Seattle Bike Blog

I’m not a cyclist. Supporting safer streets is obvious once you ditch vehicle language

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 9, 2015

Seattle’s safe streets leaders are making headlines around the nation (and even a few overseas) for a deceivingly simple strategy to help keep a public conversation about transportation focused on safety: Choose your words wisely.

PeopleForBikes published a blog post last week highlighting a Seattle Neighborhood Greenways cheat sheet to help people avoid common language pitfalls that often derail conversations about safe streets. In essence, rather than talking about streets as a place where various modes jockey for space, SNG’s guide assumes streets are places for people to get around safely no matter which mode (or modes) they choose. The post has pretty much blown up in bicycling and safe streets circles, such as Streetsblog USA and the UK’s road.cc.

Readers of this blog probably recognize a lot of this language because Seattle Bike Blog has long tried to avoid dehumanizing, wonky and car-centric language (Michael Andersen of PeopleForBikes also interviewed me for the post). I in large part learned it from Bike Portland, a 2013 survey by Cascade Bicycle Club and other people around the world writing about safe streets. It can be a little awkward at first (“driver” is shorter than “person driving”), but it also forces you to rethink statements that unintentionally leave the people out of the conversation. (more…)

tags: michael andersen, peopleforbikes, seattle neighborhood greenways

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Have you found the yellow ‘unicorn’ Pronto bike yet?

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 6, 2015

Image from Pronto

499 are green. One is yellow.

Pronto Cycle Share has launched its first “unicorn bike.” It’s a new marketing scheme and game where they put one special yellow bike into circulation and encourage people to post on social media using the hashtag #VitaminP when they find it.

It’s rainy and grim out, so the yellow bike is supposed to be like a little bit of sunshine. Riding a bike can help but cheer you up, so it’s like medicine in a Seattle winter. It definitely works that way for me.

If you spot the bike and post about it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you’ll have a chance to win a prize.

While this unicorn bike is solely promotional for Pronto, the concept could also be used for sponsored marketing campaigns. For example, when I was last in Chicago, I found the Divvy #blackhawksbike, which promoted the start of the NHL team’s season. It was surprisingly fun to find the one bike that is different than the others. I even had some guy in a pickup roll down his window next to me and congratulate me on finding it (I thought he was gonna yell some anti-bike stuff at me, so that was a pleasant surprise).

Now, I must find the yellow Pronto and ride it. Rain be damned.

UPDATE: Here’s an update on Pronto usage in the 15 weeks since it launched: (more…)

tags: pronto emerald city cycle share, unicorn bike, vitaminp

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City will remove one of the Sher Kung ghost bikes

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 5, 2015

Photo taken September 1, 2014

As news spread that a young and popular lawyer had died biking to work downtown, mourners came to 2nd and University to pay their respects. Many left flowers, some left notes. Two people brought ghost bikes. One person even left a copy of a book about fighting for LGBT rights, a cause Kung was dedicated to furthering.

She was on the legal team that won a case that became instrumental in the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell military policy barring openly gay service members. This made the site of the spontaneous memorial to her even more powerful, since it is also home to the Garden of Remembrance honoring military veterans.

Now, the city is getting ready to remove one of the two ghost bikes left in Kung’s honor, but they want everyone to know why. SDOT Community Engagement Liaison Dawn Schellenberg reached out to Seattle Bike Blog to explain that, being on the busy corner, it interferes with heavy walking traffic. The second ghost bike is further from the corner and will remain there.

From SDOT:

To help with pedestrian movement, the Seattle Department of Transportation is preparing to remove one of the two ghost bikes commemorating Sher Kung’s memory. The one being removed is closest to the intersection and curb ramp. The reason we’d like to remove it is to help with pedestrian congestion/movement in the area. The department will follow typical procedures and tag the bike with a 72 hour removal notice prior. Currently there are no plans to remove the second ghost bike.

(more…)

tags: 2nd ave, dawn schellenberg, ghost bikes, sdot, sher kung

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Sound Transit wants to allow more time to find Northgate bike/walk bridge funds

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 5, 2015

The Northgate biking and walking bridge would connect North Seattle Community College and its surrounding neighborhood to Sound Transit’s planned light rail station on the opposite side of I-5. It would also provide a rare comfortable crossing of the wide freeway in the north end.

But the project remains about $15 million underfunded, and existing agreements between Seattle and Sound Transit say the transit agency will drop the $5 million it committed to the project if full funding is not found by July. After the city failed to win a competitive Federal TIGER grant, regional and city leaders — including King County Council Chair Larry Phillips, Seattle City Councilmembers Mike O’Brien, Tom Rasmussen and Sally Bagshaw, State Senator David Frockt and State Representatives Jessyn Farrell and Gerry Pollet — got together to request more time to find the funds.

In a recent response, Sound Transit staff say they will recommend that their Board extend the deadline to February 2016. While not a huge amount of extra time, it will give leaders more opportunities to identify funding options.

Details from Sound Transit (read the whole letter in this PDF): (more…)

tags: david frockt, gerry pollet, jessyn farrell, larry phillips, mike o’brien, northgate, northgate station, northgate station bridge, sally bagshaw, sound transit, tom rasmussen

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How you can get a taste of the future 520 Trail connecting the Eastside and Seattle

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 4, 2015

The 520 highway expansion project is a $4.47 billion investment mostly focused on car travel. The planned connections into Seattle remain unfunded by at least $1.6 billion, and the state’s Seattle designs still present a lot of walking and biking safety challenges in Montlake (more on that soon). But let’s ignore all that for a just a moment and focus on a truly awesome element of the megaproject: A wide, grade-separated 520 Trail.

As WSDOT wraps up major work on the Eastside 520 corridor, the new center-lane bus stops, park lids and trail connections are now open between Lake Washington and I-405. It’s a sea of concrete with a wide, grade-separated walking and biking path attached to it that feels more like a bicycle freeway than a trail.

Until planned connections to Seattle and the rest of the existing 520 trail east of I-405 are completed, the trail really serves mainly as a local access and recreation path. But it’s not hard to imagine a busy mix of commuters, school kids and folks just out for a stroll when this new trail becomes the most direct connection between Seattle, Kirkland, north Bellevue and Redmond.

Here’s a look at how the new trail works. (more…)

tags: bellevue, evergreen point, hunt’s point, kirkland, medina, sr 520, yarrow point

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The annual Seattle Bike Swap is Sunday

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

February 3, 2015

2012 Seattle Bike Swap

If you’re looking for rare bike parts, want to see some wares from local companies or are in the market for a good deal on a used bike, the annual Seattle Bike Swap is a good place to look.

Last year’s swap fell on a snow day, so many vendors and buyers didn’t make it out. This year’s swap is Sunday in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. If you want to get the first look at stuff, you can pay $20 for early entry. Otherwise, doors open at 9 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. It’s $5 at the door.

Details from Cascade Bicycle Club:

The Seattle Bike Swap is a bike bargain hunter’s paradise. This huge bike garage sale will have great deals on new and used bike related goods of all types and sizes. This sale is one day only so don’t miss it! (more…)

tags: cascade bicycle club, events, seattle bike swap

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