EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks again to Brock Howell of Bike Happy for putting together this comprehensive weekly newsletter.
TOP THINGS TO KNOW & DO
1. Design your own bike lane person.
2. Read about the 333fab Air Land Sea bicycle.
3. Watch Jan Heine bomb down unknown French Alps roads on a very old, unrestored René Herse tandem.
4. Attend a panel discussion about the future of transportation policy with some very smart people.
6. Checkout all the great artists and builders at the Equinox Studios’ “Very Open House.”
7. Read the Seattle Times front page article about our chief traffic engineer, Dongho Chang.
CONTEST: DESIGN YOUR OWN BIKE LANE PERSON
You have five days left to submit your idea for the #HappyBikeLanePeople contest. I’m already receiving lots of great submissions. In order to aid my selection of the best “bike lane people,” I will be holding a five-day public poll for everyone to pick their favorites. Ultimately, in combination with the public vote, I will choose the winners based on originality, creativity, whimsy, and storytelling. Winners will win gift certificates to Peddler Brewing. All submissions will be sent to SDOT for their consideration for installation. Get all the details here >>
SOCIAL, LIFESTYLE, & ADVENTURE
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Thursday, Dec. 7
6-7pm, Trek Store’s Fix-A-Flat Clinic
7pm, Point 83 Ride
Saturday, Dec. 9
10am-3pm, Evergreen MTB’s I-5 Colonnade Park Cleanup & Maintenance
10am-7pm, Timbuk2’s Break Up With Your Bag + Food Drive
2:30-3:30, Kidical Mass Committee Meeting
6:30-10pm, 2nd Annual Poulsbo Yuletide Ride
Sunday, Dec. 10
10am-7pm, Timbuk2’s Break Up With Your Bag + Food Drive
1pm, 1st Annual Gig Harbor Toy Drive Ride
6-7:30pm, Trek Store’s Sunday MTB Ride at Tapeworm
6-Midnight, Equinox Studios’ Very Open House
Monday, Dec. 11
7-9pm, Counterbalance’s Co-ed Mechanic Class
Tuesday, Dec. 12
5:30-8pm, “The Moment” movie premier, hosted by Mt Si MTB
Thursday, Dec. 14
7pm, Point 83 Ride
ARTICLES & POSTS
— Rambling with the 333fab Air Land Sea, an all-purpose adventure bike made in Seattle. (The Radavist)
— The Minneapolis-based organization, “Free Bikes 4 Kidz,” which has given out 50,000 bikes to kids in recent years, expects to open similar operations in Seattle and Yakima soon. (Gear Junkie)
— “But it’s raining outside,” Aviva Stevens discusses riding in the rain. (Seattle Bike Blog)
— Bicycle Quarterly video of touring unknown mountain roads in the French Alps on an unrestored, 70-year-old René Herse tandem bicycle. (Jan Heine’s Blog)
— One of the largest cross-country ski (and fat-tire bike) trail networks in North America is nearby in the Methow Valley. (Seattle Times)
— Shedding pounds can soothe joint pain (Bellevue Reporter)
COLLISIONS
— “A man who was struck by [a person driving] an SUV while riding his bicycle on State Route 92 in Granite Falls Tuesday afternoon has died.” (KOMO, KIRO7)
— “A 58-year-old Seattle man was bicycling along Madison Avenue south of Wallace Way when he was hit by a 45-year-old Bainbridge man in a 2005 Dodge Ram who pulled out onto Madison and hit the cyclist while he was in the bike lane.” (Bainbridge Island Review)
POLICY & INFRASTRUCTURE
ACTION
● Submit public comment on the Roosevelt RapidRide Scoping, which currently includes protected bike lanes along Eastlake Avenue.
● Tell the King County Public Health Board to repeal the bicycle helmet law.
