Seattle Bike Blog

Seattle Bike Repair Mutual Aid connects folks with bike fixing skills to those who need to get their rides rolling

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 17, 2020

From Seattle Bike Repair Mutual Aid.

Do you need to get your bike rolling again? Do you want to put your bike tools and skills to work helping your community? Then Seattle Bike Repair Mutual Aid is for you.

The concept of the project is very simple: Collect info from people who need their bikes repaired and people who want to help, then connect them.

Elise Hirschi and Max Kauffman started the project after attending Cascade Bicycle Club’s Advocacy Leadership Institute program. They have graduated, but decided to keep their class project going. Hirschi also works for Bike Works, though she is working on this project in her free time. They have already made a handful of connections, and they are especially looking for more folks who need bike repair help.

The Federal government has essentially abandoned its people as they struggle to make ends meet during this crisis. Getting people’s bikes rolling is at least a way to help them get around town affordably and safely. We gotta come together and support each other, because things look like they will get worse before they get better. Access to a working bike won’t stand in for a functional and compassionate government, but it could help.

Whether you need some bike repairs or have fixing skills to offer, just fill out the online form. Details from Seattle Bike Repair Mutual Aid: (more…)

tags: advocacy leadership institute, covid-19, elise hirschi, max kauffman, seattle bike repair mutual aid

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Seattle Parks announces week-long, very steep Burke-Gilman Trail detour for … mowing?

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 14, 2020

The detour route, from Google Maps.

People who bike or walk on the Burke-Gilman Trail in northeast Seattle have dealt with a lot of tough detours in recent years. But the detours are always for a good reason, such as the city or county rebuilding or repaving the trail, or because a landslide has washed out a section of the trail.

But the closure planned to start Monday is different. The trail will be closed for the morning commute until the afternoon so Seattle Parks can mow the slope next to the trail between NE 125th St and 42nd Pl NE. And because the slope is so steep, they are planning to use heavy machinery and must close the trail from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for a week.

Of course, the same steep slopes that make mowing difficult also make the detour difficult. The 900 or so feet of NE 125th Street climbs a stunning 138 feet. That’s a 15 percent grade climb for 900 feet, which is grueling even for strong and fit riders. I know slope grades are difficult numbers to understand, so I was trying to figure out a way to demonstrate just how steep that is. But then Google Street View did it for me:

The detour is so steep, this person randomly captured by Google Street View decided to walk their bike rather than ride. And to be clear, it is also difficult to walk your bike up this hill.

I cannot remember another time that Seattle Parks has closed the trail for mowing in this location (I searched my decade-worth of emails and news releases and couldn’t find any significant trail closures for mowing anywhere in the region). A detour like this is a major reduction in service for trail users. There are a lot of users who simply cannot climb these hills and who may be on the trail specifically because it is an old railroad bed and is therefore very flat.

Sometimes trail closures are unavoidable. But is this one of those times? I have questions out to Seattle Parks and will update this post when I hear back. (more…)

tags: Bike Route Alert, burke-gilman trail, seattle parks district

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SDOT is studying options for fixing or replacing aging Magnolia bridge. No, not the one you’re thinking of.

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 13, 2020

Photo from SDOT.

As you emerge from the tree cover on a bridge high above the train tracks, it’s easy to feel like you’ve found a magical secret hidden deep within Seattle. The 33rd Ave W Bridge is an old biking and walking bridge connecting W Government Way in Magnolia (not far from the main Discovery Park entrance) to the Ballard Locks.

When wet and especially when covered in wet leaves, the wooden bridge surface and its steep approaches can be very slick. But apparently, that’s the least of its problems. SDOT has identified “signs of deterioration.” And though it is currently safe to use, the city is starting work to identify options repair or replace it.

Crews will be out August 21 ~~through~~ and 26 studying the soil conditions to help inform the process. The bridge will remain open while they are working.

SDOT plans to have the first stage of design ready later this year, and there will be community outreach about the options this fall. As of now, there’s no word on expected costs. Sign up for project emails here.

More details from SDOT:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is evaluating the feasibility of options to rehabilitate or to replace the 33rd Ave W Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. While still safe to use, the bridge is showing signs of deterioration. This evaluation will be based on considerations like demand for walking and biking, short- and long-term residential impacts, bridge maintenance, cost, and environmental impacts. There are no plans to remove the bridge.

