Clean Transportation Electrification Blueprint Electrifying Our Transportation System Photo by Eric Wheeler, Metro Transit
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Seattle’s Clean Transportation Electrification Blueprint Electrifying Our Transportation System Photo by Eric Wheeler, Metro Transit TABLE OF CONTENTS A Transformative Vision for our Future 3 A Call to Action 4 Lessons learned since 2016 6 Seattle’s Clean Transportation Blueprint – Laying the Path for Success 7 2030 Goals 8 Electrification Challenges & Responsive Strategies 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Citywide Transportation Seattle Department of Department of Finance & Electrification Leadership Team Transportation Administrative Services Sam Zimbabwe, Director Calvin Goings, Director Office of Sustainability & Karen Melanson Philip Saunders Environment Tracy Krawcyk Jessica Finn Coven, Director Office of Waterfront and Civic Andrea Pratt Office of Economic Development Projects Edie Gilliss Bobby Lee, Director Marshall Foster, Director Stephanie Gowing Seattle City Light Debra Smith, General Manager and CEO Emeka Anyanwu David Logsdon Citywide Transportation Electrification Interdepartmental Team (IDT) and Workshop Attendees: Victor Couto, Jacob Orenberg, Bob Orenstein, Jenny Levesque, Hernann Ambion, Mendy Droke, Chris Peguero, Julie Scrivner, Maura Breuger, Jennifer Finnigan, Shannon Walker, Radcliffe Dacanay, Kelly Rula, Becky Edmonds, Wyatt Hoffman, Alex Pazuchanics, Candida Lorenzana, Alyse Nelson, Angela Brady, Patrice Carroll, Daniel Sims, Rich Meel, Christina Ghan, Ximena Fonseca-Morales Reviewers: Adrian Down, Port of Seattle Angela Song and Landon Bosiso, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Carrie Lee, King County A Transformative Vision for our Future In Seattle’s future, everything that moves people, goods, and services in and around the City is electrified – this is our “North Star” vision. Seattle will lead the transition to an electrified reduce car trips and encourage more active modes economy, supplying residents with clean electricity of getting around like walking and biking as well as via a reliable, carbon free electric grid. In this increasing transit ridership. Seattle is also fossil-fuel free future, the air is clean. People will evaluating equitable road pricing to decrease take electric buses, ferries, or light rail to work, congestion, improve air quality, and raise revenue shopping and other destinations. A robust bike for increased transit and more efficient modes Photo by Eric Wheeler, Metro Transit lane network will make it easy for Seattleites to of transportation. Mode shift, road pricing, and leave cars behind and use bikes, e-scooters, and transit-supporting revenue efforts are addressed e-cargo bikes or walk. Ships at port are plugged in, outside of this plan but remain critical and every package delivered to your doorstep comes complementary strategies to meet our climate on an electric van, truck or e-bike. Silent, clean, goals in addition to transportation electrification. electric trash and utility trucks will service neighborhoods. The City is committed to transportation electrification as part of a While not all of this technology is readily available comprehensive response to curb today, this blueprint lays out a path for Seattle to transportation emissions. Meeting our pursue and accelerate the new technologies goals will also require employing necessary to electrify transportation at scale. As strategies to shift travel from internal the City recovers from COVID-19 related impacts combustion engine vehicles to active and evolves into the electrified urban center of the and shared modes such as walking, future, there will be new opportunities for workers biking, and riding transit. These tactics, in the electric-economy, and our current workforce known as mode shift, are a core part of will need support and training to ensure an equitable transition away from fossil fuels. the Seattle Department of Transportation’s investments in This blueprint is an opportunity to build on past infrastructure such as protected bike successes and lessons learned to advance lanes, dedicated transit lanes and electrification in all sectors of transportation and programming such as the Commute Trip make Seattle a healthy and more resilient city. Reduction program and ORCA Opportunity. Based on the most recent Transportation electrification, mode shift (policies Comprehensive Plan, Seattle aims to and infrastructure improvements that incentivize a reduce trips taken in a single switch from single occupancy vehicles to more occupancy vehicle by 65-75% by 2035. sustainable modes like transit, biking and walking), Mode Shift represents a complementary and equitable road-pricing policies that can serve approach to decarbonize as a progressive revenue source for transit are transportation, and the city is working to Seattle’s three central strategies to reduce emissions in the transportation sector. In addition evaluate and quantify the impact these to the actions outlined in this blueprint, the City is activities can have in meeting our GHG aggressively pursuing policies and programs to reduction targets. 