— Advertisement —

⇟ Jump to sidebar ⇟

⇟ Jump to sidebar ⇟

  • In memory of the Schultes, Safe Roads Awareness Week starts March 25

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    Mayor Mike McGinn attended a memorial April 1, 2013.
    Mayor Mike McGinn attended a memorial April 1, 2013.

    One year ago, a family was devastated when a man driving drunk plowed into them as they crossed NE 75th Street at 33rd Ave NE near Eckstein Middle School. Judy and Dennis Schulte were killed, and their daughter-in-law Karina and week-old grandson Elias were severely injured.

    The community was shaken by the tragedy, and the outrage fueled action both on a NE 75th St road safety project and a tightening of state DUI laws. Mark Mullan, the man responsible, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and assault charges.

    But while it was good that the government took some action, nothing can change the loss the Schulte family continues to experience. And, of course, there are many more people killed and injured our streets every day, and too many streets in too many neighborhoods that are too dangerous.

    So next week, a series of events will memorialize those lost and bring attention to ways to make all our streets safer. The week will be lead by a bunch of organizations, including Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, several Northeast Seattle community councils, SDOT and MADD.

    The memorial walk that kicks off the week of events meets at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Top Pot Doughnuts on 35th and will head to the site where the Schulte family was struck. Dan and Marilyn Schulte will be among the speakers, as well as state Senator David Frockt.

    More details from the Wedgwood Community Council: (more…)

    tags: , , , , ,
    — Advertisement —

  • Middle Fork Road project could be boon to bike camping outside North Bend

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    IMG_1572Last summer, my partner Kelli and I loaded our bikes and camping stuff onto a bus to Fall City. Our goal was to have a nice 25-mile ride down the Snoqualmie Valley Trail through North Bend and up Middle Fork Road to the Middle Fork Campground.

    It was a mostly great ride, but it is about to become amazing. The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust announced that the Federal Highway Administration (with some Washington State funds) will pave ten miles of the road over two years. The project will cost $20 million, with $1.35 million coming from WSDOT.

    When finished, Middle Fork Valley could easily become a very popular bike camping destination, in addition to other recreational activities. To get the valley ready for the added attention once the road is completed (as early as 2015), the MTS Greenway Trust is crowd-funding $25,000 for various recreation and restoration projects. People who want to help out should contribute online by May 1. (more…)

    tags: , , , , , , ,
    — Advertisement —

  • Months later, ‘Missing Link’ Band-Aid still under construction

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    IMG_2426In late December, just two weeks before Mayor Mike McGinn left office, the city began work on a project to improve safety on a particularly troublesome section of the Burke-Gilman Missing Link in Ballard.

    While not a complete solution, the project is a Band-Aid for one of the worst sections while the city completes an environmental impact statement for the trail and finishes the lengthy and costly legal battles delaying the project.

    The city has changed a stretch of NW 45th Street into a one-way street, using the former westbound lane to create a two-way bikeway. While the new bikeway won’t get people on bikes all the way to the Locks where the west section of the trail begins, it should at least help people get to Ballard Ave and the neighborhood’s commercial center.

    But three months after work started, only some sections of are complete. The project has been sitting in it’s partially-finished form for so long that readers have been sending me notes wondering if the city has abandoned the project.

    They have not. The delays are due to necessary paving work that needs warmer weather to complete, according to SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan:

    The project is not yet finished as we need to complete some additional pavement repair followed by striping work. The pavement patching is the key element driving our schedule. The 11th Ave NW and NW 45th St intersection will be repaved, which will make that crossing much nicer for everyone, and we will also repair a portion of the waiting area at the 45th/46th Street intersection where the two-way ends. But to complete this work we need some dry and warm weather. Once that is done we can move forward with striping, extending the two-way bike lane from under the bridge to 46th Street. All of this should be completed next month. (more…)

    tags: , , ,
    — Advertisement —

  • Walk signals are shorter in Rainier Valley, but the city will improve them this year

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    From the ITO map of traffic fatalities (2001-09)
    From the ITO map of traffic fatalities (2001-09)

    If you live in the Rainier Valley, many traffic signals in your neighborhood force you to walk faster than if you live in Ballard. Sometimes, you have to walk twice as fast to get across the street before traffic gets a green light.

    A 2013 study by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and the UW School of Public Health found that, while the time given to cross Rainier Ave is essentially the same as intersections in Ballard, the distance required to get from curb-to-curb is significantly longer. This means people have to move faster if they are going to make it across before cars come barreling down on them.

    It should perhaps come as no surprise that between 2001 and 2009, three out of the five people killed while walking on the street were in their 70s. People with mobility issues or who simply move slower than others are put at disproportionate risk when the walk signal is too short.

    The problem was illustrated well in a recent Seattle Times story:

    For 68-year-old William Wingert, a man with self-described “bad legs,” making his way across Rainier Avenue South in Columbia City is a challenge.

    Crossings at South Edmunds, South Hudson and South Ferdinand streets are problems for Wingert, who said they present two issues: It takes too long for the signal to turn for pedestrians, and the time given to cross is too short.

    “As it is now, just about every time when I get across the street, especially if somebody is trying to turn left onto Rainier Avenue, I’m forced to either rush or stop and wait for them to get there and it’s hard to make the light,” Wingert said.

    Rainier Ave also cuts through a part of Seattle where households are more likely to have lower incomes. This is injustice enforced by a City of Seattle traffic signal. (more…)

    tags: , , , , , , ,
    — Advertisement —

  • The U District’s first neighborhood greenway takes shape

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    U-District-MapTo complement big changes coming from the University of Washington and Sound Transit, the city is close to completing design for the U District’s first ever neighborhood greenway.

    Located on 12th Ave NE, the neighborhood greenway will connect from the Burke-Gilman Trail to Ravenna Boulevard and includes a desperately-needed traffic signal at NE 50th St that should also help reduce collisions there.

    At a November open house, SDOT staff said that half of all collisions on this stretch of 12th Ave NE occur at NE 50th St. Workers at nearby businesses told the open house attendees they had witnessed more than a dozen of crashes at the intersection of the years, and several people on foot have been struck by cars.

    At the south end of the project, the neighborhood greenway will take advantage of construction that will finally open up bike/walk access from 12th Ave to the Burke-Gilman Trail.

    The UW demolished the former Terry Hall/1101 Cafe building that blocked access throughout recent memory. UW’s new Maple and Terry Halls are nearing completion, and the new design will create a pathway south of Campus Parkway. The project should be complete this summer. (more…)

    tags: , , , ,
    — Advertisement —

  • Bike News Roundup: What causes traffic congestion?

    By

    Tom Fucoloro

    | Posted

    It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! As always, this is an open thread.

    First up, Streets MN recently posted a video we somehow missed a few years ago that explains why congestion happens (Spoiler: It’s too many cars):

    (more…)

    tags:
    — Advertisement —
— Advertisement —

Join the Seattle Bike Blog Supporters

As a supporter, you help power independent bike news in the Seattle area. Please consider supporting the site financially starting at $5 per month:

Latest stories

— Advertisements —

Latest on Mastodon

Loading Mastodon feed…