Seattle Bike Blog

SDOT Proposes Using Bike Budget to Make Stay Healthy Streets Permanent

By

Ryan Packer

| Posted

December 9, 2020

New barricade on the Central District’s Stay Healthy Street

The Seattle Department of Transportation generated national headlines back in May with an announcement that it would be taking steps to make twenty miles of “Stay Healthy Streets” permanent. This big announcement that a chunk of Seattle’s neighborhood greenway network would get upgrades that make them more enjoyable and safer to use was cheered by many, and for good reason.
Seattle’s neighborhood greenway network has suffered from inconsistent standards, with little physical infrastructure that prevents people driving cars from utilizing them as an arterial alternative, and little accompanying pedestrian improvements.

But when that announcement was made earlier this year, we didn’t have a great idea of what those permanent improvements might look like, or what city funding would be used to make them. Last week, a city oversight committee was asked to approve a funding source for permanent Stay Healthy Streets: the existing bike budget.

A memo written by Jim Curtin, SDOT’s Project Development Division Director, asks the Move Seattle levy’s oversight committee to approve use of levy dollars for the upgrade of Stay Healthy Street using “durable materials”. It states that these upgrades will “improve safety on Stay Healthy Streets and support a community driven process that was not possible during the initial COVID-19 emergency response”, citing a 357% increase in people walking and a 111% increase in people biking along the Stay Healthy Streets since they were implemented. (According to the same memo, regular neighborhood greenways only saw a 37% increase in people biking compared to a normal neighborhood street.)

In return, more than two and a half miles of new neighborhood greenway projects would lose construction funding. This would further reduce the amount of bike facilities installed over the life of the 9-year Move Seattle transportation levy. A recent report to the oversight committee listed fewer than 35 miles of either protected bike lanes or neighborhood greenways completed to date compared with the 110 miles that were promised to voters in 2015. The bike master plan program is expected to fall well short of its goal already.

(more…)

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Welcome Temporary Editor Ryan Packer

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 7, 2020

Ryan Packer

I am very excited to announce that Ryan Packer will be Temporary Editor of Seattle Bike Blog now through the end of February.

As readers of The Urbanist know, Ryan is a very thorough reporter with a deep understanding of how transportation policy works (and fails to work) in Seattle. So I was very excited when they applied for the Editor job.

Ryan Packer (they/them) has lived in Seattle for about fifteen years, originally hailing from northern Illinois. Since 2015, they have reported on transportation, particularly on Vision Zero and pedestrian & bicycle infrastructure, at The Urbanist. In normal times, they spent a lot of free time going to see the work of Seattle’s amazing live theater artists and is looking forward to doing that again very soon. To get in touch, email [email protected] or follow @typewriteralley on Twitter.

As for me, I am taking a sabbatical from the blog after more than a decade. Site content has been very slow lately as I work to complete the first draft of a book about Seattle bike culture for UW Press. Hiring Ryan will be great for Seattle Bike Blog, bringing important news back to the site in a more timely manor. It will also give me more time and space to focus on this book.

Businesses can support this effort by advertising, and readers can support by signing up for the monthly Seattle Bike Blog Supporter program.

Thank you all for reading, and thanks Ryan for signing on!

tags: seattle bike blog

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After nearly 10 years, Deb Salls steps down as Bike Works ED + Ed Ewing takes the helm

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 4, 2020

Deb Salls and Ed Ewing.

When I first met Deb Salls, it was an office crammed full of desks and staff members in the top floor (maybe attic?) of the iconic yellow Bike Works house in Columbia City. There was hardly an inch of open space up there. One floor down, the organization packed a full schedule of after-school programs into a single classroom space. One floor further down, a bustling community bike shop was squeezed into a tiny storefront. They had to hang the bikes they had for sale upside-down from the ceiling.

Salls has overseen big growth and changes at BikeWorks since then. Under her leadership, the organization finally burst out of that yellow house and into a nearby building with warehouse space for their bike reuse work, classrooms for their programs and office space for their staff. The yellow house is now dedicated to the community bike shop, which now has space to put bike on the floor. And they have continued expanding their programming and reaching more people.

So it’s bittersweet to hear that Salls will be leaving Bike Works to head back to Minnesota to be Executive Director of Social Venture Partners MN. It sounds like a good move for her, and Seattle Bike Blog wishes her the best. We’ll miss you, Deb! Thanks for all you’ve done for our city.

Ed Ewing, the founder of Cascade Bicycle Club’s Major Taylor Program and Bike Works’ current Deputy Director, will take over as Interim Executive Director before moving into the permanent Executive Director role, according to Board Chair Marcos Franco in a blog post:

I am confident with Ed at the helm, a brilliant staff behind him, a dedicated board, and a passionate network of supporters, we are heading in the right direction. Deb’s last day will be January 5th, and we will finalize Ed’s transition from Interim Executive Director to Executive Director by the end of that month.

Ewing is a great leader, and I can’t wait to see what he does with the Executive Director role in a local bike organization. And he’ll have some time to get situated before pandemic restrictions (hopefully) lift in 2021 and Bike Works can bring their programming back to full speed. That’s going to be a lot of work, I’m sure.

tags: bike works, deb salls, ed ewing

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Job Listing: Temporary Seattle Bike Blog Editor – Part-time for 3 months – CLOSED

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 30, 2020

UPDATE: Applications are closed.

