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  • How to bike to the 2023 All-Star Game

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    Biking will be by far the best way to get to the 2023 All-Star Game. Though of course we think that biking is the best way to get just about anywhere in Seattle. But for real, I have left many busy Seattle sporting events, and no other option is even close to as good as biking. I recently went to a Sounders game that let out at the same time as a Mariners game, for example, and biking was a breeze. We met up at a restaurant afterwards with friends who didn’t bike, and we had time to finish a drink before they joined up. You might need to walk with crowds for a couple blocks, but then you get enough space to ride and it’s smooth sailing.

    You can find area bike maps, including the official Seattle bike map (2022 is the latest version) on our Bike Maps page. You can also find info about bike share on our Bike Share page. If you are visiting and have any other questions about biking in town, ask us in the comments below.

    Promo poster for Cascade Bicycle Club's free bike parking at the MLB All-Star Game with images of the bike valet in action. Open July 10 and 11 from 9AM to 8PM.
    Image from Cascade.

    The All-Star Game will be even easier to attend by bike than a typical Mariners’ game because Cascade Bicycle Club will be hosting their free bike valet service on Occidental Avenue S near the Lumen Field parking lot (bike valet map). This is the same location they use for Sounders games. Not only is bike valet wonderful and low-stress, but it also means you won’t need to try to navigate to the south side of the stadium to reach the bike cage inside the Mariners Garage on Edgar Martinez Drive S (bike cage map). The bike cage is still an option if it is more convenient, but the bike valet will be much better connected to most of the city’s bike network.

    Transit service from King County Metro (local buses), Sound Transit (light rail and some regional buses) and Kitsap Transit (fast ferries across the bay) will also be free July 10 and 11. Or, you know, walking is nice. Just don’t drive.

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  • Watch: Bill Nye rants about highways in 1995 (full segment)

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    This is not the first time we’ve posted a Bill Nye video on this site, and I doubt it will be the last. The prolific entertainer and engineer best known for serving on the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board also had a little-known KCTS science show for children that was widely syndicated and made him a mainstay on TVs throughout the nation.

    An excerpt from Season 3 Episode 4 (first aired in 1995) of Bill Nye the Science Guy has been making the rounds on social media lately because, well, it’s great. The part going around is his rant about highways (18:15), but there’s a lot of great Seattle scenes and segments on adaptive cycles and a youth low-rider bicycle group. At one point he fires Scotty (yes that Scotty) because he can’t beam his car out of traffic (“I’m givin’ ‘er all she’s got, Science Guy”). He also drives a grass-covered car on the Viaduct, tells a King County Metro bus driver to “punch it,” and pretends that the SeaTac Airport train is a real subway. And then there’s a transportation parody rap by Carpoolio, which could not possibly be more mid-90s. This show was so good.

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  • Latest Alaskan Way design includes continuous waterfront bike lane with plan for cruise detours

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    Map showing a west-side protected bike lane.
    map showing the bike detour between Blanchard and Wall Streets.
    Images from SDOT.

    The city plans to build a continuous bike lane on the waterfront side of Alaskan Way under the latest design, SDOT announced Monday. Rather than permanently detour the bike route across Alaskan Way twice within a couple blocks, the new design includes a detour plan for use only during busy cruise ship loading times in the area around Pier 66. This compromise solution came together after significant discussions between the Port of Seattle, Cascade Bicycle Club and the city. A recent push by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways also got more members of the public involved, sending letters of bike lane support directly to Port Commissioners.

    Cascade celebrated the news, writing in an email to supporters that “more than 700 of you joined us to ask planners to ‘go back to the drawing board.’ They did just that.”

    “The new design creates a continuous, protected bike lane that will be open the majority of the year,” Cascade continued. “There will be a short detour only during cruise hours so that we can bike around the chaotic crowds (and their luggage). When it’s complete, families, visitors, commuters, and others can ride safely and comfortably along the waterfront without zig-zagging across the street and back for most of the year.” Cascade is encouraging people to use their handy online form to send a thank you note to the city’s transportation officials and leaders that also encourages sturdy bollards to protect the bike lane and intuitive signage and signalling when the detour is in place.

    During cruise operations, the detour would cross at Blanchard and Wall Streets, which already have traffic signals. The path would then follow a path that is partially built already, though it appears the city will need to remove more of the old George Benson Streetcar tracks to create space for the path. Below are diagrams of the two intersections from SDOT:

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  • Seattle scores 62/100 in bike-friendly ranking, good enough for 3rd place among big U.S. cities

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    Bar chart showing the scores of the top 10 large U.S. cities. Minneapolis is first, San Francisco is second, and Seattle is third. Portland is down in fifth.
    From People For Bikes.

    Bike-friendly city rankings are a bit silly, but there’s usually some interesting things we can learn from them. There are so many variables that make places different and might impact a person’s experience riding a bike in them that distilling an entire city’s bikeability down to a number is impossible. For example, I’m guessing someone who lives along Rainier Avenue, which has no bike lanes and no comparable alternative bike routes, might scoff at the idea that Seattle is the third best large U.S. city for biking. But that’s where People For Bikes placed our city in its 2023 Best Places to Bike list.

    But before Seattle goes and gets a big head about its spot on the bike-friendly podium, the city only scored a 62 out of 100. Only cities with 80 points or more are considered places where “most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes,” according to People For Bikes. So there’s still a lot of work left to do. Unfortunately, the competition to be the most bike-friendly city in the U.S. just is not very fierce. There are many places where people talk about being bike-friendly, but not enough places are actually out investing in making the necessary changes.

