It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s some interesting stuff floating around the web lately.
First up, here’s a pretty good explanation of one way to redesign a four-lane street to be safer and more efficient. Seattle has so many streets that need this:
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Pacific Northwest News
- Bothell leans European with its new multiway boulevard | HeraldNet.com
- The Dockless Bike Share Revolution – Alta Planning + Design
- Why the New Bike Shares Could Actually Make Seattle Streets Safer | Seattle Weekly
- Jessyn Farrell on the Mayor’s Race, State Legislature, and Her Future | Seattle Met
- Have you noticed? Seattle police are writing fewer traffic tickets | The Seattle Times
- Three Spots for Signals to Stops | SDOT Blog – In many cases, all-way stops work better for everyone than traffic signals.
- What’s with Seattle’s rule limiting on-street parking to 72 hours? | The Seattle Times – For real. On one hand, I like that a time limit of some kind gives people who rarely drive an incentive to just sell the damn thing (street sweeping tickets in Denver were an impetus for me to finally sell my car nearly a decade ago). But 72 hours is really short for residential areas. Don’t we want people who own cars to instead utilize other modes of getting around as often as possible? There’s gotta be a middle ground between public junk storage and forcing people to drive when they don’t want to.
- I finally rode one of Seattle’s new bike shares | 107.7 The End
- Is Bike Share Good Business? | Seattle Transit Blog
- Seattle’s most infamous intersections highlighted in minimalist map – Curbed Seattle
- Sustainability Segment: Tom Fucoloro – KEXP Presents Mind Over Matters Sustainability Segment (podcast)
- PBOT officially opens the nine-mile, $4.5 million, 20s Bikeway – BikePortland.org
- Map: Where Multi-Family Homes Make Seattle Neighborhoods More Affordable | Sightline Institute
- Seattle bikes left in bizarre places; share program sends message to ‘bad players’ | KIRO-TV
- With These Thighs: a celebration of cyclists of all shapes and sizes | CyclingTips
- News Release: BIKETOWN for ALL expands eligibility and makes it easier than ever to sign up for the program | News | The City of Portland, Oregon
- Backers say I-5 Rose Quarter widening could be model for future freeway projects – BikePortland.org
- China exports its bike-sharing revolution to the U.S. and the world – The Washington Post
- Washington state to test pay-by-the-mile as a way to fund highways | The Seattle Times
- Helmet Scolds Could Unwittingly Undermine Bike Safety in Seattle – Streetsblog USA
- The C Is for Crank Interviews: Pat Murakami – The C Is for crank
- High-Speed Rail Study Underway | Seattle Transit Blog
- Vancouver Plans To Tear Down Viaducts, Revitalize False Creek » The Urbanist
- Seattle Has a New “Playbook” for Handling Transportation Changes – Next City
- The C Is for Crank Interviews: Lorena Gonzalez | The C Is for crank
- As the World Burns and Drowns, Mayoral Candidates Differ on Electric Cars | Seattle Weekly
- SDOT Unveils 23rd Avenue ‘Phase 2’ Design » The Urbanist
- Making it Easier to Get an ORCA Card | Seattle Transit Blog
- Can upstart bike-sharing companies disrupt the status quo in the new battle for Seattle?
- Woman Arrested for DUI After Driving Car Over 100-Foot Embankment | SPD Blotter
- $100,000 per parking space? Costs soar for Sound Transit’s Kent park-and-ride garage | The Seattle Times
- Victoria, B.C. to introduce dock-free bike sharing service – British Columbia – CBC News
- Seattle sets a new standard for private companies to launch public services, and other cities take note – GeekWire
- Will Dockless Bike Share Sweep the Nation? | Bicycling.com
- Park-and-ride promise must be met, even at $100,000 a stall | The Seattle Times – No price is too high if we’re taking about a transit agency paying for all-day private car storage.
