Seattle Bike Blog

Woman biking critically injured in Bellevue collision, person driving flees

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 23, 2016

If you see a suspicious vehicle missing a headlight like this one, that may be the suspect. Photo from Bellevue PD.

Map of the incident location from Bellevue PD

Someone driving an unknown vehicle struck a woman biking in Bellevue this morning, critically injuring her. The suspect left the woman in critical condition on the side of the road and fled the scene without even calling for help.

The location is a major crossing of the I-90 Trail. 118th Ave SE is also a popular north-south bike route in Bellevue. There has been no indication yet from police how the collision happened.

In fact, KOMO reports that a passerby spotted the woman lying on the road around 6 a.m., but it’s not yet clear how long she was lying there. She was thrown 100 feet from the collision site, and the person driving left her for dead.

She was rushed to Harborview with critical injuries. We send our best wishes. (more…)

tags: bellevue, bellevue police, crime, hit and run, injuries, vision zero bellevue

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With U Link, combining bikes and transit just got even more powerful

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

March 22, 2016

Bike valet! If only this were permanent or replaced with another more secure option.

UW loaned these old-style staple racks while Sound Transit works to install more permanent and modern staple racks in addition to the “coat hanger” racks already installed.

University of Washington Station opened Saturday and immediately assumed its role as the bikiest light rail station in the region.

The bike parking was overflowing during Saturday’s opening celebration. Even the additional free valet bike parking space provided for the day was handlebar-to-handlebar.

And it makes sense, UW Station is only a stone’s throw from the Burke-Gilman Trail, likely our state’s busiest walking and biking trail. Not only that, but the segment of the trail through UW campus was already the busiest section of the trail before the light rail opened, moving about as many people during a busy commute hour as a lane of a freeway. (more…)

tags: burke-gilman trail, capitol hill station, sound transit, uw station

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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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