    Bar chart showing the distribution of ratings among U.S. cities. The tallest bar is for scores between 10 and 20 with a bell curve distribution around it. One 5% of cities scored higher than 50.
    Seattle scored a 62, which is unfortunately elite among U.S. cities. This chart includes cities of all sizes.
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  • SDOT begins study of CM Strauss’s Leary Way concept for the Missing Link + Legal update on Shilshole

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    Map comparing the Shilshole route to the 17th/Leary/Market route.

    At the urging of Councilmember Dan Strauss and with Mayor Bruce Harrell’s support, SDOT is beginning early design work on a potential alternative for the Burke-Gilman Trail Missing Link in Ballard. Though the city has a design fully completed and ready for construction along Shilshole Ave NW, the construction permits are held up in court as opponents continue their decades-long campaign to stop the project. The latest delays spurred CM Strauss to ask SDOT to study an alternative he hopes can avoid further lawsuits and get a walking and biking connection built.

    SDOT has not abandoned the Shilshole plan, but they are developing a Leary plan in addition to it. They hope to have the design up to the 30% mark by the end of 2023. They even have a very simple online feedback form you can complete that includes one open-ended prompt: “Tell us your feedback.”

    Trail advocates are sort of in a position of limbo. The Shilshole plan is fully designed and was the preference of the vast majority of people during the drawn-out design and environmental review process. But Leary Way and Market both need big safety upgrades, and a protected bike route along there would be genuinely awesome. But it also feels like a different project than the trail. Then again, there’s funding to make improvements now, and we don’t know how long these court battles will last. But also, how do we know this project won’t also get sued into oblivion? If we’re basing that assumption on the word of the appellants, well, we’ve fallen for that trick before. So keeping both options open seems like a good strategy. ¿Por qué no los dos?

    “We’re open to the Leary/Market study as long as it doesn’t add any delay to Shilshole,” Cascade Bicycle Club Executive Director Lee Lambert told Seattle Bike Blog.

    Pie chart showing 77% support for the Shilshole South route for the trail and 5% for Leary.
    From the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (AKA the Missing Link Mega Study).

    Latest legal challenge

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  • Man who killed Michael Colmant sentenced to 20 months in prison for vehicular homicide and hit-and-run

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    A small airplane and Boeing Field mementos sit on the ground near the ghost bike.
    2021 photo of the memorial for Colmant near the site of the fatal collision.

    Julian Hamilton, 25, pleaded guilty to hitting and killing Michael Colmant in April 2021 and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

    Hamilton was driving under the influence after drinking in the park when he crossed to the wrong side of Seward Park Ave S just east of the intersection with Wilson Ave S and collided head-on with Colmant, who was biking downhill toward the park. Hamilton then fled the scene and tried to hide the damaged vehicle in Tacoma. He did not turn himself in. He was arrested a year and a half later thanks to a tip that came in after the King County Council offered a $50,000 reward for information in the case. Colmant was a King County employee who worked at Boeing Field.

    Q13 News has a report that includes Hamilton’s tearful apology in the court room as well as statements from Colmant’s loved ones.

    “I’m sorry for my actions that day and the delay in justice,” he said, reading a prepared statement. “I’m sorry I didn’t come forward sooner. I was afraid of the consequences. But I know this is the right thing to do.”

    “There is no sentence that will give him the justice he deserves, and no sentence handed down will bring him back,” said a statement from Colmant’s step-daughter read in court.

    (more…)
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Jul
18
Thu
7:15 pm Point83 @ Westlake Park
Point83 @ Westlake Park
Jul 18 @ 7:15 pm
Point83 @ Westlake Park
Meet up in the center of the park at 7ish. Leave at 730. Every Thursday from now until forever rain or shine. Bikes, beers, illegal firepits, nachos, bottlerockets, timetraveling, lollygagging, mechanicals, good times.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
Jul
20
Sat
9:30 pm World Naked Bike Ride: Full Moon… @ Seattle Rep Parking Lot
World Naked Bike Ride: Full Moon… @ Seattle Rep Parking Lot
Jul 20 @ 9:30 pm
World Naked Bike Ride: Full Moon Ride @ Seattle Rep Parking Lot | Seattle | Washington | United States
Celebrate the Buck Moon by adorning your bicycle with blinky & twinkly lights. It’s the height of summer – warm nights and easy riding with friends. Saturday July 20 Parking Lot at Mercer St &[…]
Jul
25
Thu
7:15 pm Point83 @ Westlake Park
Point83 @ Westlake Park
Jul 25 @ 7:15 pm
Point83 @ Westlake Park
Meet up in the center of the park at 7ish. Leave at 730. Every Thursday from now until forever rain or shine. Bikes, beers, illegal firepits, nachos, bottlerockets, timetraveling, lollygagging, mechanicals, good times.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
Jul
27
Sat
all-day Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washing…
Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washing…
Jul 27 – Jul 28 all-day
Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washington Blvd
Details from Seattle Parks: On scheduled weekends from May to September, a portion of Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized vehicles from 10 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday. “Seattle Parks and Recreation[…]
Jul
28
Sun
all-day Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washing…
Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washing…
Jul 28 – Jul 29 all-day
Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washington Blvd
Details from Seattle Parks: On scheduled weekends from May to September, a portion of Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized vehicles from 10 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday. “Seattle Parks and Recreation[…]
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