Week Without Driving 2022 Announced with Proclamation from Governor Inslee and Video Invite from Washington Elected Leaders

WHEREAS, access to mobility is a fundamental part of health and community connection, allowing Washingtonians to reach education and employment opportunities, medical services, shopping, recreation, and visit friends and family; and WHEREAS, mobility is one of the state’s six transportation system policy goals and includes the goal of investing public dollars to improve movement of people throughout Washington State; and WHEREAS, nearly a quarter of the people of Washington state do not have a driver licenses, either because of their age or a condition that does not allow them to drive; and WHEREAS, the recently passed transformative transportation package, Move Ahead Washington, invests over $5.0 billion to support reliable, safe and clean energy mobility options throughout the state; and WHEREAS, transportation represents the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Washington; and WHEREAS, in order to meet our state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals we must reduce emissions in our transportation sector; and WHEREAS, improving and enhancing transportation options such as transit, light rail, biking and walking pathways are key strategies in our decarbonization efforts; and WHEREAS, many Washingtonians cannot afford the cost of a car, as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the cost of owning a car is approximately 60 cents a mile, with average household spending on transportation in 2020 reaching $9,465 a year: and WHEREAS, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions, cars also create tire dust that can enter watersheds, have resulted in freeway expansions that have been detrimental to neighborhoods historically home to communities of color, and require impervious surfaces for parking to the extent that there are now an estimated 3.4 parking spaces for every car in the United States, all of which have contributed to transportation being an important environmental justice concern, and; WHEREAS, the people of Washington love to bike and walk with these two activities combined consistently ranking at the top of surveys among state residents, NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jay Inslee, Governor of the state of Washington, do hereby proclaim September 19-25, 2022, as Week Without Driving in Washington, and I encourage all people in our state to join me in this special observance. Signed this XX day of September, 2022 Governor Jay Inslee

Governor Jay Inslee has issued a proclamation declaring September 19-25 the Week Without Driving. This is the 2nd annual #WeekWithoutDriving, coordinated by the Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington, with support from dozens of co-hosting organizations from across the state.

Elected leaders who participated in the event last year are featured in a video, including Representatives Alex Ramel and Senator Rebecca Saldaña, King County CM Girmay Zahilay, Seattle CM Tammy Morales, Snohomish County CM Megan Dunn, Pierce County CM Kristina Walker, and King County Metro General Manager Terry White.

“It’s really important that all of us, especially elected officials, experience the consequences of our policy decisions. What is it like to get from point A to point B, using the public transit that we have currently funded? What is it like for people who are low income? What is it like for people with disabilities? What is it like for people who are from other marginalized groups?,” said CM Zahilay in the video.

Washington State Department of Transportation is also inviting all staff to participate in the challenge, and through the transportation demand management program for state workers coordinated by the Thurston Regional Planning Council, state employees will be invited to take the #WeekWithoutDriving challenge as well.

“If you can drive, and can afford a car, you may not understand what it’s like to rely on walking, rolling, transit and asking or paying for rides. But for nearly a quarter of the people in our state – people with disabilities, young people, seniors and people who can’t afford cars or gas, this is our every day,” said Anna Zivarts, Director of the Disability Mobility Initiative.

Anyone can register to participate at WeekwithoutDriving.life. The Disability Mobility Initiative is specifically encouraging elected leaders, transportation professionals and transit providers to participate so they can start to understand the barriers nondrivers experience in accessing our communities. To prepare, read our stories collected in the Transportation Access for Everyone Storymap and check out highlights from our 2021 event.

Co-hosts include: The Arc of Washington, All Aboard Washington, Bothellites for People Oriented Places, Cascade Bicycle Club, Center for Independence, Climate Solutions, Complete Streets Bellevue, Commute Seattle, CTANW, Downtown on the Go, Forevergreen Trails, Feet First, Front and Centered, Futurewise, Hopelink, Kirkland Greenways, Leafline Trails Coalition, MLK Labor, Move Redmond, National Federation of the Blind of Washington State, People First of Washington, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Seattle Subway, Share the Cities, Sierra Club, Snohomish County Transportation Coalition, Snoqualmie Valley Transit, Thurston County Planning Commission, Transit Riders Union, Transportation Choices Coalition, The Urbanist, WA Sr. Lobby, Whatcom Smart Trips, 350 Seattle.