Well, what should have been a happy day for transit hardly feels worth celebrating amid the pandemic. Work to connect the existing Sound Transit Link light rail tracks to the under-construction East Link tracks has wrapped up, and the downtown light rail stations are fully functional again. No more transferring at Pioneer Square Station and no more ban on bringing your bike on the train.
But, of course, these are not usual times. What should have been the end of a tough-but-necessary light rail crunch is instead the early days of a service major service reduction across nearly all regional transit services in light of a massive drop in ridership due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Trains will run every 14 minutes.
Speaking of service changes, King County Metro also reduced service across nearly its entire network of buses, has stopped collecting fares and is encouraging people who can to board using the back doors to give drivers more separation from passengers.
More details on the end of Connect 2020 from Sound Transit: (more…)
Cascade Bicycle Club moved Friday to furlough half its staff in what leaders describe as an effort to save the club, which is marking its 50-year anniversary this year.
“We want to make sure it’s around for another 50 years,” said Executive Director Richard Smith. “It became clear that we had to plan for the worst but hope for the best.” And the worst case for Cascade would be a total cancellation of all major events in 2020.
Nearly two-thirds of Cascade’s $5 million annual budget comes from the organization’s series of storied events like STP and the Emerald City Ride, and now some or all of those events are at risk of cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The club already postponed the Bike Swap and moved its Bike Everywhere Breakfast from May to June. The breakfast kicks off Bike Month and is a major fundraiser. Bike Month, of course, is also packed with smaller events now in question. But as the pandemic plays out, it seems more and more likely that social distancing will be required for longer than initially thought. So even events that have been rescheduled might not be possible.
But the real doomsday scenario for Cascade is if they cannot hold their major marquee events. The Emerald City Ride has been postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date (possibly in the fall). But the elephant in the room is the annual Seattle-to-Portland ride, which is a massive two-day state-spanning organizing effort and major moneymaker for Cascade and its sister organization Washington Bikes.
“Something like the STP is very hard to reorganize or move to a different date,” said Smith.
They basically need to decide one-month before each event whether it is on or off, so you will have to stay tuned for news about each event. And since the news and public health guidance keeps changing so rapidly, they are going to wait and assess the situation for each event.
But the Board of Directors has decided to take drastic action to cut back on the organization’s costs to prepare for the worst case scenario. And that means cutting half of their staff from an organization that had 32 full-time equivalent staff before they announced the furloughs.
“Our Board President [Tamara Schmautz] actually works for UW Virology,” said Smith. “With her advice, our Board directed me and the staff to plan for the worst, and that means having absolutely no events through the summer.” (more…)
When they had to cancel their regular social bike rides due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift Industries got creative. At first they laughed when Swift Founder Martina Brimmer suggested starting the Swift Social Distance Cycling Club. But then, after thinking about it a bit more, she realized it’s actually a pretty good idea.
The club is a free group on Strava, which is already a popular way for cycling groups to share rides and talk. So it was an obvious service to create their new “digital community to temporarily take the stead of all the social riding we do at Swift Industries and personally, individually,” said Brimmer. (Full Disclosure: Swift is a longtime Seattle Bike Blog advertiser, but this is not a paid post)
I had the chance to virtually talk to Brimmer about it recently, and you can watch above. And the conversation made me think that this could also be a great way for people who are missing the social aspect of cycling. Not only can you join this club, but you can organize the people you miss riding with into your own Strava group. It’s not the same, of course, but it’s a way to share what you’re doing and have some of the conversations you would normally do out on the road.
So far, the group has crowdsourced an insignia (“I’ve been watching a lot of Marvel right now, and I love the idea of an insignia on the collar, a little nod to the secret society”) and an upbeat Spotify playlist. Today, they are encouraging people to bike to Peloton Cafe Bike Shop at 12th and Jefferson to support them by buying take-out burritos.
But their first big event is scheduled for April 4, when they would have had their regular social ride. Basically, they are challenging members to spend three hours in the saddle and post photos from their rides. Details from the event page: (more…)
Cascade Bicycle Club organizes community biking events, so the social distancing protocols make so many of their regular activities impossible right now.
The organization already postponed their annual Bike Swap has been moved to June 14, the Bike Everywhere Breakfast has been moved to June 3, the Washington Bike, Walk, Roll Summit has been moved to September 20 and 21 in Spokane, and their very popular free group rides program has been suspended until the end of March. And all these new dates are obviously subject to change depending on the status of the pandemic at that time.
