Seattle Bike Blog

Watch: City Inside/Out takes on the Pronto buyout debate

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 15, 2016

Seattle Channel’s excellent City Inside/Out show took on the Pronto Cycle Share situation Friday, including an interview with yours truly and a panel with SDOT Active Transportation Chief Nicole Freedman, Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Rainier Valley Greenways and Rainier Riders leader Phyllis Porter and persistently anti-bike Fremont business leader Suzie Burke.

The episode begins with a good five-minute recap to catch viewers up on how we got here, followed by the discussion. Viewers are then asked to take this one-question poll.

In previous stories, we’ve reported about how Pronto ended up in this do-or-die situation in front of the Council and how the system can flourish in our city.

City Inside/Out quotes me saying, “We have one good bike lane in all of downtown, that’s not a bike-friendly city.” To illustrate that point, I’m reposting a graphic showing how the planned-but-delayed Center City Bike Network will also activate Pronto’s network. But this can only happen if we take action. No more waiting. It’s time.

tags: city inside/out, pronto emerald city cycle share, seattle channel

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Seattle Bike Swap is Sunday, Cascade registrations open + more from the calendar

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 12, 2016

After a couple quiet months, the Seattle bike events are starting to ramp up again.

Cascade Bicycle Club has opened registrations for most of it’s major events in 2016, which you can flip through in their latest email blast. Chilly Hilly, the club’s first major ride of the year, is just two weeks away.

Seattle Bike Swap – Sunday

But first comes Cascade’s Seattle Bike Swap, a packed hall with all kinds of new, used and handmade wares for sale.

Sunday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.

It costs $20 to be in the first wave at 8 a.m., but then the price drops to $7 at 9 a.m. ($5 if you’re a Cascade member). Or you can get in free for the last hour starting at 1 p.m. Bring cash. (more…)

tags: events, weekend guide

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Don’t listen to the Allstate haters, Seattle drivers, you’re actually pretty great ❤❤

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 11, 2016

Every year, Allstate releases its “America’s Best Drivers Report,” which claims to rank our cities from best to worst. Seattle placed a dismal 184 out of 200 this year, our worst score yet. And every year, news sources in those cities eat it up.

“Seattle drivers among the very worst in the nation” reports KOMO. “It’s official: Seattle drivers really are terrible, study confirms,” says Geekwire.

Don’t listen to these haters, Seattle drivers. We here at Seattle Bike Blog wouldn’t trade you for drivers from any other American city. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

For example, when friends from my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri (Allstate’s 85th safest drivers in America) visit Seattle for the first time, I like to show them a magic trick: I start to enter a crosswalk and the busy traffic actually stops to let us cross.

Now, I know people don’t always stop — we still have to work on this, Seattle — but back in Missouri, essentially nobody ever stops. I’m pretty sure most people driving there don’t even know you’re supposed to stop for people in a crosswalk (for years I thought crosswalks were just to tell people where to cross, and I scored very high on the driver’s test). When people do stop, it’s more of a friendly courtesy thing than basic rule following.

And it’s not just crosswalks. When I’m on my bike in Seattle and I arrive at a traffic circle or four-way stop at the same time as someone driving, the person driving nearly always pauses to let me go first. This drove me crazy when I first moved here. “If it’s your turn, just go!” the Missouri driver in me wanted to yell.

But I’ve grown to understand that Seattle’s passive, deferential driving style is actually wonderful, especially compared to the alternative. A person driving defensively might annoy you, but a person driving aggressively might kill you. And most people in Seattle drive very defensively. I now show my appreciation with a big smile and wave.

I know, I know, anecdotes are not data, and the Allstate data appears to show that Seattle drivers suck real bad. Well, let’s look a bit closer. (more…)

tags: allstate, america’s best drivers report

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Bike share can flourish in Seattle

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 10, 2016

With the City Council debating whether to buy out the 54-station Pronto Cycle Share system already in need of a buyout, the main question on people’s minds is: How do we know it will be successful going forward and worth that investment?

Bike share in Seattle absolutely can succeed and flourish, but it’s not guaranteed. A financially sustainable system is going to take realistic planning and hard work selling sponsorships, winning grants and expanding ridership.

In other words, it’s going to take require both skillful management inside the Pronto office and bold bicycle network improvements on the streets.

In our previous story, we dove into some of the management problems and miscommunications within the non-profit Puget Sound Bike Share and the City of Seattle that led to this Council buyout showdown. In our research, we learned that ridership did not meet the (likely inflated) budget projections, but necessary work to sell sponsorships and win grants to fill those budget holes also did not happen. So that’s a somewhat easy fix: Adjust the budget based on our more realistic ridership numbers and do the fundraising work necessary to make ends meet.

The ultimate way to increase success is to expand the system to increase the network and the number of destinations it connects. The city is currently developing an expansion plan with hopes to launch it in 2017.

Below are some other ideas for getting a handle on the existing system and better understanding what’s holding it back. (more…)

tags: bike share, center city bike network, helmet laws, pronto emerald city cycle share, puget sound bike share, u district

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Political firing of Sec. Peterson is Washington State’s loss

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 8, 2016

As of Friday, Lynn Peterson is no longer our state’s Secretary of Transportation. And that’s Washington State’s loss.

Peterson came on board with our state’s biggest highway megaprojects already in trouble. And on top of those challenges — including a stalled SR 99 boring machine and cracked 520 Bridge pontoons — an oversized truck struck and collapsed an I-5 bridge over the Skagit River, and a community was devastated in the Oso landslide with vital access cut off when the collapsing hillside also destroyed the highway.

By all accounts (including by Senate Republican leaders, whose Transportation Committee unanimously recommended her confirmation last year), Peterson handled these and other challenges as well as any DOT leader could. Finding quality, competent leaders is hard work, so it’s not usually a good idea to just toss them out without cause or warning.

But Senate Republicans made a clearly political move Friday by surprising everyone with a sudden confirmation vote, effectively using their majority to fire her (the vote split along party lines). She didn’t even get a chance to defend herself or answer any questions. She only had one hour of notice before she lost her job. (more…)

tags: 2016 legislature, lynn peterson, wsdot

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LATE NOTICE: Redmond Bike Plan open house is tonight

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 8, 2016

Apologies for the late notice, but Redmond is hosting an open house tonight (Monday) to get feedback on the city’s Bicycle Strategic Plan.

Feedback at the meeting will help “generate at least 2 different investment scenarios,” according to the meeting details. The open house goes from 5 – 7:30 p.m. at Redmond City Hall.

“We’re looking to get our Connect Eastside members and supporters out to support what Redmond is doing around safe protected bike infrastructure,” said Cascade Bicycle Club’s Eastside Advocacy Director McKayla Dunfey.

Redmond has done some great work in recent years expanding its biking and walking trail system, including the excellent Central Connector. The first phase of the trail opened in 2013, and the second phase should begin construction soon.

But there are still many missing links and dangerous streets in the city that limit bike access and comfort, so there is a lot more work to do. Help encourage the city to be bold and innovative.

Details from the City of Redmond: (more…)

tags: mckayla dunfey, redmond, redmond bicycle strategic plan

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