A man turning left from Northrup Way onto NE 8th Street struck and killed a 63-year-old man from Newcastle who was riding his bike just west of Lake Sammamish Sunday afternoon.
Though the collision is still under investigation, the City of Bellevue said in a statement that the 44-year-old person driving turned in front of the victim and struck him just before 4 p.m.
The man is the third person killed while biking in Bellevue in the past seven months and the second involving someone in a car making a left turn to or from NE 8th Street.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, biking is one of the few ways people can get outside and get some exercise while maintaining proper social distancing. It is heartbreaking to be reminded that as we all attempt to deal with one public health emergency, the ongoing public health emergency of traffic deaths and injuries is still raging, too. Though traffic collisions are down sharply due to reduced driving, it only takes one bad one to create a tragedy.
From the “WA Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers” guidelines (PDF).
Most people are required to stay inside under Washington State’s just-announced “stay home, stay healthy” order. Similar to the “shelter in place” orders in other cities and states, Jay Inslee announced further restrictions on activities and businesses that are allowed right now in an effort to further slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. You can leave the house to go to the grocery store or pharmacy or other essential service. You can also leave to exercise, including going for a bike ride.
But many people still need to get around, and biking has become a lifeline for people trying to avoid using public transit. It is also a great way to get outside and get much-needed exercise while following social distancing guidelines (so long as you are smart and safe about it).
So it is good news that bicycle repair services are considered an essential service under the state’s guidelines (PDF). Bike shops may remain open if they choose to so long as they practice social distancing.
This is especially important considering the demand for bicycle transportation following today’s surprise news that the city will close the upper West Seattle Bridge for and unknown period of time. For many people in West Seattle, including many essential workers, biking is likely to be the best way to get across the Duwamish River for a while. So they are going to need access to bikes and bike repairs.
Some shops around town have chosen to close even though they were not ordered to do so. Others have significantly changed the way they operate. Be sure to call ahead to find out if your local shop is open and whether they have new rules or restrictions you need to follow. Some shops may require sign-ups in order to limit the number of customers, for example. (more…)
SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe made an unexpected announcement Monday afternoon that the upper West Seattle Bridge will be closed starting at 7 p.m. due to concerns about cracking in the bridge structure.
The lower swing bridge and its walking and biking path will remain operational, but the traffic lanes will be reserved for transit, freight and emergency access.
The upper bridge is the busiest bridge under Seattle’s control, carrying nearly 100,000 vehicles and the bulk of West Seattle buses on a typical day. Of course, these are not typical days, and Zimbabwe said traffic has dropped by about half due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
They did not give any cost or timeline estimates during the press conference because they are still assessing the problem. But it’s likely to be a lengthy closure (they seemed to be measuring it in weeks) and a costly fix.
This all means that biking is now the best way to get to and from West Seattle, and there are likely to be a lot more people trying to do so. This is what happened during the Viaduct closure in early 2019, and even with the outbreak there are still people who need to get around. If you live in West Seattle, now is the time to share resources with your neighbors about how to get around by bike. It sucks that the outbreak makes group rides a poor option, but letting folks near you know all the tips and tricks (best side streets, etc) you’ve learned would be a big help I’m sure.
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…)
