As I type this, my ballot is still sitting on the table next to me. Why haven’t I turned it in yet? I don’t know! Maybe the same reason I’m always running late. Which is another reason I bike everywhere: I’m lazy, and by the time I’m running out the door I very likely missed all my bus options, anyway.
Will my ballot make it into the drop box by 8 p.m.? The suspense is palpable.
Oh, you just realized you have no idea where your ballot went? You can fill out your ballot online and print it out! Here’s the King County website that will walk you through how to do it.
Trucks are big, make wide turns and have nasty blind spots. So while they are vital for making the city function, they can also be very dangerous for people walking and biking.
In a recent five-year period, USDOT found that at least 556 people walking and biking were killed in collisions specifically with the sides of trucks. What makes side impacts particularly dangerous is that they can easily become fatal or very serious even at low speeds because the high point of contact on the truck or trailer can easily knock people down, putting them in the path of truck wheels. It’s a nightmare scenario that is sadly far too common.
While one vital part of the solution is safe street design, there is another surprisingly easy step that has been proven to dramatically reduce the seriousness of these side-impact collisions with trucks: Side guards. By attaching a guard that runs along any gaps in the side of the truck or trailer body, anyone hit has a better chance of being pushed out of the way of the following wheels. The impact can still be bad, of course, but the odds of survival are much higher. A study in the UK found that such side guards reduced fatalities by 61 percent for people biking and 20 percent for people walking, according to USDOT.
We have reported on side guard before. UW installed them on campus vehicles a few years ago, for example. Other cities, like Boston, have even required side guards on all trucks operated by companies that contract with the city. We have argued that Seattle should pursue a similar rule.
But first, SDOT needs to get its own house in order. And they are. The department has started installing side guards on its fleet of trucks. And what’s even better: The guards are manufactured right here at Allied Body near South Park under the company’s new side guard brand Walker Blocker. A local business making safety devices for local freight, I love it. (more…)
A food drive scavenger hunt by bike, Cranksgiving riders bike to a secret list of unique food sellers around Seattle buying food to donate to Rainier Valley Food Bank. For the eighth year, Seattle’s Cranksgiving is hosted by Seattle Bike Blog.
The 2017 ride is Saturday, November 18, starting behind Swift Industries (Occidental Ave near the CenturyLink Field parking lot). Register at 10:30 a.m. Hunt starts at 11 and ends back at the start by 2.
Invite all your friends via Facebook! The more the merrier.
You will get a list of needed food items and places to shop. You can go solo or as a small team (four adults max per team). The more you buy and the more places you buy from, the more points you get. There are also photo challenges and more.
All skill levels welcome! Anyone can win a prize!
Free to enter, but expect to spend at least $20 buying groceries (more is welcome, of course). Bring a pen and a way to carry groceries.
Party at Swift Industries after the ride.
Last year, more than 90 riders hauled an incredible 1,132 pounds of food to Rainier Valley Food Bank. Come have fun and spread the love.
The University of Washington is scheduled to perform surface maintenance on the Burke-Gilman Trail from the early morning of Monday, November 6 through the evening of Wednesday, November 8. This construction activity is part of the UW’s ongoing trail maintenance program and will require a complete closure of the Burke-Gilman Trail in the construction zone between Pend Oreille Road NE and Rainier Vista. This work will include removing sections of the trail with severe bumps and upheavals, reducing or eliminating the causes, and then repaving over them. This work has been scheduled to occur all at once to minimize the total amount of time the trail is closed. However, please note that three consecutive days of relatively dry weather are required to complete the project, so the scheduled timeline may shift. (more…)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks again to Brock Howell of Bike Happy for putting together this amazing weekly email newsletter.
TOP THINGS TO KNOW & DO THIS WEEK
1. VOTE
You know what’s worse than not voting? Having Donald Trump for president. Are you having troubles figuring out who to vote for? Here’s who Washington Bikes, Seattle Bike Blog, The Urbanist, Seattle Subway, Seattle Transit Blog, and Sierra Club agree on, with additional footnotes provided:
Seattle Mayor: Cary Moon
*While the six above listed organizations endorsed Moon, Transportation For Washington endorsed Durkan.
Seattle City Council, Position 8: Teresa Mosqueda
*Transportation For Washington also endorsed Mosqueda while the Seattle Bike Blog stayed out of this race. Vote Mosqueda.
Seattle City Council, Position 9: Lorena Gonzalez
*Everyone endorsed Gonzalez. Vote Gonzalez.
Plus One More:
Seattle Public School Board, Dist. 5: Zachary DeWolf
No organization that focuses on bicycling, transit, or urbanism issues endorsed in this race. However, I’m giving my Bike Happy endorsement to Zachary DeWolf, who is committed to the intersectionality of quality public education and safe streets. He wants to help continue a conversation on the role that the school district can have in supporting greater bicycle education in schools, traffic calming around schools, and installing more school zone enforcement cameras. Vote Zachary DeWolf. (more…)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Frank Boosman is a resident of Kent who was curious where candidates for Mayor and City Council stood on biking and safe streets issues (Boosman is also a member of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Board, but he stressed that this effort was in his capacity as a Kent resident, not as a Board member). After searching for their stances and coming up short, Frank took it upon himself to reach out to all the candidates and ask them a few questions. He compiled their responses and asked Seattle Bike Blog if we would like to publish them. Of course I said yes! Thanks for doing this, Frank. I hope it is helpful to any Kent readers out there looking for city leaders who will make streets safer.
Suzette Cooke is not seeking a fourth term as Mayor of Kent, so the position is open for the first time in nearly a decade.
While most candidates responded in writing, mayoral candidate Jim Berrios preferred to speak with Boosman on the phone. The following paragraph is a summary of the whole conversation and was later approved by the candidate, Boosman said.
Jim Berrios: I believe that we should be more bicycle-friendly, but it has to be practical. If we build infrastructure that isn’t practical, it sends the wrong message to taxpayers. I’m totally open to having continued discussions on cycling. I know that we’ve made every effort to address North-South routes. As far as an East-West connector, I think that we need to come together and come up with a real, practical solution. Whatever we do has to make sense to taxpayers. I’d love to sit down with cycling advocates, look at routes, drive them, and figure out what makes sense.
Boosman: What is your opinion of complete streets, the idea that streets “be planned, designed, operated, and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation”? Do you agree with this approach to street design and think it should be adopted universally within Kent?
Dana Ralph: I have consistently supported the implementation of a complete streets plan in Kent. We are currently applying this standard to all new construction in Kent. Making Kent bikeable and walkable has to be a priority.
Boosman: Cycling infrastructure—especially protected bike lanes and separated paths—has been shown to improve community health, reduce pollution, and create other benefits that far outweigh the initial investment. What is your approach to expanding bike lanes and paths throughout the city of Kent? (more…)
