Seattle Bike Blog

Effort to recall Mayor Durkan passes court hurdle, needs more than 55K Seattle voter signatures

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 13, 2020

From the court decision (PDF).

Mayor Jenny Durkan has failed in her basic duty to protest the people of Seattle from a police force under her control. She has lost the confidence of the people, and continues to demonstrate that she is not the leader the city needs right now. A veto-proof majority of City Councilmembers (7 out of 9) has already taken action to make big governing decisions without her, a nearly unprecedented show of the Council’s lack of confidence in her leadership. And with news that a citizen-led recall effort has just cleared a major legal hurdle, it is even harder to justify why she remains in office.

Seattle Bike Blog called for her to resign a month ago, and her actions since then have not changed that stance.

The veto-proof Council block has already passed a progressive “boss tax” to help address budget shortfalls due to COVID and longstanding needs for affordability programs despite her lack of support. And now that veto-proof majority appears ready to cut the Seattle Police budget in half in response to the very clear demands of a huge, Black-led popular movement for justice and against police brutality. Mayor Durkan, on the other hand, spent eight days attacking the protest movement with explosives, chemicals and other forms of police violence. Those actions, particularly the mass use of respiratory irritants in the midst of a respiratory virus pandemic, are the core of the recall complaint against her.

But beyond that malfeasance, her actions make her uniquely unsuited to do the work facing the city right now. Seattle needs to close a massive budget hole, and reducing the extremely bloated SPD budget and funding alternatives to policing are going to be part of it. This is extremely difficult work, and it’s going to take a huge amount of research and outreach to get it done. And it’s going to involve working closely with many of the community leaders the mayor gassed for eight days. It’s not clear how she can restore the trust that went up in smoke along with the discharge from police weapons downtown and on Pine Street. We also need a mayor who will work with the overwhelming Council majority rather than fighting them every step of the way, making this huge task so much harder than it already is.

Governing by veto-proof Council majority is absurd and inefficient. Seattle’s government wasn’t set up for this. Rather, the assumption is that once a mayor has lost this much Council support, she would leave or be removed from office. If she won’t resign, then she is forcing people to do it for her either through a Council action or a recall.

The petitions are not yet ready for collection, but you can get involved in the recall campaign now by filling out the volunteer form and signing up for the email list. (more…)

tags: black lives matter, jenny durkan, recall mayor durkan

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With just one block missing from the Bell Street bike lane, Seattle’s ID-to-Fremont bike route is nearly complete

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 10, 2020

From Google Maps, which does not yet automatically recognize the route as of press time.

Seattle is only one block away from completing a connected bike route through downtown from the International District to Fremont and the Burke-Gilman Trail.

This project has been the result of so much work by so many people (too many to name, but obviously Cascade Bicycle Club, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and individual advocates like so many of you). Years and years of advocacy and passing funding measures have led to this point. Sure, it’s taken a lot longer than originally hoped, and sure there will still be some incomplete details due to budget cuts and construction zones. But it’s almost finally here.

The key to connecting the 2nd Ave bike lane to the temporary 9th Ave bike lanes is making Bell Street a two-way street for people biking. For years, people have had to bike in mixed traffic on Blanchard Street, but not any more. By designating Bell Street Park a “Stay Healthy Street” between 1st and 5th Avenues, car traffic has been limited and people can bike both directions.

Meanwhile, SDOT crews have poured curbs to create a two-way bike lane on the north side of the street from 5th to 6th and 7th to Denny/9th. That leaves only the single block between 6th and 7th Avenues missing from a complete bike route that seemed like a dream a decade ago when I started writing Seattle Bike Blog. (more…)

tags: 2nd ave, bell street, downtown, protected bike lanes, sdot

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Saturday: Peace Peloton rides from Amy’s Merkato to Island Soul

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 9, 2020
Mmmmm. Island Soul. People don’t usually come to Seattle Bike Blog for restaurant reviews, but Island Soul is just so good.

The Peace Peloton rides Saturday from Amy’s Merkato Ethiopian & Eritrean Restaurant in Hillman City and Deli to Island Soul in Columbia City, traveling to the Central District and other neighborhoods along the way.

Led by Doc Wilson of InGaj, the Peace Peloton rides to demonstrate support for Black-owned businesses and promote economic reform for Black people.

Attendees should RSVP so businesses know how many people to expect. You can also support the effort financially or volunteer to help out.

More details from InGaj:
MISSION

Economic reform for Black people

VISION
- Recruit a critical mass of mission aligned demonstrators on bikes
- Take routes through historically Black neighborhoods, landmarks, and points of interest
- Support Black owned businesses at the start, along the way, and at the completion of each route
- Repeat
RIDE DETAILS

(more…)
tags: doc wilson, peace peloton

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WSDOT will reallocate space on some state highways for walking, biking and commercial use during the outbreak

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 8, 2020

Cities across the country, including Seattle, Bellevue, Bothell, Edmonds and others around the region, have been experimenting with repurposing street space to provide more room for socially-distanced movement and outdoor commercial activity. They have provided expanded space for walking and biking to avoid close passing on skinny paths and allowed businesses to expand into road space to provide, for example, outdoor restaurant seating. These efforts attempt to make better use of road space, which occupies an enormous percentage of all public space in a city, to meet the needs of the moment. When indoor customer interactions must be limited to prevent coronavirus transmission, the best use of our outdoor space changes.

