Mayor Katie B. Wilson has announced the 2027-2028 Proposed Budget on September 22. 

The budget allocates funds for SDOT (Seattle Department of Transportation) staffing, which will help increase safe, reliable travel options for pedestrians. Increased resources will also help SDOT to maintain its core services and continue its work on several ongoing projects funded under the 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy, Vision Zero investments, and programs funded under the Seattle Transit Measure.

Key initiatives include new bus lanes on Denny Way for Route 8 riders, new light rail stations at Judkins Park and Pinehurst, and other pothole-filling and accessible infrastructure projects.

The Proposed Budget also includes a provision for using new resources to help with

• Installing automated traffic safety cameras across the city, especially around high-crash areas and speed zones.
• Continued maintenance of Seattle’s bridges and structures, and urban forestry needs. The funds will be used mainly from King County’s new 10-year, 0.1% sales tax for transportation.
• The commercial tax increase from 14.5% to 17% will fund signal maintenance, urban forestry, and emergency services.
• The funding will cover permitting and inspection services, supported by updated fees and rates.

2026 has been a landmark year for Seattle, which saw several infrastructural advancements, including new bus lanes on Denny Way and upcoming light rail stations. 

The proposed $9.1 billion budget for 2027 will help close the General Fund deficit inherited from the previous administration.

“When I took office, I inherited a General Fund deficit estimated at $175 million. That gap had been growing since the pandemic began, through years of high inflation, as the needs in our city rose while the funding to meet them did not keep pace. For years, that deficit was papered over rather than faced head-on,” said Mayor Wilson. She continued, “That ends today. We cannot keep lurching from shortfall to shortfall, year after year. We cannot keep kicking the can down the road because there is no more road. This budget tells the truth about where we are and still dares to point toward where we are going.” 

In August, Mayor Wilson signed an executive order to reduce traffic-related deaths and accidents by 2030 and directed the Department of Transportation to accelerate ongoing infrastructure projects.

Prioritized areas include Aurora Avenue North, Rainer Avenue South, and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. Mayor Wilson has set a deadline of January 31, 2027, for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to develop streamlined lane layouts, car turning, and parking.

The Vision Zero Action Plan was last updated in 2024, with Wilson seeking an update from SDOT by April 30, 2027. Since the inception of this program in 2015, the administration has struggled to reduce traffic-related deaths. With 4 years remaining, the city is struggling to meet the ordinance's targets.