Seattle Bike Blog

King County will remove old rails on the Eastside Trail + Kirkland plans rapid bus along the trail

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 16, 2015

King County will remove the rails on the Eastside Trail, a vital step toward creating a walkable and bikeable trail from Woodinville to Renton.

The work was proposed by King County Executive Dow Constantine and approved by the King County Council. The rails are defunct and abandoned, and the scrap value of the rails should fund the work.

Once the rails are out, the rough and rocky railbed will still not be easily bikeable. It will take more work to create a bikeable soft surface trail and intersection improvements like the section Kirkland opened earlier this year.

Constantine hopes the first sections of usable interim trail will open in two years.

Sound Transit will also remove the rails in the relatively short section that agency owns in Bellevue (blue on the map) as the agency has planned as part of the East Link light rail project. The corridor will support both the rail line and the trail.

There’s also a disagreement breaking out in Kirkland over city plans to work with Sound Transit on rebuilding their section of the corridor to include both a permanent trail and a rapid transit corridor in the Sound Transit 3 funding package. Seattle Transit Blog outlines the bus rapid transit (“BRT”) plans well. Transit alongside the trail could much better access neighborhood centers in Kirkland than relying only on I-405.

On the flip side, a neighborhood group has created a campaign to fight the BRT idea under the name Save Our Trail. They argue against the BRT because it would make the trail less serene, which is true. You can read a recent letter outlining their concerns in Kirkland Views.

Kirkland needs both better transit and better biking and walking access. A complete and safe trail is vital to any corridor development plans. But that doesn’t mean transit and a trail cannot exist side-by-side. In fact, a project done well could allow the two elements complement each other, especially when linked to planned bike share expansion in Kirkland.

We will follow this debate as it develops.

Here is the King County press release about removing the rails: (more…)

tags: cross kirkland corridor, dow constantine, eastside rail corridor, eastside trail, king county, king county council, kirkland

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WA Bikes/Cascade merger still on track

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 13, 2015

Work to combine Cascade Bicycle Club and Washington Bikes is still on track and moving forward, according to a WA Bikes update.

We reported on the proposed merger back in August, and both organizations’ boards have since adopted a nonbinding resolution to negotiate a merger plan. The WA Bikes Board plans to vote on the plan December 8. Cascade members will have a chance to vote on ~~the required~~ bylaw changes in December (UPDATE: Cascade’s ED Elizabeth Kiker says the bylaw changes will be voted on in December, they are not needed to approve the merger.).

From Cascade

Though Cascade Executive Director Elizabeth Kiker and WA Bikes ED Barb Chamberlain stressed that “This isn’t a takeover or an acquisition,” as Kiker put it, Cascade is the much larger entity with about seven times the staff of WA Bikes. WA Bikes will also be closing its storefront office in Pioneer Square (though some more fun bike stuff may be filling that space, stay tuned…).

The new Board of Directors will have members from the WA Bikes Board, and the new board will “reflect statewide representation and a diversity of biking interests,” according to the WA Bikes blog post. Kiker would remain the ED of the merged organization, Chamberlain would stay on staff and WA Bikes State Policy Director Blake Trask would lead the new organization’s advocacy department.

The WA Bikes name (or the mixed name Cascade Bikes) will transform into the name for the 501(c)(4) politically-engaged advocacy wing of the organization (Disclosure: My partner Kelli works in Seattle advocacy for Cascade). That department will need to focus in Seattle, around the region and across the entire state. Cascade Bicycle Club will be the name of the 501(c)(3) tax-deductible wing, focused on education, Safe Routes to School and other non-political advocacy work.

Cascade is already a regional bike advocacy organization of unprecedented size in the nation. So they are charting new territory as they grow and change. (more…)

tags: 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), barb chamberlain, blake trask, cascade bicycle club, elizabeth kiker, washington bikes

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Seattle’s Sixth Cranksgiving is November 21

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 12, 2015
Download this printable PDF. Poster design by the wonderful Maggie Walker.

A food drive scavenger hunt by bike, Cranksgiving riders bike to a secret list of unique food sellers around Seattle buying food to donate to Rainier Valley Food Bank.

The 2015 ride is Saturday, November 21, starting at Cal Anderson Park (near the fountain). Register at 10:30 a.m. Hunt starts at 11 and ends in Columbia City at 2.

You will get a list of needed food items and places to shop. You can go solo or as a small team (four adults max per team). The more you buy and the more places you buy from, the more points you get. There are also photo challenges and more.

All skill levels welcome! Prizes for most points, best costume, best photo and more.

Free to enter, but expect to spend at least $20 buying groceries. Bring a pen and a way to carry groceries.

