EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks again to Brock Howell of Bike Happy for putting together this comprehensive weekly newsletter.
TOP THINGS TO KNOW & DO
- Bike Happy Month will run from August 24 to September 23.
- The last Critical Mass Ride of 2017 is this Friday.
- The 2018 Bicycle Sundays dates have been set.
Bike Happy Month + Pedaler’s Fair
August 24 — September 23
In 2018, Bike Happy Month will run from Friday, August 24 to Sunday, September 23. We will cap off the month with Pedaler’s Fair on Sept. 23 on the streets of Ballard.
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Bike Happy Month (formerly known as “FREE BIKE”) is a crowdsourced, DIY celebration of bicycling in Seattle to close-out the end-of-summer with bike rides and activities organized by you and everyone. All people are encouraged to create their own fun rides, parties and events in celebration of bicycling and post their activities right here to recruit people to join them.
Pedaler’s Fair is a street fair in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood with local bike & bike product makers, art show, brewery festival, food truck pod, live music, bike workshops & activities, and thousands of attendees.
We will seek funding and volunteers to help market and organize these two events, including applying for a city grant and crowdsourcing funding. More details to be announced very soon, including how you can donate, volunteer, and organize your own rides & activities.
Save the date on your Facebook calendar
SOCIAL, LIFESTYLE, & ADVENTURE
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
- Thursday, Dec. 28
- 7pm, Point 83 Ride
- Friday, Dec. 29
- 6:30-11pm, End-of-Year Critical Mass
- Saturday, Dec. 30
- 10am-1pm, Tacoma Velofemme’s Bakery Ride
- 11am-2pm, SLOW Ride to Interlaken/Arboretum Loop
- Monday, Jan. 1
ARTICLES & POSTS
- On opening day of the SR520 Bridge Bike Path, the Seattle Randonneurs established a new “permanent” 100km route to the Snohomish Bakery and back (NW in Motion).
POLICY & INFRASTRUCTURE
ACTION
- Submit public comment on the Roosevelt RapidRide Scoping, which currently includes protected bike lanes along Eastlake Avenue.
- Take a survey about a new RapidRide H line from downtown, through Delridge, to White Center & Burien.
- 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
- Thursday, Dec. 28
- 6-7:45pm, Beacon Hill Safe Streets meeting
- Tuesday, Jan. 2
- Wednesday, Jan. 3
NEWS
- 520 Bridge
- The SR 520 bridge’s bike path has now been open for a full week (Seattle Times, Redmond Reporter).
- Bikeshare
- Dyer Oxley writes glowingly about Seattle’s new bikeshare systems (MyNorthwest).
- After the first six months of operation, SDOT is now evaluating additional requirements for the bikeshare systems, including designated parking areas, better reporting of mechanical problems, and gamification (Next City).
- SDOT staffer Benjamin de la Pena asks, should the users of new mobility services have a “Bill of Rights?” (Medium).
- Streetcar Tragedies
- 1.5 years after Desiree McCloud, a behavioral neuroscientist, died as a result of her bike tires getting caught in the First Hill Streetcar tracks, and seven months after Suzanne Greenberg, a freelance sign language interpreter, was seriously injured for getting caught in the same tracks, SDOT has not yet made improvements such as adding protected bike lanes or rubber inserts to fill the gaps; however, SDOT is removing curbside parking on Jackson St between Rainier Ave and 12th Ave, which should help bicyclists stay out of the tracks through that section (Seattle PI).
- Climate Change, Biking & Hospitals
- Seattle Children’s Hospital was highlighted for its bike investments around its Laurelhurst campus as part of its effort to address climate change (ThinkProgress).
- Homes or Racks
- KUOW profiled a man who used to live where SDOT purposefully installed bike racks so he wouldn’t be able to live there anymore (KUOW).
- Infrastructure Tour
- David Langdon of NW in Motion, Tom Fucoloro of Seattle Bike Blog, and Florian Lorenz of Smarter than Car toured Seattle’s bike infrastructure, documented in videos and a short write-up (NW in Motion).
- North King & Snohomish Counties
- The City of Lake Forest Park has launched a new “Safe Streets Project” to solicit public feedback and include desired improved connections to trails and transit in future capital improvement plans (City of Lake Forest Park).
- Instead of being squished into a 27″ shoulder on U.S. Highway 2 while crossing the Skykomish and Sultan Rivers near the City of Sultan, soon you’ll be able to bike across a parallel 10′ wide, 627′ long bike/ped-only bridge (Everett Herald).
- Draft master plans were released for upgrading Lake Tye Park and an adjacent 140-acre parcel; the new/upgraded park may include bike paths (Monroe Monitor)
- Tyler Rourke, who’s a mechanical engineer and serves on Everett’s Transportation Advisory Committee and the board of Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop, is a finalist to fill an open city council seat (Snohomish Tribune).
- South King & Pierce Counties
- City of Federal Way received a $10,000 grant from King County to promote walking and biking (Federal Way Mirror).
- Kitsap County
- Forterra successfully fundraised $13 million to conserve the shoreline and forest around Port Gamble Bay; the park will eventually include new mountain biking trails (Seattle Times).
- After two people were killed by drivers while walking, Poulsbo residents are demanding traffic safety improvements (Kitsap Daily News).
- An $11 million upgrade to Silverdale Way will add 5′ bike lanes, along with many other improvements; construction will be completed on January 3 (Kitsap Daily News).
- Beyond
- People for Bikes named Ellensburg’s new neighborhood greenway the 7th best bike project in America for 2017.
SPORT
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Saturday, Dec. 30
- 9am-Noon, Rocket Ride (Metier)
- Wednesday, Jan. 3
- 6-8pm, Beginners’ Bike Polo Night (Cal Anderson)
SAVE THE DATES
- Tapeworm Time Trial Series begins, Jan. 7
- Outdoors For All’s Stinky Spoke, Jan. 20
- Cascade’s Chilly Hilly, Feb. 25
- 2018 Gorge Gravel Grinder, Apr. 8
- Washington Bike Summit, Apr. 29–30
- Bicycle Sundays: Twelve Sundays, May 20 – Sept. 16
BIKE INDUSTRY JOBS
- Bike Retail
- Professional Bike Mechanic, Aaron’s Bicycle Repair
- Mechanic-in-Training, Aaron’s Bicycle Repair
- Nonprofit
- Community Organizer, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
- Program Coordinator, Bike Works
- Bike Month Program Lead, Cascade
- Finance Director, Cascade
- Major Taylor Ride Leader/Instructor, Cascade
- Outreach Coordinator, Commute Seattle
- Government
- 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
- Supervising Project Manager, SDOT
- Traffic Engineer, Mountlake Terrace
- City Center Program Manager, Lynnwood
- Associate Planner – Active Transportation Long Range Planning, Vancouver WA
WEEKLY TIP
No, you can’t ride the wrong-way in a one-way bike lane, a city traffic engineer and state trooper obligingly reply to a confused Kitsap Sun reader.
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Comments
2 responses to “Bike Happy: Save these 2018 dates”
Thanks, Brock! Looking forward to Bike Happy Month.
Hello, Brock! Thanks for all these info. Really helpful!