Seattle Bike Blog

SDOT finalizes RapidRide J design with complete Eastlake bike lanes, plans to begin construction in summer 2024

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 27, 2023

Seattle has completed the design for the RapidRide J project, which includes complete and protected bike lanes on Eastlake Ave. The design even includes protected bike lanes on the block immediately south of the University Bridge, which was lacking protection in an earlier design. Thanks to many years of persistent advocacy, the project is poised to serve as a vital piece of the region’s bike network. The next steps are to put it out to bid, select a contractor, and then begin work hopefully in the summer of 2024. RapidRide bus service could begin in 2027, though the roadway and bike lane work would likely be open before then. The contractor will determine more construction timeline specifics.
This is great news for biking, walking and transit access in and through Eastlake especially but also along part of Fairview Ave N to South Lake Union and along 11th Ave NE in the U District. People have been asking for bike lanes on Eastlake Ave for decades because it is the only direct and complete route option between the University Bridge and downtown. It is also the main street for the Eastlake neighborhood, and the lack of a safe and comfortable biking space makes it difficult for people to bike to businesses there.
This news is also a clear sign that the erratic efforts by a slim majority of the Eastlake Community Council, which included ousting 40% of their board members because they supported the RapidRide project, have not been successful at changing the city’s intention to build this project as designed. They were, however, successful at destroying their organization’s reputation and legitimacy. I’m not privy to all the workings within the ECC, but it seems news of the ousting was not received well among the larger membership. Council President Detra Segar, who led the ouster, is no longer on the Board. She announced that she would not seek another term in the Fall 2023 issue of The Eastlake News (PDF) following a tepid defense of her failed efforts to oppose the RapidRide project. Meanwhile, one of the ousted members, Judy Smith, penned an op-ed in the Seattle Times that does a great job acknowledging the changes the neighborhood is being asked to accept while making the case that it will be worth it. Can you imagine kicking a thoughtful volunteer like this off your community board?
This is a top priority bike connection that will improve bike mobility for the whole region, but it is also an improvement for the neighborhood. Most of the on-street parking will be removed along Eastlake Ave, which is a big change, but the project will also bring major benefits. Folks are being asked to make a leap of faith here and believe that a more walkable and bikeable street with better transit service will make up for the decrease in parking. Changes like these always face skepticism. But Eastlake is a neighborhood that has been severely harmed by car infrastructure built primarily for the benefit of people outside of Eastlake, and the roar of I-5 overhead is a constant reminder of this. But despite all this, Eastlake has long had a strong base of residents who get around on bike thanks to its proximity to so many major employment and destination centers. It’s long past time for an Eastlake Ave built for the people who actually live there, not just people driving in or through from somewhere else.
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tags: 11th ave ne, 12th ave ne, eastlake, eastlake community council, fairview ave n, rapidride j, sdot, university bridge, university district

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Council approves deal to pave over the Missing Link tracks under the Ballard Bridge

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 25, 2023

Photo from SDOT shows white paint outline of the planned paving area.
Within hours after the City Council approved a deal with the railroad now formerly known as the Ballard Terminal Railroad Tuesday, SDOT crews had already marked out the area under the Ballard Bridge where they plan to pave over both the railroad tracks and gravel pits in order to create a safe bicycle pathway.
Work is set to begin “hopefully this week,” according to Councilmember Dan Strauss who facilitated this agreement process through the Council. Strauss is not the Transportation Committee Chair, but the track crossing is in his district.
The fix should finally end, or at least substantially reduce, the number of people who will crash while biking through this particular area of the Ballard Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail. Countless people have been injured crossing these tracks, which cut a shallow angle across the roadway that makes it difficult and awkward for riders to cross them at a safer 90-degree angle. Additionally, the gap between the roadway surface and the tracks is uneven and irregular. These factors combine to create a situation where people’s tires can slip into the gap, which then “grabs” their wheels and sends riders crashing with little to no warning. Others have crashed because the rails can get very slippery when wet and the sharp turning maneuvers required to cross the tracks mean people’s tires may still be in contact with the rails when they lean into a turn.
The design plan. Those white shapes are the Ballard Bridge supports.
Crashing on the tracks here has long been a sad rite of passage for people biking in Seattle, who may not have heard about the danger of the Missing Link before riding through. But even seasoned riders have crashed here because all it takes is a slight misjudgment, such as straightening out too soon or turning before your wheels are clear of the wet tracks, for something to go wrong.
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tags: ballard, ballard terminal railroad, burke-gilman trail, dan strauss, meeker southern railroad, missing link, sdot

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E Marginal Way remake delayed due to old railroad agreement confusion

