Seattle Bike Blog

Two people driving strike kids on bikes in Georgetown

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 26, 2014

Bike Master Plan (Blue = Protected bike lane, Green = Neighborhood greenway, Orange = Painted bike lane, Red = Trail)

Two different people driving struck two boys who were biking near Georgetown Playfield Monday afternoon, according to police.

An eight-year-old was struck while crossing Airport Way at Corson Ave and the Lucile Street overpass around 3:30 p.m. His 12-year-old friend saw the collision and rode over to help, but a different person driving through the intersection hit him.

The eight-year-old was not seriously injured, but the 12-year-old was transported to the hospital with a possible broken leg.

The intersection is a key connection between Beacon Hill and Georgetown, and the Lucile Street overpass has a walking and biking path leading to a recently-completed neighborhood greenway on 12th Ave S.

But once in Georgetown, the walking and biking environment becomes much less developed. Sidewalks are often in bad shape or missing and there are few quality bike lanes. Access around the playfield is particularly bad.

The Bike Master Plan calls for protected bike lanes on Airport Way and bike lanes on Corson, an unnecessarily scary street that feels more like a highway on-ramp than a neighborhood street.

Best wishes to these kids. I hope they heal up fast and get back on their bikes. I also hope the experience wasn’t too scary for them. Kids shouldn’t need to be afraid of their own streets.

More details from SDOT: (more…)

tags: airport way, corson ave, georgetown, injuries, lucile st

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Pronto membership sales start today – UPDATED

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 25, 2014

Pronto announced two “founding member” deals

It’s really happening. Today, you can buy a membership for a Seattle public bike share system.

Pronto memberships go went on sale at noon (see below for an update). As we reported last week, the first 600 people to register will get a special blue member key to show off their “founding member” status. After the first 600 are sold, you will still be able to buy regular memberships.

But the folks at Pronto have sweetened the pot a bit, and there will be two options for founding members: One costs the same as a regular membership ($85), but comes with a t-shirt and a free 24-hour pass to share with a friend. The other costs $125 and gets you all that plus a Pronto tote and five 24-hour passes to share with friends.

There is no “penalty” for buying your annual membership early since the clock will not start until there are bikes on the street, scheduled for ~~mid-to-late September~~ (UPDATE: The Pronto site now says October 13).

System members will get a key fob that they can scan at any of the 50 Pronto stations near the city center and in the U District to check out one of 500 hill-climbing, 7-speed bikes. They get unlimited 30-minute rides for the whole year. Since a 24-hour pass will cost $8, the $85 membership is a killer deal.

If you have a bike out for longer than 30 minutes at a time, you will start accruing fees. But if you need more time to get where you’re going, you can always swing by a nearby station and check in to restart the clock. Pronto just wants to know you’re still using it and discourage people from locking it up outside a coffee shop or taking long rides into the sunset.

Memberships will be available for purchase at ProntoCycleShare.com.

Obviously, we will be trying to buy a membership when they go on sale and will update this post when that happens.

UPDATE: After 30 minutes of tech issues and swamped servers, checkout was a breeze: (more…)

tags: bike share, pronto emerald city cycle share

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White Center businesses continue push for much-needed bike corral

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 22, 2014

A group of White Center businesses are still working to solve their street’s bike parking crunch by converting two car parking spaces in front of Proletariat Pizza and Caffe Delia into a bike corral for 20 bikes.

But being (just barely) outside the Seattle city limits means they can’t simply request one through Seattle’s bike parking program, so they are forging new territory in King County. the White Center Community Development Association applied for and won a King County grant to make the corral happen, and supporters have been working to educate others in the community about the benefits of having enough secure and convenient bike parking.

There will be another community meeting to discuss the project at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Sheriff’s storefront on 16th Ave SW just south of Roxbury.

There is resistance against the idea, which is one reason it has been delayed so far. Here’s a recent note from Proletariat Pizza via facebook: (more…)

tags: caffe delia, proletariat pizza, white center, white center now

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New SDOT Director wisely adds bike signals to 2nd Ave bike lane design, could open by Sept. 8

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 21, 2014

The 2nd Ave protected bike lane project appears to be ahead of its original ambitious schedule, and Publicola reports that the lane could open as early as ~~Labor Day weekend~~ (UPDATE: SDOT’s Dawn Schellenberg says their current goal date is September 8, not Labor Day weekend).

But that’s not even today’s best news about downtown Seattle’s first protected bike lane. The city has given second thoughts to its original plan to direct people on bikes to follow the existing walk signal and will install bike-specific signals at every intersection after all.

This removes my biggest worry about the city’s quick and relatively low-budget plans for the pilot project from Pike to Yesler, which the city is billing as a demonstration of the potential for more protected bike lanes in the city center. Since people on bikes are used to following general traffic lights, it might have felt a bit unnatural to ignore them in this case and follow the pedestrian signal instead. By deciding to install bike signals, the city is removing doubt about when people biking should stop to safely allow left-turning motor vehicle traffic.

Publicola reports that the choice to go with bike signals came from incoming SDOT Director Scott Kubly, a good sign that Kubly not only prioritizes implementation (as he has said many times), but he also wants to do things right the first time. The design of the 2nd Ave bike lane is similar to one installed on Chicago’s busy Dearborn Street under his watch, so he should have a good idea about what elements are vital to making the project succeed.

(more…)

tags: 2nd ave, downtown, protected bike lanes, publicola, scott kubly

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Streets are for playing: Hopscotch CD is Saturday + Organize a Play Street in your neighborhood

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 21, 2014

The course, from the Hopscotch CD website

The first Hopscotch CD might have been the smiliest day ever in any neighborhood in Seattle ever (see photos here). Everyday streets were transformed into a neighborhood-wide community party, with people of all ages hopping past their neighbors’ homes in a very long hopscotch course.

Seriously, that’s it. The brain child of Knox Gardner of Jackson Commons (who was inspired by a project in Detroit), Hopscotch CD is basically an invitation to everyone in the Central District to come outside and hop down the street together. It’s simple and wonderful.

While not exactly a bike event, Hopscotch CD is emblematic of how powerful streets can be when they turn their focus towards community building and fun instead of just being pipes for cars. And the 2.9-mile route follows some potential neighborhood greenway routes, including Central Seattle Greenways’ favorite “ridge” concept along 20th, 19th and 18th Avenues. The route also connects the neighborhood’s 23rd Ave commercial centers at Jackson and Union. (more…)

tags: hopscotch cd, jackson commons, knox gardner, play streets

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The Green Lane Project loves the Broadway Bikeway (but illegal turns a problem)

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 20, 2014

You’ve already seen our thoughts on the Broadway Bikeway, but the lanes caught the eye of Michael Andersen at the national Green Lane Project due to the lengths the city went to work around the street’s many turning conflicts. His observations were posted at StreetsBlog USA.

The Broadway Bikeway is a two-way bike lane included as part of the First Hill Streetcar project as a way to maintain bike access and improve the safety of people on foot on this key commercial street. But it’s the way the city deals with driveways that piqued Andersen’s interest:

The resulting lanes are rare in one important way: they create a two-directional protected lane on one side of a two-way street. That’s a little-used design due to the large number of possible turning conflicts. But Seattle is showing that with enough money and care, it can be done.

(more…)

tags: broadway, broadway bikeway, capitol hill, capitol hill seattle, first hill streetcar, green lane project, michael andersen

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