Anti-car bias, safety perceptions making Seattle even more anti-family

King County Metro finally changed a long-hated rule that made it very difficult and inconvenient for families to use the bus.

Five seconds into a conversation with a mom, and it became clear to me how deeply annoyed parents feel when they were prohibited from keeping their kid in a stroller on the bus.

Now, KING 5 reports, they’re changing policy “allowing moms and dads to ride the bus with their baby in the stroller as long as the child is secured and not blocking the aisle.”

Good for them; this is good news. Now, will Seattle leaders and the Seattle Department of Transportation take notice and recognize how their stances impact families?

There’s already a perception problem with Seattle being unsafe and filled with folks flagrantly disobeying laws. Parts of the city do feel unsafe at certain hours, but it’s more perception than reality. There have been many who “just say no” to coming to Seattle because of the public pot smoking (I personally haven’t seen it happening all that often, though), the out-of-control homeless population, and, after the debacle with the Black Lives Matter protesters, families are instead enjoying everything that Bellevue, Tacoma, Everett, etc. have to offer.

But it’s not just about perceived safety issues.

I don’t have kids, so this didn’t don on me without the help of the many parents I speak to around the office and in my personal life. I have colleagues and friends who refuse to come to Seattle to shop and dine and stroll the parks because, as they almost all say word-for-word, “there’s no parking!” And SDOT seems to be OK with that (they keep selling our parking spots for parklets no one will use most of the year or destroying them for other uses) in their quest to pretend they’re offering “options” to travelers when they’re really just degrading driving options with the hopes they’ll force people onto bikes or the bus.

Dedicated bike lanes? We already know these serve a very small percentage of the area population, and even less so for parents who, as it turns, find peddling with a couple infants dangerous and inconvenient.

Metro? They can be helpful when they’re not full (if the SLU streetcar actually went anywhere, this would be a great option since I’ve still yet to see more than three or four people on it, and I pass it twice daily). Funding Metro and offering more routes will make the city a bit more family-friendly, but the truth remains it’s not easy traveling by public transit with kids (I imagine making the trek with two cranky kids from Shoreline to Pacific Place in downtown Seattle isn’t exactly stress-free).

Walking? Sure, at small distances. But even walking from North Queen Anne to Seattle Center is a pain if you’ve got a stroller.

Visit Seattle has an interesting page dedicated to family destinations in the city. They’re great ideas… if you can get there and find parking.