Vote Kevin Teater for Beaverton City Council: The Vision for Safer and Peaceful Streets

#BeavertonCityCouncil

My heart really broke last week when a driver killed a 75-year-old lady who was crossing the street just a block from my office in downtown Beaverton. It really hurts for her and her loved ones.

I just wrote an article last month in the Beaverton Resource Guide about how future street improvements would hopefully make our streets safer for people not driving. But these changes will take immense time (years) and money (millions) to make happen.

And in that time, we lost a valuable and lovely member of our neighborhood. It hurts.

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with some residents in the Neighbors Southwest neighborhood about their street safety concerns. Cars have driven through their homes, fences, roundabouts, and more. One person has died and multiple have been injured.

These issues are systemic, and they are one reason why I am running for Beaverton City Council, Position 2.

I see a community where our kids can walk to school, our parents can go to the grocery, our neighbors can bike to our house, and all of it can be without a car. It’s absolutely possible. We just have to make different policy decisions.

I was in a West Slope Neighborhood meeting last week, and one neighbor asked me, “Kevin, we see all these plans that the City is creating that want us to walk or bike into downtown. But I don’t want to put my life in someone else’s hands by choosing to bike or walk down Canyon Road. How will you improve the connectivity of our neighborhoods?

It was a really good question. Our vision must be accompanied by action. We need safer routes everywhere so that people have the option to move in the ways they want to move. And it’s not just about connecting people to downtown. It’s also about connecting neighborhoods to each other. The West Slope neighborhood is fairly isolated, and yet it is a gem of a neighborhood.

We need to reallocate street space in ways that makes us safer, more connected, more environmentally friendly, and more fiscally-responsible. It’s possible. It just takes bold action, and I am going to push for that. I would love for you to join me.

~Kevin Teater

Kevin brings multiple years of experience in economic and community development in Beaverton, in addition to time in Asheville, North Carolina envisioning the future of a downtown city block and regional neighborhoods. To find out more, Visit kevinteater.com