After more than a decade writing Seattle Bike Blog, it is time for me to take a sabbatical. So I am looking for someone to work part time reporting bicycle and transportation news in the Seattle area and handling other editorial work like moderating comments, posting to social media and maintaining the events calendar.

The pay is $1,100 per month as a baseline for the contract, so that’s roughly 10 hours of work per week on your own schedule. The contract will last three months and starts as soon as is feasible.

Solid understanding of newswriting and reporting standards required. Photojournalists are also encouraged to apply. I will be available to offer advice, contacts and story ideas as needed, but you will need to be self-motivated. As a reporter and editor, you will be encouraged to pursue your own story ideas.

Proficiency in using WordPress a plus, but it’s not necessary. I can teach you. Ability to take usable photos is required, but proficiency in photography is a plus. Basic familiarity with any image editing software also a plus.

Please send your resume, cover letter and three clips to [email protected]. Position is open until filled. I will update this post when submissions are closed.

tags: seattle bike blog

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Cranksgiving 2020 is now rolling. You have until Saturday to complete the scavenger hunt

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 23, 2020

The after-party is live! Watch:

It’s on. Seattle’s 11th Annual Cranksgiving community-supporting bike adventure is rolling all week.

Find your online scavenger hunt manifest here. You have until 3 p.m. Saturday to complete as many of the tasks as possible. You are then invited to an online after-party starting at 3.

As with every Seattle Cranksgiving since 2010, the event primarily supports the important community work at Rainier Valley Food Bank. But due to rising COVID-19 cases and recent state restrictions limiting grocery store capacity, we fully reimagined the event with help from the great folks at Rainier Valley Food Bank, Swift Industries and the Seattle Pedaling Relief Project. We will not be asking riders to buy groceries to donate this year because we don’t want to add more grocery store visits. Instead, we are asking that you take whatever you would have spent on groceries for the event and donate it directly to Rainier Valley Food Bank.

The first item on your manifest is to donate online. Be sure to enter “cranksgiving” in the “Special notes for your gift” line so we can count it toward our goal. The Ellis Foundation has generously offered to match Cranksgiving donations up to $3,000. This means that even though we are not buying groceries this year, your dollars invested in the event will go further than any year prior. And I don’t think we need to tell you that the need for Rainier Valley Food Bank’s community-supporting services are more needed now than ever.

Together we donated a metric tonne of food in 2019 worth a minimum of $3,712.41. That smashed the previous record, both in terms of food delivered and the number of riders. So let’s raise at least that much money this year.

OK, but what about the bike ride? Well, as sad as we are to lose the food-hauling element of the ride, cutting out the grocery stops does open up opportunities to focus energy elsewhere. This year has been so hard, and I really miss all of you. I miss gathering together and experiencing your creativity and supportive community energy. So this year’s manifest is designed to spread love for your community and to capture and share your creativity. And, of course, you gotta do it all by bike.

The rules are simple. You can ride solo or as a team. You know the COVID safety guidelines. Please limit your team to people already in your pod and be extra safe. Your task will be to complete as many of the items on the online manifest as you can to earn more points. Everyone will have a chance to win a prize, though the top point earners will compete for the grand prize: A Sonora Daypack from Swift Industries.

Photo challenges are back this year of course, but for the first time ever we have a set of very short video challenges. I am very excited to get together online Saturday to view these photos and videos together.

So please reach out to your fb friends or your usual team and challenge them to join Cranksgiving 2020. Happy Cranksgiving!

tags: cranksgiving, cranksgiving 2020, ellis foundation, facing homelessness, rainier valley food bank, seattle pedaling relief project, swift industries

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Seattle’s 11th Cranksgiving is happening all Thanksgiving week. Check-in starts Monday

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 18, 2020

Seattle’s 11th Cranksgiving is going to be very different than the previous 10, but the goal is as important as ever. You will have multiple days Thanksgiving week to complete a scavenger hunt by bike that is more creative than any we’ve had before, and we will work together to support Rainier Valley Food Bank financially.

Cancelling Thanksgiving plans with people we love is very hard, but it’s the right thing to do to help prevent a truly devastating spread of COVID-19. In that spirit, we hope we can help fill some of the gap with some biking fun for a good cause.

A week ago, we scrapped our original plan for a socially distant food donation Cranksgiving event. We just did not feel comfortable adding extra trips to grocery stores at this time, which will be busy and operating at limited capacity due to new state rules. Instead, we have developed a new event focused on raising funds for Rainier Valley Food Bank directly and showcasing ways you can use your bike to be part of the Seattle Pedaling Relief Project’s ongoing community-supporting volunteer work, all while biking around town completing fun and creative scavenger hunt tasks.

We hope to showcase your smiles and capture some of that Cranksgiving good will during this tough year that just refuses to ease up. We are still here for each other even if we can’t get together like we used to.

In addition to buying groceries and necessities to stock their shelves, Rainier Valley Food Bank has many other costs that food donations alone can’t cover. This outbreak is stretching so many vital services thin. Donating may not feel the same as dropping off full panniers at their front door, but it’s just as needed. So if you can, we will be asking that you take whatever you would have spent at food sellers during Cranksgiving and donate it directly.

Together we donated a record metric tonne of food in 2019 worth a minimum of $3,712.41. So let’s raise at least that much this year.

The scavenger hunt manifest and donation page will go live Monday, so come back to Seattle Bike Blog then to start playing. We will also host an online after party with a fun twist. Stay tuned for details. And thank you all for all you do.

tags: cranksgiving, cranksgiving 2020

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