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 23, 2023

Getting permission to realign the dormant-but-technicially-still-active tracks has proven very difficult.
Confusion over the rights to a mostly unused and perhaps even forgotten rail line has delayed work on a major designed and funded remake of East Marginal Way between downtown and the West Seattle bridges. As we reported in April, the contract for construction has been awarded with work scheduled to begin right about now. But due to this rail delay as well as a delay in replacing a water main, work is now expected to start in early 2024 and wrap up in 2026.
The Seattle Times’ David Kroman reported that SDOT has had a difficult time figuring out who even owns an active agreement with the city to use the tracks, which are so overgrown that there are bushes growing in them in places. But federal laws have a lot of protections for preserving rail lines, so the city must get permission from any railroad operators who have active agreements before altering the tracks. The street’s design plan would remove the tracks directly adjacent to the roadway near S Hanford Street and reactivate a set of tracks located closer to and under the elevated SR-99 freeway instead. So the railway path will not be eliminated, but it would be altered enough that permission is required.
However, it has taken years to figure out who even has the rights to the tracks because both BNSF and Union Pacific did not even realize they owned them, Kroman reported:
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tags: bnsf, marginal way, megan hoyt, port of seattle, s hanford street, s horton street, sdot, union pacific

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Transportation advocacy endorsements for the 2023 general election

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 20, 2023

Your ballot for the November 7 general election should be in your mailbox or in the mail. If you have not yet registered, don’t worry. Eligible voters have until October 30 to register or update your address online. After that date, voters will need to register in person at a voting center.
With all Seattle City Council district seats up for election, this is a pivotal moment for Seattle’s government. The next Council will be the ones to decide how big and bold next year’s transportation ballot measure should be, for example. The voters can only vote on whatever the Mayor and Council agree to send to them, so we need to elect a Council majority that favors going big for safe streets, connected bike routes and reliable transit. These decisions will guide transportation investments for most of the next decade.
Below are the endorsements from Washington Bikes (WB), Transportation for Washington (T4W), the Transit Riders Union (TRU), and The Urbanist (URB). If you want to know who will support walking, biking and transit, take a look at who these organizations are supporting.
This year, the choices are unanimous for Seattle City Council. Every organization endorsed the same slate of candidates, which should say a lot (the only deviation was the Transit Riders Union choosing no endorsement for Districts 6 and 7). I’ve been putting these endorsement roundups together for several years now, and these orgs are not always unanimous like this (you can even see some slight deviation in the races beyond Seattle). Filling out your ballot might be very simple this year. So don’t delay. Get it filled out and returned before it gets lost in a pile of junk or something.
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tags: 2023 general election, city council, voters guide

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Greenways: How to improve the Seattle Transportation Plan

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 19, 2023

People have a lot of hopes for Seattle’s bike network that were not featured in a previous draft. From the Draft Seattle Transportation Plan (PDF).
The Seattle Transportation Plan will guide the next 20 years of local investments in our streets, so it’s very important that we get this right.
Most immediately, the plan will form the basis for the transportation funding measure that Seattle will need to send to voters in 2024 to replace the expiring Move Seattle Levy. So this plan is not just a long-term plan, it will have a nearly immediate affect on what kind of work gets funding and by how much.
You will be asked to make a lot of comments on both this plan and the next funding measure over the next year, so buckle up. Every single step is very important and well worth your time. This is the biggest decision point for our city in the next decade. This is the time to not only talk about what kind of city we want to be and what outcomes we value most, but to put our funding where our mouths are.
Below is a list of suggested improvements for the plan that Seattle Neighborhood Greenways put together. They also include instructions on how you can support their ideas through the city’s feedback hub or via SNG’s advocacy alert form. From SNG:
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tags: seattle neighborhood greenways, seattle transportation plan

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Wednesday: Catch my all-new book presentation at Cascade’s HQ

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 16, 2023

From Cascade.
If you have already attended one of my Biking Uphill in the Rain presentations, then you’ve heard about the early history of biking in Seattle. I’m excited to debut an all-new presentation at Cascade Bicycle Club’s Magnuson Park headquarters 6 p.m. Wednesday (October 18). Register on the Cascade website.
The new talk picks up where the previous talk ended and will follow the development of Seattle’s modern bicycle movement. So it should be interesting even if you have already been to one of my book events. There will also be a Q&A after the presentation. Phinney Books will be there to sell copies, or you can bring your own to get it signed.
Paul Tolmé from Cascade recently posted a great write-up after reading the book, focusing on sections about Cascade. “Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from Behind the Handlebars is a must-read for anyone who cares about bicycling in Seattle,” Tolmé wrote. “Fucoloro introduces readers to the people whose work in past decades benefits everyone who rides a bike today.”
The Stranger’s Adam Willems also wrote about the book recently, featuring a great Q&A.

tags: biking uphill in the rain, cascade bicycle club, events

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