Wilson’s executive order, Seattle SAFER Streets Act hoped to speed up Vision Zero, slow down drivers

Faced with lagging progress on its 2030 road safety goals, Seattle is launching a new effort to make its streets safer, pairing a powerful mayoral order with new traffic legislation.

Mayor Katie Wilson is issuing an Executive Order directing the Seattle Department of Transportation to immediately accelerate priority street safety projects and curb dangerous speeding ahead of the upcoming school year. To be unveiled Friday near an active pedestrian safety construction project outside Cleveland High School, the order fast-tracks interventions to protect vulnerable road users walking, biking, and rolling.

Thursday, the Seattle City Council began moving forward with the Seattle SAFER Streets Act, a comprehensive legislative package introduced to the Transportation Committee. The proposed ordinances amend the Seattle Municipal Code to formally adopt SDOT’s Vision Zero Action Plan as the city’s official guide, requiring the Safe System Approach to guide arterial speed limits, infrastructure planning, and intersection reviews.

The Seattle SAFER Streets Act was introduced by Councilmember Rob Saka who chairs the committee.

The proposed legislation expands SDOT’s authority to deploy proven countermeasures, including leading pedestrian intervals, no-turn-on-red restrictions, speed management devices, and intersection daylighting to clear parking near crosswalks. It also directs capital investments along the High Injury Network to areas identified by the city’s Racial and Social Equity Index, while mandating public transparency through crash and project dashboards.

The act also elevates the City Traffic Engineer to serve as SDOT’s Chief Safety Officer, establishing emergency authority to execute rapid and low-cost safety plans, pilot street closures, and lane reductions to mitigate imminent hazards.

The package also outlines requirements for lateral side guards on contractor-operated trucks to protect cyclists and pedestrians from side-impact collisions after several deadly crash incidents in the city including the June tragedy at 12th and Yesler that took the life of 30-year-old Christian Salyer.

Seattle’s primary Vision Zero goal is to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries on city streets by 2030. In 2025, Seattle recorded 27 traffic fatalities, with pedestrian deaths — like the collision with a food delivery driver that killed Lilli Moreno as she crossed E Pine in February — representing the majority of fatal incidents across the city.

Officials are also hoping to continue streamlining the city’s street permitting processes. To accelerate delivery for minor street work, SDOT established the SIP Lite pathway, allowing small-scale projects—such as ADA curb ramps and minor alley improvements—to bypass intermediate 30% and 60% design phases and jump straight to 90% formal review. Officials say the streamlined track shortens the standard permitting timeline from 1,343 days down to 848 days by reducing city review cycles and simplifying submission requirements. According to a briefing Thursday, SDOT issued 12,092 right-of-way permits, including 660 major permits in 2025.

Thursday’s committee meeting also included a session on shaping the city’s Transportation Funding Task Force. Mandated by the 2024 Transportation Levy, the resolution in front of the committee establishes the 23-member Transportation Funding Task Force to develop strategies and policy recommendations for city infrastructure.

Operating through existing levy funds, the task force is charged with evaluating revenue tools such as Transportation Impact Fees to achieve the city’s goals including improved vehicle bridge conditions, arterial pavement quality, and sidewalk network completion by 2029.

The group will conduct monthly working sessions through late 2027, deliver bi-annual progress reports to City Council, and incorporate a Racial Equity Toolkit into its final recommendations report due in December 2027.

Transportation Funding Task Force Members

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