Seattle Bike Blog

Pronto memberships go on sale noon Monday, first 600 get special blue keys

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 20, 2014

Only 600 people will get this coveted blue key.

Tune your web browser to prontocycleshare.com and ready your refresh button because memberships for Seattle’s bike share system go on sale at noon Monday.

The system is scheduled to launch next month, and they are counting on a lot of people to buy their $85 annual memberships before the 500 public bikes hit the streets.

To sweeten the pot, the first 600 members will receive a special blue system access key to show off their status as “founding members.” Founding members get exactly the same benefits as regular members, except their special blue Pronto keys guarantee them more friends and will make them more attractive (so I’ve been told).

If you are slow on registering, no worries. After the first 600 are sold, you will still be able to buy regular annual memberships with regular keys, and you’re plenty beautiful just the way you are.

Joking aside, this is a huge step for the bike share system, which will be the first modern public bike system in a major Pacific Northwest city. When it comes to bikes, Seattle is accustomed to following the lead of Portland or Vancouver, BC, so it’s exciting to see the city take the lead on a cycle transportation game-changer like this. All three cities were planning systems at the same time, but Portland and Vancouver balked. All eyes will be on Seattle when Pronto rolls out next month.

For more on Pronto, see our previous reporting on the station network, the bikes themselves and the innovative helmet vending solution to deal with King County’s all-ages helmet law. (more…)

tags: bike share, pronto emerald city cycle share

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Aken picked as Cascade’s new Advocacy Director, more staff changes coming

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 19, 2014

Jeff Aken. Image from Cascade.

Jeff Aken has been promoted from his job as Principal Planner at Cascade Bicycle Club to fill the Advocacy Director position vacated recently by Thomas Goldstein.

Aken said his advocacy style is all about collaboration, and his goal is to focus on “all-ages and abilities bike infrastructure and increasing funding, obviously, to get those things built.”

He praised the work of Washington Bikes and hopes to work with them and area politicians to keep progress moving not just in Seattle, but all around the region.

“Both Seattle and the region are at a tipping point with [Seattle’s] Bike Master Plan, things like the East Lake Sammamish Trail and how we are starting to string together regional trails,” he said.

But one of Aken’s first tasks will be to fill a hole left by Emily Kathrein, the club’s Field Programs Manager who announced recently that she will be leaving to work for the UW’s Commute Options Program. Among other projects, Kathrein ran the club’s innovative and effective Advocacy Leadership Institute, which empowers people with the tools they need to start building a grassroots movement for safe streets and bike access where they live or work. (more…)

tags: cascade bicycle club, elizabeth kiker, emily kathrein, jeff aken

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Man on bike tour struck near Shelton + Touring couple’s bikes stolen in Mount Vernon

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 19, 2014

Image from their tour website.

Bike touring is an amazing way to see a place, and touring in Washington State is among the best in the country. But two international groups on long bike trips ran into some terrible situations in the Puget Sound region in recent weeks.

A man from England who was on day number one of what should have been a bike tour down the west coast was struck and seriously inured near Shelton August 10. He was airlifted to Harborview after a pickup allegedly swerved to avoid another car and struck him on the highway shoulder.

According to a friend he was riding with who was tracking their travels on his blog, Steven Prime was left with a lot of broken bones but “nothing that will be long term.” Still, it’s a terrible and quick end to their tour. We wish Steven a speedy and full recovery.