Last year, 105 riders hauled an incredible 1,201 pounds of food to Rainier Valley Food Bank. For an idea of what to expect, check out our post after last year’s Cranksgiving.

Party at the Royal Room after the hunt. They will have food and drinks for sale.

Invite your friends!

Sponsors:
- Mountaineers Books
- The Royal Room
- Flying Lion Brewing
- Detours bags
- Urban Cycling by Madi Carlson
- Free Range Cycles
tags: cranksgiving, cranksgiving 2015, events

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Help keep Madison BRT and bike route designs bold at Monday open house

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 12, 2015

Image: Madison Bus Rapid Transit concept.

A truly rapid bus on Madison Street from Colman Dock to Madison Valley? Protected bike lanes on E Union Street? Major walking improvements at every terrible Madison intersection?

Now that Move Seattle has passed, all this is on track to actually happen. In fact, the Madison project was basically the Move Seattle poster child, and it goes through a part of town that voted heavily in favor of the levy.

The city has a mandate to knock this project out the park. And that means getting all the details right.

You can help by attending an open house from 5 – 7 p.m. Monday at the Central Library downtown (level 4, room 1). Presentation at 5:30. Seattle Transit Blog even created a Facebook event so you can invite your friends.

Speaking of Seattle Transit Blog, Zach Shaner wrote a great analysis of how the project is already starting to drift away from the center-running exclusive transit lane vision that won so many hearts and minds. As compromises add up, the “rapid” in bus rapid transit starts to lose out.

There’s a similar debate about the bike route elements of the project (see our previous story for more). Bike lanes on Madison itself are already pretty much off the table, with planner opting for a “parallel” bike route instead. That argument aside, the question now is whether the city will follow best practices for planned bike lanes on E Union Street from 12th to MLK. Do we do it right and build one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street, or do we compromise away safety and usability by building a two-way lane on the south side of the street? (more…)

tags: madison, madison brt, seattle transit blog, union street, zach shaner

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Mercer Island settles landmark I-90 Trail crash lawsuit

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 11, 2015

Note: Several are bike stories fell through the cracks during the election craziness. This is one of them. We’re working to play catch-up now that the dust is settling. If you think we missed something big recently, email [email protected].

Photo of Susan from an Outdoors for All video (watch below)

The very drawn-out legal battle between Mercer Island and Susan Camicia is finally over. And though you may not know who she is, everyone who rides a bike in Washington State owes her a huge debt of gratitude.

Nine years ago, Camicia was biking on the I-90 Trail when she swerved to avoid some park-and-ride construction fencing that was sticking out into the trail. In her attempt to avoid the hazard, she struck a wooden bollard. Her neck broke in the crash, leaving her paralyzed.

The City of Mercer Island settled with Camicia for $6.95 million in October (the city’s insurance will cover it), according to the Mercer Island Reporter. In a statement, the city stated that safety is a priority:

The safety of bicyclists and all trail users is of utmost importance to the City: the I-90 Trail carries tens of thousands of users every year across Mercer Island without incident. Fortunately, no other I-90 Trail injuries of this scale have occurred since this one, and the City strives to maintain that record of safety.

But in making their statement, the city also acknowledges that the trail is, indeed, a transportation facility. But this is only because Camicia fought the city all the way to the state Supreme Court, which made a vital ruling (PDF) in her favor that could protect the legal rights of people biking on trails all over the state. (more…)

tags: mercer island, recreational immunity, susan camicia, wa supreme court

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The new Fairview Ave Bridge should be a nexus for major bike routes

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 10, 2015

Base map: The Bicycle Master Plan.

The Fairview Ave N bridge is part of a major bike route hub, and major improvements and new connections on Westlake, Eastlake, 9th Ave N, Lakeview Blvd E and the 520 Bridge will only make it more important in the years ahead.

Now that Move Seattle has been approved (again, thank you Seattle voters!), the bridge replacement project is funded. If all goes according to plan, final design should be ready next summer and construction should begin in 2017.

You can learn more and have your say on the design at an open house 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. today (Tuesday) at the Cascade People’s Center (sorry for the late notice!).

This is the last timber-supported bridge in the city, a huge earthquake hazard that is past its useful life.

It is also where Brian Fairbrother died in 2011 after he apparently missed the turn onto the trail’s makeshift path and crashed on the stairs down to the floating walking path. The city has since installed barriers and signage to prevent a similar crash, but the larger problem remains: There is no properly-designed bike route to and across the bridge.

The initial design plans include a lot more space for separated bike lanes and sidewalks: (more…)

tags: eastlake, fairview ave n, sdot, south lake union

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