- Seattle’s Playful Traffic Circles Tame Neighborhood Streets – Streetsblog USA
- GeekWire’s Great Race: We pitted cars, bus, bike and skateboard at rush hour, with a surprising result – GeekWire
- Woman arrested in Colorado for fatal Kent hit-and-run – seattlepi.com
- Look for these bike champions on your November ballot – Washington Bikes
- Don’t judge a bus stop by its … oh, who am I kidding, I’m the Sorriest Bus Stop in America – Metro Matters
- Thank you! – Rainier Valley Food Bank recaps its Urban Ag Bike Tours
- Planning for a bike share future means building Bellevue’s protected bike network | Cascade Bicycle Club
- Ferry County officials angle toward ATV use on rail trail despite public vote | The Spokesman-Review
- Skateboarder struck, killed by car in Burien | The Seattle Times
- Detectives Investigating University District Pedestrian/Vehicle Collision | SPD Blotter
- As Mayor, I’ll Tackle the Root Causes of Seattle’s Traffic and Transportation Challenges – By Cary Moon
- What People New to Seattle Need to Know About Our Transportation – Back To School 2017 – The Stranger
- Denny Way Upgrades Could Make 8 Less Late » The Urbanist
- Redmond Central Connector – City of Redmond
- ‘Bikepacking’ is a treat when toddler gets too heavy for your back | The Seattle Times
- Seattle Sidewalk Survey Update | SDOT Blog
- Urbanist Tours: Rainier Avenue Video Recap » The Urbanist
- East Portland advocates raise equity concerns over ‘Green Loop’ project – BikePortland.org
- With The Middle Fork Road Now Paved, Will the Valley Get ‘Loved to Death’? | Seattle Weekly
Halftime Show! Here’s SDOT’s Kyle Rowe explaining how to park your bike share like someone who isn’t an asshole:
National & Global News
- Dutch Build Vital New Infrastructure — World’s Biggest Bike Parking Lot
- Rihanna supports Malawian schoolgirls with bicycles and scholarships | Brand South Africa
- Rihanna Launches Bike Program for Girls in Malawi | Bicycling – ofo is a partner.
- Exxon researched climate science. Understood it. And misled the public. – Vox
- 3 Young Black Men Were Hit by a Motorist While Walking Along a Road in La. Guess Who Got Charged? | The Root
- Key West city leaders say no to bike-sharing proposal | FL Keys News
- Clearly Marked Bicycle Lanes Enhance Safety and Traffic Flow – Crossroads
- Margaret Atwood is really mad about some condos being built near her house | Toronto Life
- Bikers from Seattle travel across Canada | Cumberland News Now
- Citi Bike Operator Is Developing A Dockless Bike : Gothamist
- Bike lane protected by demonstrators in Boise | KTVB.COM
- Bike sharing is here to stay on Key Biscayne as Village Council moves to keep LimeBike in town | News | islandernews.com
- Driver taken into custody after crashing at block party in South Philadelphia
- Eyes on the Street: The 14th Street Bike Lane Is Immediately Denver’s Best – Streetsblog Denver
- Level of Traffic Stress — What it Means for Building Better Bike Networks
- ‘Bikesharing is the next Uber’: Spin founder optimistic amid Ofo’s US launch | PitchBook News
- upshatescyclists.com – URL says it all. And to think the company started by people biking in Seattle.
- Rainbow path paves way for Auckland cyclists – NZ Herald
- Beijing bans new bikes as sharing schemes cause chaos – BBC News
- If You Build It, the Dutch Will Pedal – The New York Times
- CZZS | Repeal of obligatory bicycle helmet law in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Four New Yorkers Struck by Driver on Bike Tour Today | Transportation Alternatives
- Dockless Bikeshare Companies Want to Compete With City-Run Monopolies – Motherboard
- Seniors say there isn’t enough time to cross SF streets safely – by j_rodriguez – July 29, 2017 – The San Francisco Examiner
- Bike Commuting Growth Has Leveled Off – But Not Everywhere in the U.S. – Streetsblog USA
- Safety in Numbers and Safety in Congestion for Bicyclists and Motorists at Urban Intersections – David Levinson, Transportist
- The Ethics of E-Bikes | Outside Online
- Harvey Destroyed Houston’s Cars–This Program Is Giving Away Bikes To Replace Them | Fast Company
- How a city in Spain got rid of its cars | Citiscope
- Seattle traffic got so bad, this guy started flying to work | KUOW News and Information
- The ‘miracle pill’: how cycling could save the NHS | Environment | The Guardian
- Cell Phones Don’t Make Walking Dangerous — Car-Based Cities Do – Streetsblog USA
- Baltimore’s Bike-Share System Needs a Break – The Atlantic
- With New Fundraising, 9-Month-Old Bike-Sharing Startup Is Said To Be Worth $200 Million | Forbes Mobile
- Spin, LimeBike, and Mobike Hit the Streets of D.C. – The Atlantic
- Hundreds of Kids Biked on the Cross-Bronx Expressway — So NYPD Arrested Them – Streetsblog New York City
- ‘Vermin’: Dozens of oBikes pulled from Yarra River
- Transportation equity: Why peak period road pricing is fair | City Observatory
- China’s bike-sharing giants could merge to stop the cash burning | South China Morning Post
- Q&A: As private bike shares flood the US, Minnesota’s shifts its role – Better Bike Share
- America Walks “Walking Toward Justice” Webinar: The Color of Law & Residential Segregation – Streetsblog Los Angeles
- LimeBike to remove bikes for winter, return to South Lake Tahoe next spring | TahoeDailyTribune.com
- Ford patents a bicycle stability device and other cycle tech | Bicycle Business | BikeBiz
- Bike-Sharing Is Flourishing in Washington. Can the City Handle It? – NYTimes.com
This is an open thread.