From Dayle Walker’s blog:

After insulting my digestive system with a “breakfast sub” that contained steak and cheese the next ferry was arriving an hour and a half later and we boarded en route to Bremerton. The ferry ride was awesome.. as we sailed away we could see the Seattle Skyline and it was a beautiful sight.. with fresh sea air, jellyfish and a dog on the boat trying to sniff my leg it had it all… but an hour later we arrived into port and it was time to get back on the bikes. Hour and a half behind schedule Steve and I got a good start on the day and soon smashed out the first 37 miles.. to a town called Shelton. Here was our meeting point with Nathan and we were 40 mins early! We really got a great start on the day… We insulted our digestive system again this time with a “meatball sub” and refilled our bottles with ice… Steve was keen to get going to make up for the time we lost at the ferry port and so headed off on his own, while I waited on Nathan to turn up and would catch him up. Nathan arrives and shortly after we headed down the route to catch up with Steve… but we couldn’t find him… (more…)

tags: Anna Suthers, Billy Barnetson, cycleamerica2014, dayle walker, injuries, mount vernon, shelton, steven prime, thefts

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Pierce County passes complete streets ordinance

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 18, 2014

From now on, whenever Pierce County plans major road work the planners will need to consider the needs of all road users.

Earlier this month, the Pierce County Council adopted a complete streets ordinance that “promotes roadways that are safe and convenient for those of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motor vehicle drivers.”

Washington Bikes praised the ordinance, which has been at least half a decade in the making. Pierce County joins many other communities in the Puget Sound region and across the nation in officially requiring that future transportation investments do not repeat the same street design mistakes of the past when the mobility and safety of people outside motor vehicles was not always considered.

From BikeWA: (more…)

tags: complete streets, pierce county, pierce county council, washington bikes

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City finally planning road safety project on Dexter between Denny and Mercer

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 15, 2014

From the SDOT mailer

Dexter Ave may never go back to being the dangerous, super wide street it was before major construction began a few months ago between Mercer and Denny in South Lake Union.

The city is planning a road safety redesign for the street, which is a major bike route and the scene of several serious collisions including the 2011 hit and run at Dexter and Thomas that killed Mike Wang.

You can learn more and provide your thoughts on what needs to happen on Dexter at a morning-time open house from 7 to 10 a.m. August 20 at the intersection of Dexter and John.

Wang’s death on his normal bike ride home from work at PATH shook the city and ignited a movement that changed the conversation about safe streets in Seattle. Shortly after the tragedy — a hit and run that would not be solved until a year later — most the city’s conversations about bikes finally shifted away from “bikes vs cars” or the city waging a “war on cars,” and people started talking seriously about solutions. (more…)

tags: dexter, mike wang, sdot, south lake union

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Clean Air Agency expands picture of Seattle air quality using devices mounted on bikes

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 14, 2014

Heather McAuliffe with her pollution-sniffing instruments mounted on her bike. Photo from McAuliffe.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has been experimenting with a new way to gather a more complete picture of Seattle’s air quality conditions: Attaching measuring instruments to their bicycles.

In a February report for Seattle Bike Blog by Ryann Child, we told you about a UW study where researchers biked a black carbon measuring device in a loop around the city. The results were somewhat stunning because it showed big spikes in pollution levels in sometimes surprising locations. And it raised more questions than it answered. Specifically: What about the rest of the city?

Heather McAuliffe is a Fremont resident who rides a bike to get around and is passionate about air quality issues.

“I grew up here, and when I took my first airplane trip when I was seven I remember flying in and out of Seattle and I could see the pollution,” she said. “People’s health depends on clean air.”

So McAuliffe researched and purchased a particle monitor, GPS and GoPro camera set up, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency offered to analyze her data. McAuliffe works for Seattle’s Departments of Neighborhoods, but took on these efforts in her free time. Several PSCAA employees also bought the bike-mountable air quality devices and used them to collect data during May’s Bike Month.

The PSCAA has “robust” air quality information from some stationary devices and industry data sources, but they do not have anything the gets granular down to the block-by-block level.

“As the science has been growing and evolving, there continues to be new tech and new instruments that let us see more,” said PSCAA Air Resources Specialist Phil Swartzendruber. So while they have good data on a handful of fixed locations around the region, “What happens on each block and each neighborhood where people walk and people bike and people kayak?” (more…)

tags: air quality, heather mcauliffe, puget sound clean air agency

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