Based on traffic alone, Mayor Ed Murray has failed Seattle

Seattle’s Mayor Ed Murray responded to a recent Seattle Times editorial that accused the city of poor planning amid such explosive growth. Murray argued the city isn’t sitting on its hands when it comes to preparing for the future.

“It was spot on, [the Seattle Times’] editorial,” said KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “Ed Murray wrote an op-ed, so it was an Ed op-ed.”

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Dori said that based on traffic factor alone, Murray has failed.

“He’s the worst mayor by the standard of traffic,” he said. “Just keep the city moving, and he’s not.”

Murray’s editorial argued that he and the city council have made great strides to prepare for the impending growth. He defended his policies, boasting the work to accommodate 120,000 more Seattle residents in the next 20 years.

“We’ve taken a more holistic approach to our city’s disparate transportation plans. Doing this will help us prioritize infrastructure investments and make our system better for all modes, including cars, bikes, transit, pedestrians and freight,” Murray wrote.

“We are accelerating work to synchronize traffic signals along major arterials. Thanks to voters, Seattle residents are seeing the largest expansion of bus service in Metro’s history,” he said.

Murray ended by promoting his creation of the office of Planning and Community Development, which will “integrate all of our priorities and to better coordinate how we grow and invest. It will take our planning efforts and look at them through a lens of race, social justice and economic equity for all Seattle communities.”