Seattle Bike Blog

Snoqualmie Valley Trail reopens between Duvall and Carnation

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 21, 2016

Images from King County

King County has completed major repair work the closed a key section of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail between Duvall and Carnation.

Originally scheduled for closure June through October 31, the trail is just now reopening. King County blames a “record wet winter and multiple flood events” for the delays.

Work is not quite done yet, so expect a couple weeks of closures this summer to finalize trail and highway work like fencing, surfacing and guardrails.

The closure was short, but in a bad place for a closure with few good detour options, as we reported back in May.

More details from King County: (more…)

tags: carnation, duvall, king county, snoqualmie valley trail

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Weekend Guide: Sound Transit teleporter opens, Bike Works auction, Lynnwood Trail meeting + more

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 18, 2016

There is so much happening this weekend! And of course, your bike is the best way to experience it all. So let’s get to it…

Sound Transit opens magic transporter – Saturday

Sound Transit is finally ready to open a teleportation machine next to the Burke-Gilman Trail that, much like Wonka Vision, harnesses the power of television to break people and their bikes (well, so long as the bikes aren’t too big) down into tiny pieces and transports them through the air where they reassembled at the top of Capitol Hill. Officials assure us this process is safe for organic life. Here’s footage from a media preview earlier this week:

But for real, the opening of Capitol Hill and UW Stations is a big deal for walking, biking and (of course) transit in Seattle. Four minutes from Husky Stadium to Cal Anderson Park? That might as well be Wonka Vision (though without the miniaturizing problem). (more…)

tags: weekend guide

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Bellevue needs feedback on ambitious ‘rapid implementation’ bike plan

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 18, 2016

Bellevue is developing a bold plan to build 57 miles of bike routes in the next five years, including 23 miles of protected bike lanes, 13 miles of painted bike lanes and two miles of off-street trail.

If this plan is funded and constructed, Bellevue would open much of even the densest parts of the city to people who want to bike, but do not want to mix with busy traffic.

The plan includes a completed and almost-fully-protected bike route from the 520 Trail to downtown, for example. It also includes bike connections to parts of Bellevue that currently have zero or very few options for getting around by bike at all.

You can provide feedback and enthusiasm for the plan during an open house 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bellevue City Hall (Cascade has a sign-up page if you want to plug in with their efforts). You can also view and comment on specific project concepts via their wikimap. (more…)

tags: bellevue, bellevue pedestrian & bicycle implementation initiative

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2nd Ave bike lane will go one block further south + North extension set to open in 2017

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 17, 2016

Images from an SDOT project flyer (PDF).

Concept with planters, looking south from Yesler.

You may have noticed crews out painting what appears to be the first extension of the 2nd Ave protected bike lane since it opened in October 2014.

Your eyes have not deceived you.

Don’t get too excited, though, because it’s only going one block further to S Washington Street. But this is a rather important block, opening up connectivity to 5th and 4th Avenues to the west and 2nd Ave (not to be confused with 2nd Ave Ext) to the east.

But the bike lane still won’t have a complete and intuitive connection to and from the International District, a major need for the bike network.

The bike lane will also be protected from traffic by planter boxes instead of the reflective plastic posts we know so well. Those planters will also be added to the rest of the existing 2nd Ave bike lane by May. Hopefully the planters not only make the street a bit more attractive, but also prevent people from driving and stopping in the bike lane. (more…)

tags: 2nd ave, belltown, center city bike network, pioneer square, sdot

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U Link opening is the perfect chance to show Seattle why they bought Pronto

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 17, 2016

Base map from James Wing’s Prontolyzer.

Now that the city owns Pronto (or will very soon, anyway), the people of Seattle need to understand why they bought it.

Well, Saturday, big crowds are expected to turn out at Capitol Hill and UW Stations for the long-awaited opening of the U-Link light rail extension. You could hardly find a better time to demonstrate bike share’s potential than this party.

It will be extremely disappointing if no bike share station is present (or at least within view) at each station on Saturday. Even if the station location is only temporary, Pronto needs to be there to greet the crowds. This is what bike share was made for.

As we discussed on Twitter yesterday, one short-term option for Capitol Hill Station would be to temporarily move the 12th and Denny station two blocks west into the new Denny Way light rail plaza (as shown in the map above). There’s a ton of open space for a station, and it’s directly in front of a light rail exit and adjacent to the Broadway Bikeway.

People have questioned both these investments, so let’s show them how, finally, they all work together. (more…)

tags: capitol hill, james wing, pronto emerald city cycle share, prontolyzer, sound transit, u district, university link, uw

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Ahead of Eastside Trail meetings, sign this petition for an interim trail ‘sooner and cheaper’

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 16, 2016

The Eastside Trail is poised to revolutionize non-motorized travel on the Eastside, so why wait? Let’s get an interim trail constructed and usable as soon as possible.

We already reported on King County’s draft Trail Master Plan, which is now out for public input. You can have your say at there are three open houses, listed below, and by submitting comments using this online form by March 31.

Cascade Bicycle Club has created a petition urging the County to build an on-railbed interim trail where applicable in order to get the trail open and operational as soon as possible.

Some sections of the rail corridor — like the Bellevue section planned as part of Sound Transit’s East Link line — will need to have rail and the trail next to each other. But in other sections, transit planning is very early and likely far off in the future if it comes to the corridor at all. In those segments, the County should move ahead with the easiest and cheapest option for opening an interim trail quickly: On the existing railbed like Kirkland’s existing Cross Kirkland Corridor Trail.

You can also voice this opinion at an open house. Details from Cascade Bicycle Club’s Eastside Policy Manager McKayla Dunfey: (more…)

tags: cascade bicycle club, eastside rail corridor, eastside trail, king county, mckayla dunfey

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