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Seattle Bike Blog Editor Tom Fucoloro has Gone Bikin’ until Labor Day. In the meantime, we will be periodically posting short news bits and excerpts from good reads floating around the web.
As we reported last week, the UW has opened its remade section of the Burke-Gilman Trail between 15th Ave NE and the bridge to UW Station.
In case you haven’t been there to try it yet, here’s what to expect. One reader described it as “glorious.” I think that’s about right.
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Seattle Bike Blog Editor Tom Fucoloro has Gone Bikin’ until Labor Day. In the meantime, here’s a post from Phyllis Porter and Gordon Padelford. Phyllis Porter is an educator, advocate for criminal justice reform, and leader with safe streets community group Rainier Valley Greenways. Gordon Padelford is the Policy Director for Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
Join the safe streets celebration and rally this Wednesday to thank the city for making part of Rainier Ave S safer and asking them to complete the project.
Rainier Ave S was infamous for being Seattle’s most dangerous street. With a crash every day on average, 7 businesses hit in the past year, and 630 injuries over the last three years, something had to be done. Business, community groups, and residents had had enough.
Last year the community came together to demand Rainier Ave S be made safer. For instance, a group calling themselves the Rainier Road Diet Supporters held a number of crosswalk protests.
The community group Rainier Valley Greenways rallied around a campaign called Safety Over Speeding to bring more attention to the problem. We collected signatures and photo petitions, created a Get Well Soon Rainier Ave Card for people to sign, posted flyers with the number of crashes next to dangerous intersections, and hosted a big crosswalk protest and rally.
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E Marginal Way is a key bike route to West Seattle. When the Port is not working, the bike route is fine. When the Port is working smoothly and without truck backups, it can be a little stressful. But when trucks get backed up waiting to get into Port Terminals along the street, things can get really dangerous.
Two different readers sent us photos of this problem last week (below). West Seattle Bike Connections even wrote a Facebook post about it, so I’ll let them take it away:
Drivers illegally using the bike lane to get around slow truck traffic on East Marginal Way S at S Hanford St at 8 this morning. These violations of traffic laws and common sense are very dangerous to people on bikes. If you see it, SPD will come enforce if you call 9-1-1 on the spot. You can also call SPD Traffic Unit at 206-684-8757 [0] to let them know of the need for enforcement. It’s a “follow the leader” thing, and it’s getting worse. We don’t need another ghost bike here. Time for SPD and Port of Seattle Police to step in.
Photos from West Seattle Bike Connections: (more…)
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Dear readers,
For the first time since starting this blog in July 2010, I am taking a sabbatical.
I’m hopping a plane out the country today to go on my honeymoon, and I’m leaving my laptop in Seattle.
I’ll be back Labor Day.
Of course, I’m not leaving you totally without bike news for the next three weeks. That would be awful! I’ve got a bunch of stuff lined up. And maybe you’ll see a guest post or two. We’ll see. But I won’t be on social media, and I won’t be on top of breaking news like I usually am.
Enjoy your August! See you in a few weeks.
— Tom
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After more than a year of planning, SDOT is ready to begin construction on a short-but-key section of protected bike lane connecting the Burke-Gilman Trail to the Fremont Bridge.
People biking already make up nearly a third of traffic on the street during peak hours, and the upcoming opening of the Westlake Bikeway is only going to exacerbate demand for this connection.
The change will create a two-way separated bike lane on the south side of the street. General traffic will change to one-way westbound between Fremont and Phinney Avenues, and parking will remain. The bike lane will be designed so the Fremont Market can still set up the same way it does each Sunday. Of course, that means people biking will need to continue detouring off 34th during market hours.
Construction is set to start as soon as Monday, wrapping up in two to three weeks.
Here’s a section-by-section look at the bikeway plans (learn more in this construction notice PDF): (more…)
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Summer Parkways 2016 kicks off with what is shaping up to be one of the biggest open streets events in recent Seattle history. Head down to Rainier Valley from 12:30 to 4:30 Saturday afternoon for car-free community fun.
Teaming up with the long-running Rainier Valley Heritage Parade in Columbia City and the Big Day of Play, Summer Parkways will connect Rainier Playfield and Othello Park partially via residential streets and partially right down the middle of a car-free Rainier Ave.
Both ends of the route will be packed with activities (seriously, see the *partial* list below) from food trucks to trampolines to a car show (hey, if its an open streets event then even Seattle Bike Blog can get into a car show).
The Parkways team has learned from last year’s events in the Central District and Ballard and say they have a better traffic control plan this time around (both events had issues with people driving on the route and volunteers who had a rough time trying to stop them).
But perhaps the biggest change for the Rainier Valley event is the amount of community partnership building that went into the planning, thanks in large part to Rainier Valley Greenways organizer and Seattle Bike Advisory Board member Phyllis Porter. And it shows in the number of organizations on board to participate.
Because while open streets are on the surface about bicycling (and walking), they’re actually about community. When car traffic is diverted from a street, the people who live, work and play there can fill the space and have fun together. A bike is just one fun way to experience it.
Meet at Othello Park at noon to ride at 12:45 with Mayor Ed Murray and other community members.
Get more details on the event page. You can also sign up to volunteer. From SDOT: (more…)
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