 Join the #WeekWithoutDriving
 On Tuesday, Redmond City Council President Forsythe, staff and advocates from the Disability Mobility Initiative, and staff from Move Redmond joined me and my Council colleagues for the reading of the Week Without Driving proclamation.
Without a car, many areas of King County can be nearly impossible to get around. Beyond the reach of robust public transportation systems, and streets with safe and accessible crossings and sidewalks, going car-less could simply mean not going.
Week Without Driving – a now national challenge created by Disability Rights Washington - is meant to put policy makers, elected leaders, and transportation professionals in the place of those who don’t have the option to drive. The week can help leaders better understand how they can improve public transportation and make streets, trails, and sidewalks safer and easier to use for everyone.
On Tuesday, the King County Council proclaimed the week of October 2-8 as a Week Without Driving, encouraging people across the region to take part in the challenge to try getting around all week without using their cars.
“Even if you know you can’t go a whole week without driving, the organizers of Week Without Driving encourage you to sign up,” said Anna Zivarts, director of the Disability Mobility Initiative with Disability Rights Washington. “Taking the challenge means reflecting on the question of how the places you need to go are and aren’t accessible for the nondrivers in your community, and what changes we must make to ensure everyone can be included.”
There’s no substitute for experience and a Week Without Driving is a perfect way to understand how our transportation system works—and often doesn’t work—for non-drivers. It takes extra time, planning, and energy even for basic trips when driving yourself isn’t an option and our current transportation system, which is built for and around cars, does not make it easier. I encourage everyone to participate in this eye-opening challenge to get a better understanding of how critical it is to invest in reliable, frequent transit and safe bike/pedestrian infrastructure.
To learn more about #WeekWithoutDriving and to personally signup for the week-long challenge, visit Disability Rights Washington's campaign page:
Do you Bike Bellevue?
 Photo: City of Bellevue Transportation Department
Biking is a great way to get around the Eastside. As our regional trail system grows and expands, and as light rail and new transit comes online, we have the chance to create a transportation network that makes biking safer and easier.
The City of Bellevue’s Transportation Department has been working on a new project called Bike Bellevue. Its goals? To build and better connect the bike network around the urban core of Bellevue, including Downtown, Wilburton, and BelRed.
Now with proposed bike lane designs complete, they want to know what you think. The goal of Bike Bellevue is to enhance the city’s multimodal transportation system and help make it more equitable, sustainable, and accessible for everyone. Make your voice heard to make it a reality!
Wednesday, Oct 4 is National Walk & Roll to School Day!
 Children and their caregivers traveling to and from school each day means school is back in full swing across the Eastside. And on Wednesday, October 4, it’s Walk & Roll to School Day. This one-day event is an opportunity for children of all abilities to enjoy each other’s company by walking and rolling to school together.
Walking and rolling is one of the best ways to get to school, but it’s an activity that is increasingly rare across our country. In 1969, 48 percent of students in grades K through eight (ages 5 through 14) walked or biked to school. In 2017, only 11 percent of students in grades K through eight walked or bicycled to school. There are many reasons for these declines in walking and biking, including unsafe streets, and missing sidewalks, but one-time events like Walk/Bike & Roll to School Day can show kids and their caregivers that this can be a safe and fun way to get to school.
Interested in participating or learning more? Next week, select elementary schools in Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Newcastle and across the Puget Sound are participating. Find out if your elementary school has registered an event here:
Learn more about Walk & Roll to School Day, as well as other opportunities to get kids active and to find inspiration at www.walkbiketoschool.org
Spread the word!
Please forward this email widely and invite others to sign-up to my email updates to receive important and timely information for District 6 constituents.
Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
District 6
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