Streets for All Seattle, a coalition of over 60 local organizations pressing for comprehensive street improvements throughout the city, is hosting its kickoff party tonight at Nectar in Fremont at 7:00 p.m. Streets for All Seattle members will be joined by Mayor Mike McGinn and a host of city council members hoping to raise awareness—and money—for bike, pedestrian, and transit infrastructure projects that are, at the moment, hopelessly underfunded.

- Tim Burgess
Benjamin says Streets for All Seattle isn't quite sure yet how this money will be raised—one of their immediate goals is to set up community forums and hear from stakeholders around the city on how best to accomplish this—but he adds that "when you think about it in terms of what the city spends, that's not a lot of money. But it adds up. With $30 million coming in annually, within 10 years, we can make a huge difference in how our people access and use our streets."

- His downfall
"When we talk to residents or city officials, everyone agrees this needs to happen," says Benjamin—referring to comprehensive street improvements, not watching Tim Burgess pound Jagermeister, "but it never gets done. We have world-class pedestrian and bicycle master plans in place that are equitable and fair—all they lack is funding," says Benjamin. "So our coalition is here to give city council and the mayor the support and guidance they need to do the right thing."
You can be part of "the right thing" by coming to Nectar tonight. Doors open at 7:00 p.m., three musical groups are slated to perform throughout the evening, and Jeopardy the Drinking Game! (or regular Jeopardy. Sigh.) will begin shortly after 9:00 p.m.