I know it’s pretty hard to think about 2023 right now. Because a month lasts about a year right now, 2023 is more than 30 years away.
But SDOT is currently conducting a survey about the planned MLK Way S bike lane between Rainier Ave S and S Judkins St even though they don’t plan to build the project until 2023 ahead of the Judkins Park light rail station opening. But they are getting a head start on planning.
The survey is short and asks participants about the safety issues they face on the street, then offers a handful of options for how the planned bike lane could work.
One option has a two-way bike lane on the east side, another has a two-way bike lane on the west side and a third option has one-way bike lanes on each side of the street.
The more about the Mobility Justice Responses to COVID-19 from The Untokening (PDF).
The most marginalized people and communities in our society are especially stretched thin and put at increased risk during this outbreak. As unemployment soars, people without a safety net are in a very precarious position. And those with essential jobs who typically rely on transit face serious challenges and difficult choices just to get around.
So as all levels of government are making emergency changes to the transportation system, it is vital that decision makers, agency staff and community leaders keep marginalized communities and vulnerable people at the forefront of each change. And The Untokening has some ideas for how to do just that.
The Untokening is a “a multiracial collective that centers the lived experiences of marginalized communities to address mobility justice and equity.” Their “Mobility Justice Responses to COVID-19” were developed based on a broader and powerful set of mobility justice principles the collecting developed together over the course of years. So as changes and responses are developed, people at every stage should hold these principles in their minds.
Since we last wrote about the potential for open streets to reduce crowding on Seattle sidewalks and paths, the city has opened a couple streets within parks to people walking and biking in Seward Park and Volunteer Park. And Settle Neighborhood Greenways has created a guide for the city that makes the case for opening more space for walking and biking and suggests some ideas for how Seattle can make streets work better for everyone during this difficult time. UPDATE: Major Seattle Parks will close entirely this weekend, the Seattle Times reports.
SNG is also collecting your ideas for open streets opportunities through an online form. So if there’s a street near you that you think would help you and your neighbors walk and bike safely if only it were car-free, let SNG know.
The in-park street closures like Volunteer and Seward Parks make a ton of sense and were easy to do. The parking lots and destinations in each park were already closed to limit crowding, so closing the roads to cars and opening them to people walking and biking just required putting up some barricades and signs. There are likely other streets through parks that could (and should) be closed to cars just as easily.
There may also be streets where it would be simple and cheap to cone off a general traffic lane to create more sidewalk or biking space. This would have the added benefit of reducing speeding, which has gone way up in many places as some people driving take advantage of wide open roads.
And being easy to implement is important, since it’s unlikely the city can or is willing to dedicate a lot of staff and resources to open streets events. So as great as a citywide network of major car-free streets would be, it makes more sense to look for opportunities that would not require any (or very little) active staff. And a spokesperson for Mayor Jenny Durkan said as much to Eli Sanders at the Stranger:
Kamaria Hightower, a spokesperson for Mayor Durkan, said that right now “the health and safety of the public and our workers are the top priority,” and that closing Seattle streets to create more space for outdoor recreation is under ongoing consideration.
But, Hightower added, “While we’ve seen some cities close streets in recent weeks, we know they have also witnessed some challenges due to crowds and staffing capacity constraints. That’s something she’s trying to balance before making any decisions.”
With Find It Fix It, people won’t need to find info for each company to report an issue.
Bike share parking complaints can now be routed through the city’s Find It Fix It app and website as well as by calling 684-ROAD, SDOT’s work order hotline. Basically, reporting a bike share parking issue now goes through the same system as reporting a pothole.
This isn’t a big deal right now in Seattle since we only have one company operating: Jump. But when/if more bike and scooter (and who knows what else) services start operating, it will be very handy to have a one-stop shop for reporting issues. People shouldn’t have to search the bikes and scooters for that company’s name, then scour their websites for contact info in order to report a problem that may never be logged in an official city record.
So while this change isn’t really a big deal right now (especially in the context of the outbreak and everything), it is a good improvement that will be necessary for any long-term free-floating micromobility services in the city.
Next time you see a bike blocking the way, report it on our Find it Fix it app.
Since Seattle first welcomed a dockless bike share program in 2017, we’ve made major changes to make sure bikes are parked where they should be.
We’ve worked with bike share companies to increase rider education on how bikes should be parked.
Last year alone we installed 1,515 new bike parking spots.
Starting this summer riders will need to take a photo of their properly parked bike after their ride.
We’ve seen a huge improvement in how people park their bikes, but there are still some bikes blocking sidewalks, curb ramps, and building entrances.
Bike share companies are responsible for moving their misparked bikes, but many times they don’t know that a bike has fallen down or is blocking a sidewalk.
Here’s where you come in – you can now report poorly parked bike share bikes on our Find it Fix it smart phone app, by calling 684-ROAD, or online.
Our Find it Fix it app and 684 – ROAD number are ways you can be the eyes and ears of our city and alert us when something needs to be fixed – be it a pot hole, damaged sign, fallen tree, or now a poorly parked bike share bike.
Or you can call 684 – ROAD (206-684-7623) and report the bike share company name and bike location or fill out the online form.
It’s that easy!
When we receive the report, it’ll be routed directly to the bike share company who will send someone out to investigate the issue. They will then close-out the report with how they resolved the issue – which can range from “bike moved to appropriate parking location” to “bike not able to be found”, depending on the circumstances.
Our ultimate goal is to not receive any reports of badly parked bikes – because we want them all to be parked properly
But in the meantime, we hope that this new reporting method will help give you the tools to report something you see.
The project broke ground in the fall and is still aiming for completion in late 2020, according to project manager Chris Masek.
Previously, the trail dumped users onto the sidewalk at the southwest corner of the intersection of Factoria Blvd SE and SE 36th St. Users then used the crosswalk to access a paint-only bike lane on 36th to continue on the major trail route.
The new connection will create an overpass allowing trail users to fly over the I-90 off-ramp and Factoria Blvd, ending up on a new trail running along the north side of 36th to 132nd Ave SE. Users headed east will have to cross the street there to access the existing bike lane, at least for now.
The project is part of a long-planned series of improvements to the so-called Bellevue Gap, the worst section of one of the region’s most important bike routes. Bellevue plans (PDF) to continue the new trail all the way to Lakemont Blvd SE, where it will meet up with SE Newport Way. This will save users from crossing I-90 twice and navigating unfriendly SW Eastgate Way. (more…)
It’s time for the Bike News Roundup. I started collecting the stories for this edition before the COVID-19 outbreak really took over the news and, you know, our whole lives. So there are glimpses of another time in here.
Also, be sure to check out the Bike News Roundup video with Kelli Refer. We talk through a few pieces from the list, plus she shows off the styling new reusable face masks she made using this design. And at the end, we play a few minutes of the indie video game Knights and Bikes. The Roundup video also works as something to listen to in the background.
First up, if you haven’t seen the News Tribune video of Matthew Fleming biking around Tacoma yelling people’s messages to each other, well, enjoy: (more…)
I know it’s pretty hard to think about 2023 right now. Because a month lasts about a year right now, 2023 is more than 30 years away.
