Seattle Bike Blog

Man biking struck near W Seattle Bridge, police seek suspect + Rash of other area collisions

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

May 23, 2014

A man biking was struck at the east end of the lower West Seattle Bridge Thursday night.

The person driving fled the scene.

Police are seeking more information to help catch the suspect and learn what happened. And obviously, the person who was driving should do the right thing and turn themselves in.

Details from SPD:

Police are searching for a motorist who struck a cyclist on Harbor Island on Thursday night and sped away.

Witnesses found the bloodied and seriously injured cyclist lying in the street at 11 Ave. S.W. and S.W. Spokane St around 8:20 PM and called 911.

Seattle Fire Department Medics responded and transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. (more…)

tags: hit and run, injuries, lower west seattle bridge, spd, traffic violence, west seattle

— Advertisement —
Traffic violence in the Pacific Northwest is racially biased

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

May 23, 2014

If you are Native American in Washington State, you are almost four times more likely to die in a traffic collision than the general population. If you are black, people driving are half as likely to stop for you in a crosswalk.

These disturbing facts come from two reports this week that shine some light on the racial imbalance among victims of traffic violence in the Pacific Northwest, especially people who are killed while walking.

KPLU reported on a remarkable fact in the State of Washington: Native American residents are much more likely to be hit by a car while walking:

Credit: Rae Ellen Bichell. Click for more from KPLU

Native Americans make up 8.4 percent of all Washington walking deaths, despite making up less than 2 percent of the total population. This might even be a low estimate, since many tribes do not report traffic statistics that happen on their sovereign land.

And the traffic violence gap is getting worse, KPLU reports: (more…)

tags: colville reservation, kplu, native americans, otrec, traffic violence

— Advertisement —
Feds will help restore section of Whitehorse Trail destroyed in Oso landslide

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

May 22, 2014

The Whitehorse Trail ran just north of the road and was wiped out in the landslide. Image from Google.

The Oso landslide devastated a community, took many lives and destroyed many homes. Some of what was lost can we rebuilt and recovered, but a lot cannot.

FEMA has stepped in to help with much of the cost of recovering from the disaster. Snohomish County announced earlier this month that restoring the Whitehorse Trail is one of many projects that will receive federal assistance.

The walking, biking and horseback riding trail runs along a former railroad line and connects Arlington and Darrington. Work could begin in late summer.

More details from Snohomish County: (more…)

tags: fema, oso, snohomish county, whitehorse trail

— Advertisement —
Bike News Roundup: If you drove a shopping cart like a car

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

May 22, 2014

It’s the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a look at some of the stuff floating around the Internet these days.

First up, why are these rude behaviors OK on our streets, but not in a grocery store?

(more…)

tags: bike news roundup

— Advertisement —
National report on dangerous streets cites NE 125th redesign as an example of success

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

May 21, 2014

If you moved to the north end of Seattle after the summer of 2011, you may have no idea that there was an epic debate over city plans for a road safety project on NE 125th Street. That’s because the project, once completed, was a slam dunk. The street became safer for all users, easier to walk across and more comfortable to bike along. Traffic volumes and travel times hardly changed at all.

But the fight was truly awful. Few media outlets have taken the chance to point out what a success the project has been, but they were sure happy to rail against Mayor McGinn and other supporters of the project before the city completed the work.

But the project did catch the eye of Smart Growth America, which highlighted it as a success story in its walking-focused 2014 Dangerous By Design report:

(more…)

tags: dangerous by design, ne 125th, smart growth america

— Advertisement —
In memory of people who have died while biking, Ride of Silence is tonight

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

May 21, 2014

Ride of Silence 2012

In communities around the nation, people will ride together tonight (Wednesday) to remember friends and family members who have died or been seriously injured while biking.

Seattle’s Ride of Silence meets at Gas Works Park at 6:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, the ride overlaps a bit with the Westlake bikeway open house, but you could arrive to that meeting (in Fremont) closer to its 5:30 start so you can give input before heading to the ride.

Friends of a Texas man named Larry Schwartz began The Ride of Silence in 2003, just weeks after he was killed in a collision with a bus. The ride is not too fast and has a somber mood. It means something a little different to everyone who participates.

Governor Jay Inslee has declared today Ride of Silence Day through an official proclamation: (more…)

tags: events, ride of silence

— Advertisement —