● Shape bike parking plans for First Hill, Columbia City, and Georgetown.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, Dec. 11
6-8pm, Central Seattle Greenways meeting
Tuesday, Dec. 12
5:30-7:30, Urbanist Monthly Meetup
6:30-8pm, SDOT’s Navigating Seattle Traffic Without Losing Your Mind
7:30-8:30pm, Licton-Haller & Greenwood-Phinney Greenways Meeting
Thursday, Dec. 14
5-6:30, TCC’s Transit Talks: Transportation Ideas for a New Mayor
NEWS
New Bikeways
— SDOT has mostly completed a great new two-way protected bike lane through Interbay on 20th and Gilman Avenues, connecting the Ship Canal Trail to the Elliott Bay Trail. (Seattle Bike Blog)
— SDOT installed lean rails along the updated and extended 2nd Avenue Protected Bike Lane (SDOT)
— A public meeting was held on Tuesday for creating/improving/expanding Smith Cove Park, which may include a pump track and better bikeway connection to the Interbay/Elliott Bay Trail. (Seattle Parks)
— Edmonds City Council funded design work for the “Edmonds Street Waterfront Connector” — a new bike-ped bridge across the railroad tracks that will dual as an emergency access for first-responders. (MyEdmonds)
— WSDOT announced the bike path across the SR520 Bridge will open on December 20, connecting Montlake to the Eastside. (WSDOT Facebook, Seattle Bike Blog)
— The City of Bellevue has plans to install protected bike lanes in its downtown next spring. Early indications suggest that the favorite street for installing the first protected bike lane is 108th Avenue. (Bellevue Reporter)
— Bainbridge is beginning construction of the Sound to Olympics Trail, with construction near the Winslow ferry terminal. (KIRO)
— Sound Transit has completed much of its planning for a new parking garage and improved bike-ped connections to the Sumner Sounder Commuter Rail Station. (The News Tribune)
Intersections
— SDOT continues to make improvements along Admiral Way in West Seattle. SDOT installed curb-bulbs this week and crosswalks at 59th Avenue SW near Alki Elementary, and soon will install many more curb-bulbs at several other intersections, and SDOT discussed additional improvements with the concerned community. (West Seattle Blog, Dongho’s Tweet)
— When Thomas Street reconnects across SR-99 in South Lake Union next year, diverters will be installed at the intersections to prevent car traffic from cutting through on the street, helping make Thomas a safe bike-ped connection. (Urbanist)
Detours & Maintenance
— Seattle Parks is starting to repave and repair the Burke-Gilman Trail from 40th Ave NE to Inverness Dr NE this winter, with trail detours already starting this week. (Seattle Parks, Seattle Bike Blog)
General SDOT Operations
— SDOT’s 2018 budget is 5% bigger. (Seattle Transit Blog)
— Big projects are taking a little longer than planned in the Move Seattle Levy. (KIRO7)
— Seattle has a new street design guide. (DJC)
Bike-Friendly Cities and Campuses
— The League of American Bicyclists named Kenmore a bronze-level bike-friendly city. This is a major turn-around from 2013-14 when Kenmore had three pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities with a few months, serving as a major catalyst for adopting a Vision Zero Plan, hiring a pro-bike city transportation engineer, and passing a levy for pedestrian, bicycle and park investments. (Kenmore Press Release, Seattle Bike Blog)
— The Verdant Health Commission and cities of Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Mountlake Terrace have spent $1.9 million in recent years on a “Bike2Health” effort that includes new bike lanes, shared lane markings, signage, bike parking, and community outreach — completing 11 critical missing links in the area’s bicycle network. (Edmonds Beacon)
— Microsoft announced plans to redevelop its original campus into a more walk and bike-friendly environment. (Inhabitat, New Atlas, Seattle Transit Blog)
— Issaquah is updating its Central Issaquah Plan, which should help make it an genuine urban center, someday. (Urbanist)
— The Seattle City Council approved the Key Arena renovation deal, which requires $40 million in transportation improvements, including bike-ped infrastructure throughout the Upton neighborhood. (City Council Press Release, Curbed, Urbanist)
— The Federal Way Chamber of Commerce is working to make Federal Way a hub for wineries, breweries, and distilleries in an effort to attract a workforce of people who enjoy a work/life balance that includes bicycling. (Federal Way Mirror)
More
— “Meet the man striving to make Seattle’s streets safer, more efficient” (Seattle Times)
— One more reason to hate Trump’s tax bill: it axes the $20/month employee benefit for bike commuting. (PeopleForBikes)
SPORT
UPCOMING
Saturday, Dec. 9
Noon-9pm, Tour de Vashtown
Sunday, Dec. 10
9:30-3:30, MFG NW Cross Cup #5: Kayak Point Cross (Stanwood)
Wednesday, Dec. 13
10:30am-11pm, Issaquah Mountain Bike Team Fundraiser at MOD Pizza
6-8pm, Beginners’ Bike Polo Night (Cal Anderson)
News
— MFG Cyclocross: ‘Crossers head to Woodland Park hungry for wins, fun (Cyclocross Magazine)
BIKE INDUSTRY JOBS
Bike Retail
Professional Bike Mechanic, Aaron’s Bicycle Repair
Nonprofit
Community Organizer, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
Program Coordinator, Bike Works
Development Director, Bike Works
Major Taylor Ride Leader/Instructor, Cascade
Outreach Coordinator, Commute Seattle
Government
Project Manager, SDOT
Senior Capital Projects Coordinator, SDOT
Assistant Civil Engineer Specialist I, SDOT
Senior Multi-Modal Design Engineer, SDOT
Associate Multi-Modal Design Engineer, SDOT
Public Space Management Inspector, SDOT
Traffic Records & Data Supervisor, SDOT
Senior Capital Projects Coordinator, SDOT
Supervising Project Manager, SDOT
Traffic Safety Investigations Engineer III, King County DOT
City Center Program Manager, Lynnwood
Principal Transportation Planner, PSRC
SAVE THE DATES
Dec. 16, Back Alley Bike Repair’s The Shortest Day/Longest Night Get Dowwn Downhill
Jan. 20, Outdoors For All’s Stinky Spoke
Apr. 8, 2018 Gorge Gravel Grinder
RECENTLY STOLEN BIKES
Thirteen bicycles were listed as stolen in the Seattle-area to Bike Index, and ten bikes were reported as stolen to the Seattle Police Department in the last week. In case your bike is ever stolen, make sure you’ve registered your bike on Bike Index. The website for Bicycle Security Advisors provides more information about how to keep your bike safe.
Subscribe here to get Bike Happy delivered to your inbox every week.
