use of the sales tax, wanted more transit in the package, and were only prepared to vote for a sizable package if these questions were addressed.

   The most popular investment among regional voters is extending light rail to SeaTac Airport. Other transit investments, such as HOV lanes, also poll well across the region. Among highway investments, replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct is by far the most popular, followed by a near tie among expanding I-405, replacing and expanding the 520 bridge, fixing Mercer Street, and completing State Route 509. These are followed closely by light rail to Northgate and transit on I-90.

   Among Seattle voters, completing light rail to SeaTac is supported by 86% of the voters, and building light rail to the UDistrict and Northgate is supported by 78% of voters, with the Alaskan Way Viaduct next at 70%.

   After receiving information, regional voters supported a package by a 55% to 38% margin - the rule of thumb is that a tax measure should have 60% support going into the campaign in order to have a good chance of success, so this is a good, but marginal, showing. However, when light rail to Northgate and SeaTac is included, the margin shifts to 61% to 31%, probably a pretty good bet for success. In the City of Seattle the package including light rail receives an incredible 78% to 18% vote.

   Interestingly, when asked to rate specific transportation agencies, Sound Transit fares well, receiving a 48% to 29% favorable rating, a better margin than the Washington Department of Transportation and the Monorail.

   In order to create a package that the voters are likely to support, the legislature must make several changes to the RTID enabling legislation. A summit of business, labor, and environmental groups will meet on January 8 to seek a consensus on how to achieve this, but it will be an uphill battle to convince the legislature to make the needed changes, so the prognosis for a vote in 2004 is doubtful at best.

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   PIKE-PINE PEDESTRIAN ZONE
   

   Last summer, representatives of the Pike-Pine neighborhood sponsored a 'crosswalk action,' featuring pedestrians repeatedly crossing intersections while carrying signs asking motorists to slow down and respect foot traffic. I joined the action, which was part of "Pedestrian Summer," and invited neighborhood leaders to come to the Transportation Committee to present their vision for an improved walking environment in this dense urban community.

   The neighborhood asked for all intersections to be marked with crosswalks, and I asked the Seattle Department of Transportation to study this idea. The Department was hesitant to move forward, as many of the intersections do not have signals, and staff is concerned that drivers would ignore crosswalks, increasing the likelihood of accidents.

   I am pleased to report that the Department returned in December with an agreement to an implementation pilot. The pilot will test marking all the crosswalks in a portion of the area, with advisory signs warning motorists that they are entering a zone of intense pedestrian activity. The Department will monitor the effects, and move to a full-scale program if the results are satisfactory.

   This is a thoughtful and careful response to the community's concerns, and I look forward to implementation in the spring of 2004.

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   LAKE CITY WAY IMPROVEMENTS
   

   For several years the City has been planning to improve Lake City Way between northern boundary and the freeway, by installing sidewalks, providing lanes for faster bus travel, and installing a median to reduce the number of accidents. A funding package has been approved, and has been waiting for planning to be completed.

   Unfortunately, when the proposed final plan was unveiled early last summer, community members were upset about plans for the median that they perceived to be contrary to their earlier discussions with Seattle Transportation staff. The proposed median reduced the opportunities for left turns, and made access to a number of businesses very difficult. Business owners and community groups hired traffic consultants and threatened legal action.

   Community members came to the Council to ask for the plans to be revised. As Chair of the Transportation Committee, I convened a series of discussions between community representatives and Transportation staff to explore the issues and see if there was a way to improve vehicle safety and still provide better access.

   In another outstanding example of successful negotiations, Seattle Transportation staff went back to the drawing boards and came back with a revised proposal that the community representatives accepted, and the project is ready to begin. I was pleased to play a role in facilitating this solution. Both sides deserve credit for identifying their needs and being willing to listen and find acceptable solutions.

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   QUOTE:
   "In round numbers, the evidence suggests that each additional ten minutes in daily commuting time cuts involvement in community affairs by 10 percent - fewer public meetings attended, fewer committees chaired, fewer petitions signed, fewer church socials attended, less volunteering, and so on."
   
   -- Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone

   DEEP THOUGHT:
   "Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections. You can keep your sterile truth for yourself."
   
   -- Pareto

   Citizen participation and engagement are critical for maintaining democracy -- fostering it is a key task of elected officials. It's my hope that this newsletter will inform you about issues, inspire you to get involved, and that together we can make things work better in this great city. Please send me your feedback, so we can keep things lively, interesting, and useful. And please forward it along to friends who might be interested.

   Richard Conlin
   Your Seattle City Councilmember
   
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