Dear Anne-Marije,

Many of us will sit down this weekend and fill out our ballots - remember, next Tuesday is Election Day! We have to work together for transportation choices for all who walk, bike, drive and ride transit. Tim Eyman's initiatives and our economic situation leave us the choice of raising funds or cutting vital services to millions of people in Washington.

I'm asking for your vote for Seattle's Proposition 1 for faster, more reliable transit and safer streets.

20% of Seattle commuters arrive on transit, and 10,000 bicyclists load their bikes onto Metro buses each day. Prop 1 will make improvements that help priority buses move through traffic between Seattle neighborhoods up to 20% faster so they arrive on time. Prop 1 will also repave miles more city streets every year, fix potholes, build and repair sidewalks, and help to catch up on a deep backlog of maintenance projects in our city.

And Proposition 1 will raise $14 million for bike safety to help us build innovative solutions. These include cycletracks that separate riders from traffic, and miles of Neighborhood Greenways that create safe routes to school for children and alternative bicycle routes away from busy streets. Please vote YES if you would like bicycling to be accessible to more people in our city, of all ages and abilities.

Around our state, we also face another destructive Tim Eyman initiative, I-1125. Please vote NO on Initiative 1125, which would jeopardize major projects around our state and make them 18% more expensive. I-1125 would kill East Link light rail and create a funding gap for the new 520 bridge.

If you would like a 21st-century transportation system, say NO to Tim Eyman's I-1125 and YES to Proposition 1 in the Seattle Transportation Benefit District.

Cascade Bicycle Club endorses candidates and ballot measures this time of year because these decisions affect our safety and the quality of our communities. I encourage you to view all of our endorsements and our policies at cascade.org/elections. Please "bike your vote" as we work together in creating better communities through bicycling.

Thank you,

Chuck Ayers
Executive Director
Cascade Bicycle Club