Seattle Bike Blog

After big election wins, Howell leaves a more grassroots-focused Cascade

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 29, 2015

Howell (right) delivering a crowdfunded Kona to Yang Fan, who returned Howell’s stolen bike after unknowingly buying it through Offerup. Photo from Howell via Facebook.

To many grassroots bike activists in the Seattle area, Brock Howell may have been until recently the face of Cascade Bicycle Club.

Howell left Cascade in November shortly after an election where the club’s advocacy team was a major part of the Move Seattle levy win, and seven of eight Cascade-endorsed City Council candidates won their seats.

A seriously hard worker (“like hey, dude, you gotta sleep at some point”), Howell has been a major force behind the club’s grassroots-empowering advocacy efforts since joining the staff in 2013.

Though he credits his predecessor Craig Benjamin for framing up the idea, Howell has been a major force behind the club’s Connect Seattle teams along with fellow advocacy staffers Robin Randels and Kelli Refer (who, full disclosure, is my wonderful spouse). Fueled by the club’s innovative Advocacy Leadership Institute (“ALI”) — which trains everyday people to become effective campaigners and advocates — the Connect teams are led by engaged community members determined to make change.

“The whole point of ALI is to get more people trained to do great organizing,” a much more relaxed Howell said recently over beers. The big shift in thinking here is that volunteers should get a core say in what is important and how to make the changes needed to get there. (more…)

tags: brock howell, cascade bicycle club

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Congressional Report: US street design sacrifices people biking and walking to move cars

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 28, 2015

Here’s a depressing fact: In 2013, 885 Americans drove away after killing a person who was walking. One in five “pedestrian fatalities” are hit and runs (for “cyclist fatalities,” it’s about one in six). This statistic speaks volumes about the state of personal responsibility and value of human life on our nation’s streets. But these roadway values are consistent from the pens of roadway engineers all the way to the steering wheels of a fleeing hit-and-run suspect.

These are among the many troubling — though perhaps not surprising — findings in a recent Government Accountability Office report (PDF) US Representatives Rick Larsen (WA-2), Peter DeFazio (OR-4) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) ordered last year. Essentially, these Representatives saw that people walking and biking in the US are not seeing the same safety increases as people driving, and they wanted to know why. And they got their answers.

The GAO report finds several issues we already know about, such as the roles distracted driving and alcohol play in many collisions.

And though the walking and biking share of traffic deaths is rising, “limited data on walking and cycling trips also makes it challenging to develop a performance-based approach to addressing pedestrian and cyclist safety,” according to the report. Though we have decent primary commute trip mode data thanks to Census surveys, we have almost no data about non-commute trips, the report notes. Remember, fewer than 20 percent of all trips in the US are commute trips.

But the real guts of the report come from Federal Highway Association officials who acknowledge that roadway design in recent decades — including wider and straighter lanes and corners — have attempted to move more motor vehicles faster at the expense of walking and biking safety: (more…)

tags: eleanor holmes norton, FAST Act, government accountability office, peter defazio, rick larsen

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WA Bikes outlines 2016 legislative agenda

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 24, 2015

’twas the night before Christmas, and all through the web, every single creature was reading about Washington Bikes’ 2016 state legislative priorities.

Last year, transportation money was flying all around the state legislature. As usual, it ended with billions for new and wider highways (boo!). But it also included significant increases in Safe Routes to School funds and other trail and bike/walk access projects (not to mention the needed Sound Transit 3 authority, though heaven forbid the state actually fund regional transit).

Without a transportation package on the table this year, the WA Bikes strategy is a little different. Primarily, they are looking to protect funding already gained, protect trails (including the John Wayne Pioneer Trail), get the state to study the economics of bicycle tourism, and encourage stronger distracted driving laws (like, you know, making it illegal to look at Facebook while driving. That’s right, you can legally do that now because we live in a crazy world).

More details on the agenda from WA Bikes: (more…)

tags: 2016 legislature, washington bikes

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Long overdue sidewalk closure rules now in place, city will work on bike lane rules next

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 22, 2015

Top image: Seattle Bike Blog. All others: SDOT

If you are building something in Seattle and need to close the sidewalk, you can no longer simply send people walking out into the street.

That’s according to new rules outlined by SDOT (PDF), which we wrote about previously. During public comment, the city received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback on the rule, which should significantly limit the number of “Sidewalk Closed” signs you encounter when walking around the city.

The rule also outlines the preferred way to build temporary walkways around construction sites, including attention to accessibility, lighting and barriers to protect people from both nearby traffic and the construction work.

The rule mentions that SDOT may consider bikes when evaluating reroute or detour plans, but more specifics about how to properly maintain safe bike access near construction sites will have to come from a different rule change altogether. This rule pertains to sidewalk use, but bikes are vehicles and need to be addressed in the “vehicles and traffic” rules.

But good news! SDOT says that because so many of you commented that bikes need to be considered, they will be looking at creating new bike-specific rules in 2016. So maybe — just maybe — your trip down Dexter won’t be so damn scary soon.

More details on “SDOT DR 10-2015” from SDOT: (more…)

tags: construction, sdot, SDOT DR 10-2015

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O’Brien will Chair the Transportation Committee

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 21, 2015

It’s not just for photo ops, Councilmember Mike O’Brien really does bike everywhere.

But he’s also not just about bikes. O’Brien has a seat on the Sound Transit Board, and he has been a strong advocate for biking, walking and transit during his time on the Council. He was also among the only Councilmembers fighting hard against the downtown highway tunnel (he preferred investing in the waterfront, I-5 and transit service instead).

So it’s great news that O’Brien will be the new Chair of the Transportation Committee, taking over for longtime Chair Tom Rasmussen, who did not run for reelection. O’Brien is bringing the “Sustainability” with him to the now-named “Sustainability & Transportation Committee,” the Stranger reports. These placements all assume Bruce Harrell will get picked as Council President and the Council approves of his assignments.
(more…)

tags: city council, kshama sawant, Lisa herbold, mike o’brien, rob johnson, transportation committee

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Westlake bikeway construction will happen in phases starting January

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

December 18, 2015
The construction crew building out the Westlake Bikeway has outlined their schedule, beginning with phase one in January.

For the first six months or so of 2016, construction will happen in four seemingly out-of-order segments in the sprawling parking area as crews significantly modify the planting areas and parking alignments in order to create a continuous two-way bikeway between the Fremont Bridge/Ship Canal Trail and Lake Union Park.

The first thing you will notice is the removal of trees from the parking area (*teardrops*). But the plan is to move some trees and replace others two-to-one.

The map on the right shows the order you can expect work to happen.

Here’s the construction notice:
Westlake Cycle Track construction activities are scheduled to begin in early January and continue through early summer 2016.

Phase 1 of work begins between Crockett St and the south end of Railroad Park, shown on the map in orange.

What to expect during Phase 1
- Tree removal, primarily on the east side of the parking area
- Saw cutting, which requires temporary parking restrictions
- Pavement breaking and removal
- “No Parking” signs will be installed
- Equipment and materials will be placed in an established work zone
- Parking will generally only be restricted in the active work zone
- Increased noise and dust from large equipment working within the construction zone
- Typical work hours from 7 AM to 4 PM, Monday to Friday; some activities may require work outside of these hours
(more…)
tags: westlake, westlake cycle track

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