In many communities across the state, especially smaller cities and towns, the main commercial street is also a state highway. So while counties and municipalities have a lot of control over local streets, they often do not have jurisdiction over the state highway that serves as their Main Street. And these highways are almost never comfortable for crossing on foot or traveling by bike, two modes that have increased in use as people seek ways to stay active and get around affordably. And businesses on state highways are dealing with the same indoor customer restrictions as everywhere else.

Far too often throughout the past century, the state has put car throughput on state highways above the needs of the communities these highways pass through. The primary commercial streets in so many communities are often very difficult to safely cross on foot, for example, which is bad for businesses. The result is more cars passing by, sure, but also less incentive for people driving those cars to stop.

But the attitude at WSDOT has been changing, and the latest effort is an example of the department seeing its role as not just about moving cars but also about fostering successful business districts and community life in the places built around state highways.

“In most cities, a quarter of all its land is taken up by streets,” Governor Jay Inslee said in a WSDOT press release. “I applaud the agencies’ work to ensure this land has flexible uses that can improve health and safety, and jumpstart the economy.” (more…)

tags: jay inslee, safe healthy and active streets, wsdot

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Mayor proposes smaller transit-funding measure to replace expiring 2014 tax

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 7, 2020

Following the exciting passage of JumpStart Seattle revenue package, which levies a tax on high-end salaries at large companies to fund an array of COVID-19 recovery and affordability programs, the details of the city’s plan for Proposition 1 to renew the Seattle Transportation Benefit District (“STBD”) is a splash of cold water. While JumpStart Seattle is a bold an progressive measure to invest in the community in new ways, even a successful Prop 1 will be a cut in transit service.

The 2020 Prop 1 measure’s 0.1% sales tax is expected to bring in about half the funding of the previous iteration that voters passed overwhelmingly in 2014. And its primary leaders both opposed JumpStart Seattle. City Council Transportation Chair Alex Pedersen was one of only two “No” votes on JumpStart Seattle, and Mayor Jenny Durkan has opposed the JumpStart Seattle measure.

However, this shortfall in isn’t really the fault of Councilmember Pedersen or Mayor Durkan. The 2014 measure, which expires at the end of the year, included the same 0.1% sales tax in addition to a $60 vehicle license fee that could largely become illegal if the successful I-976 statewide initiative makes it through the courts. The outcome of that case is still up in the air, so it would likely be unwise to pursue a new measure that assumes the courts will overturn the initiative. And the State Legislature failed to provide any new revenue options for transportation benefit districts during their 2020 session, leaving the city with sales tax as the only option available.

Seattle could increase the sales tax to a maximum of 0.2%, but the idea of increasing the most regressive tax source we have at a time when people and small businesses will be struggling financially also seems unwise. So we’re left with simply renewing the sales tax portion of the 2014 measure, and then figuring out how to cut the transit budget even further. It’s a stop-gap measure to try to ease the pain, not a visionary measure to improve how people in Seattle get around.

There was also hope that King County would run a similar ballot measure county-wide, but the county declined to do so. This leaves Seattle to try to save what it can using a limited city-only measure.

There are so many things that are frustrating about this situation, but the biggest frustration is that the STBD was working. In 2015, only a quarter or households in the city were within a short walk of a bus or train that arrived every ten minutes or less. In 2019, that figure was up to 70%, largely due to STBD-funded bus hours. It’s likely that number will go back down under a smaller STBD. And the measure didn’t just add hours, it also invested in capital improvements like bus lanes so that buses that are running are faster and more reliable. (more…)

tags: 2020 general election, sdot, transportation benefits district

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E Marginal Way remake and bikeway heads into final design, construction could begin in 2021

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 6, 2020

With the fate of the West Seattle Bridge still unknown, SDOT is fast-tracking projects to improve other connections to and around the bridge. That includes the long-planned E Marginal Way remake, which has been a priority for both the Port and people biking and walking between downtown and the lower West Seattle Bridge.

The primary route between West Seattle and the Duwamish Trail and places north of Spokane Street, E Marginal Way can be a scary street to bike on today. It is one big reason more people don’t bike to and from West Seattle more often. Riding on extremely deteriorated pavement with only a painted line between you and big trucks from the Port just is not comfortable for a lot of people.

And those fears are sadly not unfounded. Lance David was killed in 2013 in a collision at S Hanford St with someone driving a semi truck. David’s tragic death and the public call for safety fixes was a major reason this project became a priority for the city, both in the form of some immediate bike lane improvements and adding the street to the Move Seattle Levy for the bigger rebuild they are working on now.

The major design elements are pretty much in stone now that the project is at 90% design, though SDOT is seeking feedback on smaller details like wayfinding and such (survey closes TODAY, July 6). From the Alaskan Way Trail terminus at S Atlantic St to S Horton St, there will be a two-way bike lane on the east side of E Marginal Way. Heading southbound at Horton, people biking will have the choice of either crossing the street at a new traffic signal to a two-way bike lane on the west side of the street to connect to the lower West Seattle bridge or continuing straight to head toward Georgetown:

The design is the result of a ton of public outreach and conversations with the Port. It may be unusual, but it has buy-in from the Port and local bike advocates like West Seattle Bike Connections.

SDOT hopes construction can start in early 2021 and finish in 2022.

The survey also discusses some rough construction detours. There will be a period of 10-12 weeks when people biking will either need to ride in mixed traffic or share an eight-foot sidewalk with people walking. But the pay-off will be so worth it. (more…)

tags: marginal way, port of seattle, sdot, west seattle

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