Seattle Bike Blog

Someone keeps stealing from Bike Works, so now they’re low on BMX bikes

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 25, 2014

Bike theft sucks, but stealing from Bike Works? That’s seriously messed up.

Unfortunately, some person (or persons) missing a moral compass has been hitting Bike Works hard this past week, stealing as many as 20 bikes that young bike repair students had put their hearts into fixing to get them ready to be given to other kids whose families are unable to easily afford a new bike.

“Break-ins like this make it that much harder to get bikes to youth who really need them,” said Bike Works Executive Director Deb Salls in a press release.

Many of those stolen were BMX bikes, which are pretty much the coolest and most in-demand kind of bike a kid can have. So if you have a BMX ride sitting around that you can spare (or if you’ve been looking for an excuse to upgrade), now would be a great time to bring it down to Bike Works at Ferdinand and Rainier in Columbia City.

More details from Bike Works: (more…)

tags: bike thefts, bike works

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Pronto starts installing station docks, helmet vending machines won’t be ready for launch

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 24, 2014

This is not actually Seattle. It’s from Bay Area Bike Share, but Seattle’s warehouse probably looks pretty similar right about now.

With just weeks to go before 500 Pronto Cycle Share bikes are scheduled to fill the streets of Seattle, workers will begin installing the 50 station docks this week. This is a big step for the bike share system, and it will be a chance for people to start getting familiar with station locations.

Speaking of locations, you can see them on this map.

But one feature won’t be part of the docks: A fully functional bike helmet vending machine to allow people to rent and return helmets with their bike rentals (read about Pronto’s helmet plans in our previous report). Seattle is pioneering the rental system, but it won’t be ready until next year, Pronto said today in a statement.

So until then, theoretically-clean helmets will be available for free from an unlocked bin near each station, and users will be on the honor system to return the helmets to the “dirty” bin when they are done with them. Pronto workers will clean and inspect the helmets before restocking the clean bin. (more…)

tags: helmet laws, pronto emerald city cycle share

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Thoughts on SPD bike enforcement: Focus on safety (also, King 5 gets bike laws wrong)

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 24, 2014

King 5 has been pressing Seattle PD on the issue of enforcing traffic laws on people who bike and has a report out this morning saying that recent SPD bike law efforts are switching from giving out warnings to giving out tickets.

We here at Seattle Bike Blog are totally in favor of reasonable and safety-focused bike law enforcement. For example, with the new protected bike lanes on 2nd it is important that people obey the new bike traffic signals. Most do, but there are always some people who don’t (as is true for all modes of transportation). And that’s where enforcement is useful.

Another example is yielding to people walking. While people driving are still much, much, much more likely to injure or kill someone on foot, this is one of the few situations where someone biking can seriously hurt someone else. It is very rare, but as this week’s terrible incident in New York’s Central Park shows, it can and does happen.

So it was good to hear from Detective Patrick Michaud that safety around people walking is their top priority in the enforcement efforts. From King 5:

“The majority of bicyclists do follow the rules, and just like drivers, there are the few that do break the law,” said Det. Patrick Michaud of the Seattle Police Department.

…

“We want to reinforce that it’s everybody’s duty to be out there using the roads safely,” said Michaud. “The thing that we’re most worried about [are] the pedestrians.”

However, the King 5 report troublingly also lists a series of supposed infractions that are not against the law (or at least not always), such as: (more…)

tags: helmet laws, king 5, spd

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Mayor’s budget: More downtown bike lanes, bike share in the CD, revamped Summer Streets

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 23, 2014

Watch Murray’s budget speech on Seattle Channel.

Mayor Ed Murray unveiled his first ever city budget Monday afternoon, which includes big investments in neighborhoods, an expansion of the Summer Streets program, more funding for protected bike lanes downtown and an expansion of Pronto Cycle Share into the Central District and Yesler Terrace.

But the mayor also noted that some big changes in transportation funding must come next year when the Bridging the Gap property tax levy expires at the end of 2015. Without new funding, the transportation budget will be slashed across the board in 2016. This will be terrible for bike and walk funding as well as needed paving and bridge repair work.

He reiterated his campaign promise to “end the transportation mode wars” by creating an integrated plan for funding all needs, setting the stage for the next transportation funding effort. Stay tuned for more on how to get involved in the building of that effort, which will begin before too long.

Of course, the budget still needs to go through the City Council, which can make changes as they see fit. So stay tuned for that process, as well.

Below is a look as some of the biking and walking changes to the budget. (more…)

tags: 2015 budget, bicycle sunday, downtown, ed murray, pronto emerald city cycle share, protected bike lanes, summer streets, sunday parkways

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Sign advertising ‘Bike Thief School’ directs interested students to vasectomy clinic

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 23, 2014

Image posted by Washington Bike Law. I blacked out the phone number since Dr Snip’s clinic doesn’t need its phone lines tied up.

Here’s one way to vent some frustration over the bike theft scourge: Humor.

Washington Bike Law (a Seattle Bike Blog sponsor) posted this photo on their Facebook page. Stapled to a telephone pole in West Seattle, the flyer advertises a bike theft school including a list of teaser lessons such as “How new traffic on the 2nd Ave bike lane can help YOU.”

But, of course, the number on the pull tabs is not for bike theft school. And it’s not for a secret police sting either (though that would be even funnier). It’s for Dr. Snip, a vasectomy clinic.

Burn.

tags: bike thefts, dr snip, washington bike law

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Plans developing for protected bike lanes on Fauntleroy, meeting Tuesday

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

September 22, 2014

From the city’s Bike Master Plan, this stretch of Fauntleroy is a key connection.

Plans for a very-much-needed remake of a key section of Fauntleroy Way SW in West Seattle are moving forward, and the city is looking for input.

There will be a community meeting to discuss the project Tuesday, 5 – 7 p.m. at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon Street). If you cannot attend, send your thoughts to [email protected].

The project is less than a half-mile long and stretches from SW Alaska Street to 35th Ave SW (AKA I-35), but it’s a key stretch in a fast-growing part of the neighborhood. The route would connect nearly to the Junction from Avalon Way, a well-used bike commute route. The Bike Master Plan calls for protected bike lanes on Fauntleroy, Alaska, Avalon and 35th, so this stretch could be the first and a key central piece in the neighborhood’s future low-stress bike network.

Project design has also come a long way since 2012, when early design did not include any bike lanes, let alone the type of protected bike lanes needed to make the street comfortable for people of all ages and abilities to use to get around the neighborhood to or to regional and commuter bike routes. (more…)

tags: fauntleroy green boulevard, fauntleroy way, sdot, tom rasmussen, west seattle

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