Seattle Bike Blog

Vision Zero Bellevue? The Eastside city is crafting a plan + Take this wikimap survey

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 3, 2015

Screenshot of Bellevue’s wikimap (click to contribute)

Bellevue is trying to identify and prioritize biking and walking safety needs, and they are reaching out for your help.

The Pedestrian & Bicycle Implementation Initiative (“PBII”) has launched a wikimap survey, which lets you go pretty in-depth in reporting challenges to safe cycling or walking in the city. You just drop a point on the map, then answer some survey questions describing the problem and what kinds of infrastructure or enforcement you think could help.

Earlier this year, Bellevue City Council launched the PBII, which is basically an effort to actually implement the city’s 2009 Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan.

“Rather than undertaking another multi- year planning process to update the plan, Council voted unanimously on February 17, 2015 in favor of initiating the Pedestrian & Bicycle Implementation Initiative (PBII)—a complement of action-oriented strategies to advance the projects and programs identified by the 2009 Plan,” reads the PBII document (PDF). (more…)

tags: bellevue, bellevue pedestrian & bicycle implementation initiative, Franz Loewenherz, vision zero bellevue

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Dearborn bike lane improvements will connect downtown to I-90 Trail, SE Seattle bike routes – UPDATED

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 3, 2015

This terrible shifting bike lane will get a sorely-needed upgrade. Photo from SDOT.

Dearborn Street is both flat and useful. So even though it is not packed with destinations itself and though it serves the motor vehicle network mostly as a way to access I-5 and haul freight, it is also a highly desireable bike route. It connects downtown neighborhoods to bike routes in central and southeast Seattle, as well as the I-90 Bridge.

But today, Dearborn only has a very skinny bike lane squished far off to the side of the street next to very fast-moving traffic. And at key points where Dearborn meets busy streets or highway ramps, the bike lane is either inadequate or disappears entirely.

That could change in a couple months as the city plans a major bike lane upgrade.

(more…)

tags: dearborn st, international district, protected bike lanes, sdot

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Would fewer draw bridge openings help your bike commute?

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 2, 2015

Photo by Taylor Kendall via Twitter. Used with permission

Getting stopped for a draw bridge is one of those truly Seattle experiences, especially for people on bikes. Three of the busiest bike route chokepoints in the city are bridges that open for maritime vessels: Fremont, University and Montlake Bridges.

Being on a bike lets you bypass the traffic backup and get up close to the action. Watching boats pass by is a chance to take a break and contemplate our beautiful city.

Which is all fun and games so long as you aren’t running late. Or getting soaked in the pouring rain.

And, of course, all the bus routes that use the draw bridges get thrown off-schedule and stuck in big traffic jams. And despite signs telling people to cut their engines, the number of idling cars waiting for bridges is awful for air quality and the environment. Thousands of people add minutes to their travel times, an effect that adds up fast during busy hours.

And those busy travel hours keep expanding as the city grows, bursting out of the two-hour windows during the morning and evening commutes when the city is not required to raise the bridges except for large commercial vessels.

So the city is conducting outreach now in an effort to change Coast Guard rules to limit the number of times draw bridges open for recreational water craft during busy travel hours. SDOT Director Scott Kubly told the Seattle Times that a schedule for “pleasure craft” openings could limit the number of openings.

“The pleasure craft, we want to have scheduled openings so people in their boats know when to show up, and motorists can plan accordingly,” he told the Times. (more…)

tags: ballard bridge, coast guard, fremont bridge, scott kubly, university bridge

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SPD officer responding to call strikes man biking downtown

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 2, 2015

Yet again more evidence for need for separated bike paths. 3rd/pine. pic.twitter.com/5j5rxWxp5h

— Marley Blonsky (@MarleyBlonsky) September 1, 2015

A Seattle Police officer driving a cruiser was responding to a high-priority call Monday evening when she collided with someone biking at 3rd and Pine.

The man was transported to the hospital, but SPD said his injuries were not serious.

The officer’s lights and sirens were on and SPD said she had a green light heading north on 3rd Ave when the man biking moved to the left in front of the officer.

This narrative matches up pretty closely with an account posted to reddit by someone who says they saw it happen and posted a photo from the scene.

An SPD supervisor arrived on the scene, and the incident was documented. Traffic Collision Investigators team chose not to take the case (TCI typically only investigate very serious collisions).

tags: 3rd ave, downtown, pine, spd

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Work on north-south Ballard neighborhood greenway gets underway

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 1, 2015

The city is starting construction on a long north-south neighborhood greenway in Ballard connecting Whitman Middle School to the Ballard business district.

As we reported earlier this year, this will be the first time two neighborhood greenways intersect. So in a way, it’s the beginning of an actual network of people-focused streets. One neighborhood greenway without connections is great. But each new connection multiplies the usefulness of every route.

Unfortunately, the route will initially stop just a couple blocks short of connecting to the Burke-Gilman Trail. The city plans to study that connection in the next year (if the Missing Link were completed, this wouldn’t be a problem).

Construction will be ongoing during Summer Parkways September 19, but shouldn’t interfere with the event, according to the project website. In fact, it could be a great way to give the route a try.

More details on the construction and schedule going forward this month: (more…)

tags: 17th ave nw, ballard, neighborhood greenways

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Salomon: Why construction can’t just close a neighborhood greenway without a safe detour

By

Andres Salomon

| Posted

August 31, 2015

EDITOR’S NOTE: Andres is a family-biking father dedicated to safe streets. He’s the leader of NE Seattle Greenways and sometimes contributes to Seattle Bike Blog. I encountered this closure the other day on a ride with several people, including Madi Carlson and her two kids, who were riding a tandem with a trail-a-bike on the back. This closure was a serious obstacle for them (she’s a well-documented bad ass, so obviously they powered through it). If neighborhood greenways are really supposed to be important people-focused transportation routes, closures like this give users the impression the city doesn’t actually take that goal seriously.

Recently, Sound Transit closed the 12th Ave NE Greenway for tunnel-related construction. This closure will last at least three months, and was done without providing a safe, welcoming, or even ADA-compliant detour.

Not only do we need to fix this, but we also need to ensure that any future neighborhood greenway closures provide a detour that accommodates All-Ages-and-Abilities (“AAA”) users.

The 12th Ave NE Greenway runs through the heart of the University District, two blocks west of The Ave. The northern part of it meets up with the buffered (and soon to be protected) bike lanes on NE Ravenna Blvd. This is a very desirable connection for families, as it provides a separated bike route connecting to Green Lake, Cowen Park, and Ravenna Park. Unfortunately, the street closure is just south of that connection, between NE 56th St and NE 58th St.

This closure includes the full street, as well as at least one sidewalk. On the north side of construction, there are confusing, and not very visible detour signs to direct cars and people walking in opposite directions. Following the wrong sign takes you to a parallel arterial street, which is exactly what someone using the greenway would be trying to avoid. (more…)

tags: 12th ave ne, andres salomon, neighborhood greenways, ravenna, seattle neighborhood greenways, sound transit, u district

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