Seattle Bike Blog

Most Broadway Bikeway ‘smurf turds’ replaced with standard posts

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 13, 2016

When the smurf turds were brand new. The orange posts were temporary and later removed.

After years of damage from parallel parkers and taggers, the blue sculptures that lined the Broadway Bikeway in Capitol Hill have been removed, Capitol Hill Seattle reports. They will remain in place on First Hill, at least for now.

I, for one, really liked the Broadway Bikeway’s smurf turds, a name they were given almost immediately after being installed. Or at least I liked that they were quirky and provided more of a barrier between the parking area and the bikeway than simple paint or a few plastic posts.

But the sand-filled plastic sculptures were simply no match for imperfect parallel parkers on Capitol Hill. Though they were heavy enough for a person to have trouble moving them, a person misjudging their parking attempt could easily nudge them into the bikeway or even crack them. This caused a significant maintenance problem because it was hard to move them back into place once pushed into the bikeway.

The city tried anchoring them with metal bands, but that only slowed the inevitable displacement and damage. (more…)

tags: ansel herz, broadway, broadway bikeway, caludia fitch, capitol hill, capitol hill seattle, smurf turds

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Cascade’s newest ride will travel on the 520 Bridge, I-5 Express Lanes

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 12, 2016

See interactive route map via Cascade’s Ride With GPS page.

The secret (or maybe not-so-secret) route for Cascade’s newest major ride has been officially revealed: People registered for the April 3 event will get the rare chance to bike on both the 520 Bridge and the I-5 Express Lanes through the heart of Seattle before looping lack to along Lake Washington.

The ride was announced as part of two days of celebrations on the 520 Bridge in early April. There will also be a fun run and walk April 2, along with other to-be-announced opening celebrations. The new 520 Bridge will be the world’s longest floating bridge, but the Seattle connections will remain incomplete for several years. This includes the biking and walking trail, unfortunately.

So the April 3 ride may be the only chance for years to bike onto the bridge from Seattle. And it will certainly be among the few times you’ll get to bike on the I-5 Express Lanes (unless, of course, WSDOT takes me up on my I-5 Express Trail concept. Call me!).

There are 6,000 spaces available for Cascade’s Emerald City Bike Ride, and registration opened today. The full ride is $30 for members or $50 for the general public. (more…)

tags: cascade bicycle club, emerald city bike ride, i-5 express trail, sr 520

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Join Seattle Bike Blog for a David Bowie ride

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 11, 2016

I’m sure I’m not alone in being basically consumed with memories of listening to David Bowie’s music throughout my life.

Aside from simply enjoying his brilliantly and consistently pioneering music, Bowie taught me and so many others to recognize, respect and enthusiastically support people fearlessly expressing themselves.

Basically, all I want to do is ride my bike around Seattle listening to Bowie. And you are all invited to join. Bring your friends. It will be a slow cruise, and nobody will be left behind.

And if you have a battery-powered radio (like, old school airwaves radio, not streaming), bring that, too. If the ride is big, we may just tune into KEXP’s Bowie tribute if it’s still going.

Meet at the Cal Anderson fountain at 4:45 p.m. Leave at 5. End at ??

We’ll be biking during and after sunset, so bring bike lights.

Here’s the Facebook event page if you want to spread the word.

tags: david bowie

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The Bellevue section of the Eastside Trail is going to be unreal

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 11, 2016

UPDATE: Shortly after posting, Cascade Bicycle Club announced the formation of the Eastside Greenway Alliance, a group of seven organizations that will “will dedicate time and resources to move forward with the goal of a multi-use corridor that will provide our greater Eastside community with wide ranging benefits from improved mobility and public health to economic development and a decreased carbon footprint. Through community engagement, fundraising and advocacy, the Eastside Greenway Alliance will advance the multi-use development of the Eastside Rail Corridor.”

That trestle will be part of the Eastside Trail in Bellevue. Really. From a King County video (watch below)

The rails are coming out. King County Executive Dow Constantine removed the ceremonial first rail spike Friday, a major step in developing the most important stretch of regional trail since the Burke-Gilman.

The work to remove the rails south of Kirkland will continue through 2016 and into 2017, funded by the scrap value of the steel rails themselves.

It will still take more work after rail removal before the trail will be easily bikeable. The existing railbed needs an upgrade to hardpack gravel — like the existing Cross Kirkland Corridor section — before it will be easily usable by bikes not designed for offroading. The busy street crossings will also need upgrades.

The exact timeline for when you will be able to bike on the trail is not yet clear, but a King County press release says the section connecting to Kirkland’s trail will be first:

It is expected rail removal will begin at the ERC segment south of Kirkland, which has already removed rail and developed a trail through its portion of the corridor. It is likely King County would begin developing an interim gravel trail at that location, extending the length of usable trail within the corridor.

But the real eye-opening section will likely be this incredible high trestle in Bellevue, captured in a short drone video by King County: (more…)

tags: bellevue, cascade bicycle club, cross kirkland corridor, dow constantine, eastside trail, king county, kirkland

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Anatomy of a stairway runnel that actually kinda works

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 8, 2016

S Hinds St/York Rd S stairway. Before and after photos from SDOT.

I can hardly believe it. It kinda works!

Seattle has finally done it. They figured out how to build a functional stairway “runnel” that also includes railings required to meet accessibility guidelines.

What’s a runnel, you ask? It’s a somewhat weird name for a straight and usually grooved guide next to a stairway so people can go up and down without having to lift and carry their bikes. You just guide your bike wheels into the groove and push it up or squeezed the brakes and walk it down.

It’s pretty simple, and not all that new as a concept. But the city has tried several times to include runnels that simply do not work. Accessibility rules requiring handrails often conflicted with runnel design, which is perhaps most apparent on the N 41st Street walkway over Aurora. The handrail gets in the way of handlebars, wide bikes, baskets or even simple bags. If really just doesn’t work: (more…)

tags: runnels, sdot, stairs

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Bike News Roundup: Motor City to Bike City

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 7, 2016

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a look at some of the bikey stuff floating around the web in recent weeks.

First up, Motor City to Bike City:

(more…)

tags: bike news roundup

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