So Cascade is trying out something different Friday: A “Bike, Walk or Roll Solo Scavenger Hunt.” You are not allowed to participate in a group (families are OK). Instead, you are supposed to head out into your neighborhood any time between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and “find” a list of challenges and take a picture of them. Then post your photos to the event page on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtags #FridayRideDay#FridayScavengerHunt#CascadeBicycleClub.
And of course, maintain safe social distancing at all times.
So I have been working on a video for several days now about biking around Seattle amid the COVID-19 outbreak, but I keep changing my mind about what it should say.
On one hand, I wanted to make something wildly different than the deeply troubling contents of your news feed. I wanted to make something happy, to show that joy and wonder still exists outside your home. The news and the virus hasn’t killed the trees and moss surrounding Interlaken Blvd. And you can still go bike adventuring in Seattle without getting within six feet of another person.
But I also don’t want to downplay the seriousness of what’s happening in any way. I don’t want to come off as if I’m saying, “It’s OK, you can still live your life like normal.” Because you can’t.
And during the past five days, the public health recommendations and government rules have changed dramatically. What seemed well within the guidelines just five days ago — going for a bike ride and keeping your distance from others — now feels like it is brushing up against the limits. It’s still within the guidance, but only if you are careful about where and how you bike. So let’s talk about that.
There is a decent chance that the guidance in Seattle tightens again soon, and the next step is ordering people to stay indoors. This is because people cannot be trusted to avoid gathering in groups. I mean, I saw it many times on a recent ride. We are social beings, and it’s just so hard to resist. But we need to. The Bay Area just instituted a “shelter in place” rule (PDF), and we should expect that to happen here, too. However, the Bay Area rules specifically exempt “outdoor activity” including walking, biking and running, so long as people follow the social distancing guidance.
So why go on a bike ride right now? This is an extremely stressful and anxious time. Being sedentary is not good for your health. And biking is a way to get out, blow off some steam and get some exercise while keeping a safe distance from others. It’s a chance to stop reading the news for a just a bit and take some time for yourself in the great big world outside your home. And it’s good for your mental health, which is also extremely important right now.
Of course, like any activity, you can be irresponsible while biking. It’s not magically safe. Being on a bike doesn’t make you immune. You have to be smart. (more…)
You know, in an alternate timeline this would be a really big story.
Sound Transit was not able to complete all the work needed to fully reopen downtown light rail service as was planned, so Connect 2020 continues. That means train service will remain reduced downtown and riders will still need to change trains at Pioneer Square Station. See our previous story for more details on why and how that works.
This also means that bikes are still banned between International District/Chinatown Station and University Street Station. That ban was supposed to be lifted today. You can check out this helpful video by Robert Svercl and friends Bri and Nick for a video guide to biking around the light rail closure.
Another weekend closure will be required once a fix is found, but there is currently no schedule for that work. So stay tuned.
Of course, there may not be a need for that bike ban since light rail ridership has dropped so dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overcrowding on trains is no longer the problem we need to worry about. Well, not for the same reason, anyway.
The Connect 2020 project is needed to connect the existing tracks to the under-construction line that heads to the Eastside via Judkins Park and I-90. That line is scheduled to open in 2023. But the agency wanted to do this work now to avoid disrupting service even worse once the U District, Roosevelt and Northgate Stations come online in 2021.
Details from Seattle Parks: On scheduled weekends from May to September, a portion of Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized vehicles from 10 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday. “Seattle Parks and Recreation[…]
Details from Seattle Parks: On scheduled weekends from May to September, a portion of Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized vehicles from 10 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday. “Seattle Parks and Recreation[…]
Meet up in the center of the park at 7ish. Leave at 730. Every Thursday from now until forever rain or shine. Bikes, beers, illegal firepits, nachos, bottlerockets, timetraveling, lollygagging, mechanicals, good times.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
This is a repeat of my July 6 ride for those that could not make the first offering. Join me for a 5 mile bike ride around Seattle’s current gayborhood (Capitol Hill) and historic gayborhood[…]
Meet up in the center of the park at 7ish. Leave at 730. Every Thursday from now until forever rain or shine. Bikes, beers, illegal firepits, nachos, bottlerockets, timetraveling, lollygagging, mechanicals, good times.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