3 A Call to Action The climate crisis is upon us. From sweltering Maximizing efficient use of our roadways is a heatwaves and wildfires that choke our air, to rising critical component to our strategy, and we will seas and extreme floods washing out roads, every continue to prioritize more efficient modes of day we are feeling the impacts of climate change. transportation to move people, goods and services Our transportation system, powered by fossil fuels, in and around our City to reduce unnecessary car is responsible for sixty percent of Seattle’s climate trips. For those who still need to drive, we want pollution. This is unsustainable. It is also profoundly them driving electric. In order to meet our climate immoral to continue along the path of maintaining goals, all vehicles on the road, including passenger our “transportation status quo” when we have the cars, freight trucks, delivery vans, service vehicles, means to embrace a cleaner, healthier modes and taxi’s, shuttles and buses must be electrified. technology. We must act now, both for ourselves and future generations. Climate justice is a central focus of this plan. We recognize that current and past systems have In a post pandemic world, the need for a fossil fuel created deep inequities regarding who accrues the transition is more urgent then ever as the links benefits of environmental programs and between air pollution and increased COVID death policies. We must work to address these inequities rates are clear.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has and rectify impacts in partnership with those who underscored and compounded the systemic have been harmed the most by working together to inequities that communities of color face every identify and implement climate policy priorities. day. We recognize that Black, Indigenous people We have seen the COVID-19 pandemic only and People of Color (BIPOC) have experienced the exacerbate these inequities and believe recovery most harm from the COVID-19 pandemic so this efforts offer an opportunity for transformative plan centers actions that will promote a healthy, change. We know we can’t return to normal, just recovery and leverage opportunities to rebuild because normal wasn’t working. our city prioritizing people, safety and sustainability. Our residents and neighbors who are least responsible for climate change and least equipped Seattle has made great strides in recent years by to adapt, are already disproportionately bearing decreasing single occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips by the health and financial impacts of climate change. adding more Metro bus service, increasing transit Communities of color, immigrants, refugees, ridership, investing in bike infrastructure, operating people with low incomes, and limited English- one of the largest electric bike share programs in proficient individuals — defined here as the country and passing one of the biggest environmental justice communities — face investments in state history to build out a significantly greater exposure to environmental comprehensive regional network for all-electric hazards and toxic air pollution resulting from our light rail. consumption of fossil fuels. Research shows residents living in the Duwamish Valley community Despite these efforts, we have not made sufficient in South Seattle will die eight years sooner than progress decreasing emissions from other Seattle neighborhoods due to air pollution transportation. Our most current GHG inventory and exposure to environmental toxins.2 from 2018 shows we have flat-lined on progress and only reduced transportation emissions by two Environmental justice communities also percent from 2008. We know more must be done. experience deep inequities in the current 4 transportation system. Across the US, access to economic opportunities for communities with predominantly white and environmental justice communities in the way higher-income households accrue a greater we prioritize investments, design incentives, and proportion of subsidies in the current deploy pilot projects. transportation system and are more likely to be served by high-quality transit. Seattle has an incredible opportunity to leverage our clean electricity to power the transportation Conversely, environmental justice populations sector as a practical solution to the climate crisis. often lack access to frequent or reliable public In 2005, Seattle City Light became the first electric transit, which limits access to economic utility in the country to achieve zero net opportunities including jobs, education, health care greenhouse gas emissions. It