Comments
11 responses to “Bike News Roundup: The Classic American Road Diet”
The ofo saturation is kinda of annoying.
Sunday around noon there were about 60 bikes lining the inner path Green Lake (counted on my 1st and 3rd laps around so that number isn’t from just one specific point in time). Some of these groups were obviously left by ofo (like when you notice 6 all lined up nicely together). While there were a few ofo riders that were looping the lake, there were also a few limebikes. I’m curious how many of those parked bikes naturally got there via riders compared how many were placed there.
Regarding the road diet video, if standard designs call for 12′ minimum two-way bike paths Seattle will find a way to narrow them down to 10′. I shudder to think what Seattle would do with at an 8′ standard!
I’m wondering if all bike share riders riding to Ballard could park their bikes in the public space in front of Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel. It would be great to get a big mass of bikes there in support of completing the Missing Link that they are obstructing. Kind of like a Critical Mass. Maybe line them up nose to tail all along the route – the rail route on 54th. Yeah, that’d be great.
How about doing it on the day of the walking tour on Oct 14th? There are lots of bikes at the locks.
Is there a rough timeline for final design and construction of the Accessible Mt. Baker project? And is there already funding secured? The latest update on the AMB website says that 2019 is the earliest projected completion date, which probably means more like 2020-2021. My understanding from SBAB meetings is that AMB is the bottleneck that’s holding up the (potential, but likely?) bike lanes on Rainier Ave. It sounds like SDOT isn’t willing to make safety improvements on Rainier north of Alaska until after AMB is completed and they can redirect more cars onto MLK instead of Rainier through the Rainier Valley.
Sure would be nice to get an “interim” project on Rainier before 2020… even if it’s only paint + posts. Vision Zero needs more urgency behind it (and an updated dashboard).
I’m somewhat lukewarm about the Acciessible Mt. Baker Project because, for all its faults, the existing ped bridge works well for getting between the light rail station and Mt. Baker Blvd. to the east; the proposal gets rid of the bridge and replaces it with not one, but two stoplights to wait you. Of course, they’re going to be timed so that a car going east/west can get through both lights in on go, which means, as a slower pedestrian, you will always just miss the second light. And of course, both lights are going to have long, car-throughput-maximizing cycles, complete with beg buttons. To all this, I say “no thanks”. I’d rather just deal with the extra up and down and walk across the bridge that’s already there.
Bothell’s new design is a mess. The “bike lane” has door zones on both sides. The whole layout is poorly signed and confusing to drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. I’ll be sticking to their “fast lanes” (i.e. the traditional road in the center).
What will it take to get Green Lake Way and Bridge Way a road diet, like shown in the video? I was walking through there the other day at 5:30 on a Thursday afternoon, and there wasn’t anywhere near enough car traffic to justify a 4-lane street. A narrower street would be much easier to cross, and make it much safer to get between Fremont/Wallingford and Woodland Park/Green Lake Park.
(Of course, if would even better if Green Lake Way could just be closed altogether…but one step a time; start with the road diet first).
What will it take? It will take more injuries and serious crashes. It’s a numbers game. The most recent reply I got from SDOT about this street reads, in part, “We evaluated this location, including a review of the safety history, and the data suggests the section of roadway is operating as planned for ordinary travel.”
Maybe we could get a HAWK crossing, a marked crosswalk, or a pedestrian refuge? No. “When marking a crosswalk we like to see approximately twenty pedestrians crossing an hour.” The chicken-and-egg problem here is that people don’t like to walk across the street since it’s a 5-lane drag strip, so SDOT can just claim there’s no pedestrian demand, or that it’s not concentrated enough at one specific crossing.
Actually, Seattle has few such four-lane arterials remaining. Note the video arterial did not have transit service. The lane widths were narrow. The video arterial still uses significant curb space for car storage.
The 72 hour parking rule is not always enforced. I left a car parked in one spot for a month this past summer and it was ticket free. Maybe it is only enforced if someone complains