The Transportation, Waterfront, and Seattle Center Committee (informally STEPS) convened on September 17, 2026, at 9:35 AM in the Council Chamber, City Hall, and adjourned at 12:56 PM. Chair Rob Saka presided. The meeting focused on three bills comprising the Seattle SAFER Streets Act (CB 121296, CB 121297, CB 121298) and the initial discussion of the appointment of Randy Engstrom as Seattle Center Director. The committee passed all three bills with amendments and heard extensive public testimony on a controversial amendment (Amendment 16) to CB 121296 and on the Seattle Center appointment.
1. CB 121296 – Traffic Safety Ordinance (Vision Zero codification)
2. CB 121297 – Traffic Engineer Authority Clarification
3. CB 121298 – Truck Lateral Protective Devices
4. Appointment of Randy Engstrom as Seattle Center Director (Appt 03652)
All right, good morning. The September 17th, 2026 meeting of the Transportation Waterfront and Seattle Center Committee, informally known as STEPS will come to order. It is 9 35 a.m. I am Rob Saka, Chair of the Committee. Will the committee clerk please call the role? Councilmember Foster. Here. Councilmember Kettle. Here. Councilmember Lynn. Vice Chair Rink. Chair Saka. Here. Chair, there are three members present. Thank you. And Vice Chair Rink and Councilmember Lynn are excused until they arrive. If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted. Hearing and seeing no objection, the agenda is hereby adopted. All right. Good morning, colleagues, members of the public. Thank you for being here today. Today marks our third committee discussion on the Seattle Safer Streets Act and the culmination of many months of work. When we created this committee in January, we deliberately put safety first in steps. That wasn't branding, it was a commitment. Whether you walk, bike, roll, drive, take transit, or deliver goods and services, you deserve to get where you're going safely. And on top of that, we know that Seattle launched its ambitious Vision Zero goal more than a decade ago. But our trajectory tells us something important. Aspan is not implementation. And a goal without accountable systems and structures institutionalized throughout all aspects of policy to deliver it simply not enough. That's why we've held quarterly safety conversations. Why I've personally requested a vision zero performance audit, and why we've developed debated and refined legislation before us today. Now, I recognize this process has occasionally gotten a little spicy. That's okay. This is the Seattle City Council. If nine people agreed on everything every time, probably want to get law or HR involved. But in all seriousness, I do want to thank my colleagues for asking hard questions, proposing thoughtful amendments to improve the base legislation. This legislation has changed and evolved, and I'm grateful for their engagement. Good debate should improve policy and legislation, but eventually, deliberation has to become a decision. And the reason for urgency is written not in an executive order or even our Seattle municipal code. It's written in lives. Steve Holzman was killed while biking in West Seattle in 2023. Christian Salyor died while biking on Capitol Hill in June. Two short weeks later, Meredith Bonadilla was killed while biking in Fauntleroy. Their families don't experience these tragedies as simple statistics. Neither should we'd like us to observe a moment of silence for Steve, Christian, Meridi, and everyone lost on Seattle streets. Thank you. And Hoboka, New Jersey shows what systematic action can accomplish. It didn't find one magical project. It systematically improved its streets and has become a national model for vision zero achievement. Safer streets aren't created by one perfect project.