This bridge is an important part of Seattle’s biking and walking network, and links Magnolia to Ballard and the Burke-Gilman Trail. The bridge crosses an active railroad corridor, which runs through the city from the Industrial District in the south to Broadview in the northwest.

What’s next?

We’re in the early design phase and are working toward the first milestone (30% design) in late 2020. This fall, we’re hosting an online engagement opportunity where the public will be able to learn about the project and ask questions.

We’ll be back in touch with more information about this event and other ways to be involved in the project.

If you have questions, please email us at 33rdAveWBridge@seattle.gov or call us at (206) 256-5458.

tags: 33rd ave w bridge, Ballard Locks, magnolia, sdot

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SDOT starts design work on major Beacon Hill bike route – UPDATED

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 12, 2020

UPDATE: Here’s the video of the city’s presentation:

Beacon Hill has one street that cuts across the grid to be the most direct route and is less steep than other streets nearby: Beacon Ave S.

Even with hardly any bike infrastructure at all, Beacon Ave is a fairly well-used bike route because it’s just the most direct route. But it can also be a nerve-racking experience to mix with car traffic on a street that changes its layout constantly. Sometimes there’s room for people to pass, then there isn’t, then there’s parking, then there’s a bus stop, then there’s a turn lane. And some sections go long distances without interruptions, meaning people driving can pick up a lot of speed.

But a truly safe and protected bike lane on Beacon Ave would change everything, especially for people south of Jefferson Park. It would also greatly improve the usefulness of the recently-completed connection to Columbia City via S Columbian Way.

Thanks to major pressure from neighbors and safe streets advocates during the 2019 city budget process, the City Council restored funding that Mayor Jenny Durkan cut from the Bicycle Master Plan budget and directed SDOT to invest in a major south Seattle bike lane like Beacon Ave or MLK Way S. So this is the result of that advocacy.

SDOT is currently in the early planning phase, and they are trying to identify the basic route the project will take before getting into the finer details. Though design work is underway, the project is not scheduled for construction until 2023.

SDOT is hosting an online presentation 5 to 6 p.m. today (Wednesday) about the project:

Attend the online presentation 5 to 6 PM Wednesday, August 12
Transcripts available in English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese
Click here to join via Webex | Password: BeaconHillBike

South Segment

South of S Forest Street, there really aren’t other options. The project team is pretty much set on Beacon Ave as the route, which is great. This includes the section between Jefferson Park and the golf course, which includes a mostly useless center turn lane and a huge, long parking lot. There are several options here for creating protected bike lanes. (more…)

tags: beacon ave, beacon hill, sdot

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SDOT is hosting an online ‘drop-in session’ for MLK Way bike lanes

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 11, 2020

SDOT is hosting an online “drop-in session” from 5 to 6 p.m. today (Tuesday) to share early design details about planned MLK Way S bike lanes between Judkins Park and Rainier Ave S.

There will also be an online survey. I will update this post to include that link once it is available, so be sure to check back.

The project is going through design now, but it likely won’t be completed for a while. The project website only states that it will open by the time Judkins Park Station starts operating in 2023.

The project team conducted a survey in the spring seeking feedback on three options, and the overwhelming majority of respondents (67-69%) chose Alternative 3 with protected bike lanes on each side of the street (see feedback in this PDF).

Notably, the project map shows the route continuing across the intersection with Rainier. This is a big deal, since that intersection is truly terrible and desperately needs safety improvements for all road users, especially people walking.

More details from SDOT:

We are currently in the early design stage for this project and are focusing on gathering input and feedback from the community as we further develop the design for the chosen alternative.

How you can get involved:

Attend the online early design drop-in session
5 to 6 PM Tuesday, August 11
Transcripts available in English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese
Click here to join via Webex | Password: MLKWayPBL

Take our online survey (UPDATED)
Starting August 11, and closing August 18
Available in English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese

We will continue advancing design work in 2020 and plan to build the protected bike lane by the Judkins Park light rail station opening in 2023. This will be an important connection to both light rail stations as well as the I-90 Trail, Franklin High School, and the Metro Transit Center.

tags: mlk way, sdot

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Seattle independent journalists stand together to oppose SPD’s subpoena

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 10, 2020

We are independent news organizations, editors, reporters, photojournalists, and freelancers working in Seattle, and we are coming together to oppose the Seattle Police Department’s subpoena seeking unpublished photographs and video taken by journalists at the Seattle Times, KIRO 7, KING 5, KOMO 4, and KCPQ 13.

This is not the Trump Administration pursuing these subpoenas. It is the Seattle Police Department, charged with serving and protecting our city. Those duties should include protecting our free press rights.

We believe that a democratic society requires a truly free press, and that the Constitution protects the rights of journalists to work independently from the power of the state. That obviously includes independence from the Seattle Police Department. Journalists cannot safely and effectively do our work if authorities can seek our unpublished notes and images as evidence. We cannot gain the trust of sources, including protest participants, if we are seen as collaborators with the police. Some of us already have been targeted with that allegation as a result of the subpoena. We cannot hold government agencies accountable if our unpublished notes and images can be scooped up and used as evidence in criminal cases.

As the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild wrote in a statement, “Journalists and their work product are not the agents and tools of the police.”

“We disagree in the strongest possible terms,” the Guild continued, referring to a June court decision largely in SPD’s favor. “This move by SPD and decision by Judge Nelson Lee undermines the credibility of local journalists and puts us at risk for danger.”

We stand with the Guild, the news organizations fighting the subpoenas in court and the individual journalists who may end up in an impossible position to either betray their values of journalistic integrity or face potentially serious charges.

The ongoing court case is frightening for our counterparts at these major news organizations. But it is terrifying for us, independent journalists without the financial and legal backing of a major media corporation. If SPD is successful in this case, there is no reason to think that independent journalists won’t be targeted next.

As newsrooms across our city have shuttered or shrunk, independent outlets and freelancers have become more and more vital, watchdogging government and telling a wide variety of stories about life in Seattle. Unless some business model comes along to revitalize or build large local news organizations, independent journalists will only become more important in the future.

The Seattle Police Chief is the person who can most easily stop this case, and we urge the Chief to do so. There is no piece of evidence that the police might discover in journalists’ unpublished videos, photographs, notes or audio recordings that justifies this violation of fundamental press freedoms.

We also urge the SPD Chief, Mayor Jenny Durkan and the City Council to create clear policies to prevent another similar case in the future. Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda has introduced Resolution 31961, which calls on police to stop arresting and harming journalists during protests and urges the City Attorney to stop supporting SPD’s subpoena. That’s a good start.

But the city should also develop legally binding policies to prevent or severely restrict police subpoenas of journalists’ unpublished work in the future. At its most basic level, journalism is a two-part process: Gather information, then choose what to publish. Both of these steps are vital, and both have faced SPD attacks in recent months.

When the state starts threatening journalists, democracy itself is threatened, too.

Signed,

Erica C. Barnett, The C Is for Crank

Carolyn Bick, Freelancer, South Seattle Emerald

David Calder, photojournalist

Justin Carder, Capitolhillseattle.com

Martin Duke, Seattle Transit Blog

Susan Fried, freelance photojournalist

Tom Fucoloro, Seattle Bike Blog

Alex Garland, freelance photojournalist and reporter

Nate Gowdy, photojournalist

Brett Hamil, political commentator and cartoonist, South Seattle Emerald

Marcus Harrison Green, South Seattle Emerald

Dae Shik Kim Hawkins, Jr., freelance journalist

Sarah Anne Lloyd, freelance journalist

Ari Robin McKenna — South Seattle Emerald

Jessie McKenna, freelance writer & content manager, South Seattle Emerald

Renee Raketty, writer/photojournalist

Tracy Record & Patrick Sand, co-publishers of West Seattle Blog

Kevin Schofield, SCC Insight

Morgen Schuler, freelance photojournalist

MK Scott, Unite Seattle Magazine

Gregory Scruggs, freelance journalist

Joshua Trujillo, freelance photojournalist

Doug Trumm, The Urbanist

Elizabeth Turnbull, freelance reporter

Jill Hyesun Wasberg, International Examiner

Katie Wilson, columnist at Crosscut

If you are an independent or freelance journalist working in Seattle and want to add your signature, email [email protected].

NOTE: This letter was released shortly before SPD Chief Carmen Best announced her resignation. The letter has been slightly edited to change references to Chief Best to “the Seattle Police Chief.”

tags: black lives matter, journalism, spd

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