Seattle Bike Blog

Seattle City Council, time to wake up: An open letter to our first-year councilmembers

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 7, 2024

Yesterday needs to be this City Council’s worst day if 8 out of 9 of them want a chance at another term. They pulled one of the most chickenshit moves I’ve ever witnessed from my years covering city politics when they decided to hold an expensive special election for the voters’ initiative 137 rather than put it on November’s high-turnout general election ballot. They did this for the sole purpose of weakening its chances because they know the more Seattleites who vote on the initiative, the more likely it will be to pass.
The Seattle City Council (minus Tammy Morales) is admitting that their opinion on the initiative is unpopular among the people they are elected to represent, and they are pulling a chickenshit procedural trick in order to circumvent the people’s will. Not only are they wrong to do this, they should stop and think for a moment about the implications for their political prospects in this city.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (@cmtammymorales)

It didn’t help that they then retreated to their offices to remotely approve a contract for more jail cells to imprison low-level offenders because the outcry of public opposition in the council chambers was too loud. It also didn’t help that they somehow didn’t anticipate last week how unpopular it would be to roll back the minimum wage law. Not sure how many more signs folks will need before realizing they are making deeply unpopular decisions.
Here’s what I think is going to happen. Councilmember Woo will be toast in November, losing her second City Council election in the span of a year. It won’t be close. One down. At the same time, the voters of Washington House District 43 (entirely within the bounds of Seattle) will elect Shaun Scott despite a majority of the City Council endorsing Republican Andrea Suarez (who pretends she’s a Democrat because she thinks her voters aren’t paying attention). Suarez may not even make it into the general election depending on how late primary ballots turn out, that’s how out of touch this City Council is with the people they represent (Full disclosure: My family recently hosted a fundraiser house party for Scott’s campaign because he’s great). Seattle will then hold a special election, and we will pass I-137. But even worse for this Council, they decided through their action yesterday to turn the I-137 vote into a referendum of the city’s support for investing in affordable housing (spoiler, we want more) as well as a symbolic referendum on this City Council. Not a smart move, y’all.
(more…)

21 comments on Seattle City Council, time to wake up: An open letter to our first-year councilmembers

tags: bob kettle, cathy moore, city council, dan strauss, house our neighbors, I-137, joy hollingsworth, maritza rivera, rob saka, sara nelson, tammy morales, tanya woo

— Advertisement —
Pierce County plans to replace closed Foothills Trail bridge by summer 2025

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 6, 2024

Map from Pierce County.
Pierce County hopes to design and construct a permanent replacement for the Spiketon Ditch Bridge on the Foothills Trail by summer 2025. The existing bridge was closed in November 2023 after an inspection found major structural degradation, and further inspections were so concerning that the county declared it an emergency safety concern and demolished it in June before it could collapse on its own.
The missing bridge leaves a problematic gap in the Foothills Trail route because there is no safe detour for trail users. The only clear option is to use Pioneer Way E, which is a State Route with very limited shoulders. The county and state should consider creating a temporary space for walking and biking on Pioneer Way at least until the trail bridge is complete. The current official guidance is not sufficient and seems to assume every trail user is just out there for recreation instead of walking or biking for transportation: “No detours through the area are recommended, as there are no other bicycle or pedestrian facilities available. Plan to turn around at the bridge closure and ride or walk back the way you came.”
Pierce County weighed whether to replace the bridge with a temporary structure, but decided to go straight to a permanent one instead. The county also plans to replace a smaller aging trail bridge between Orting and South Prairie by summer 2025. These projects added together with the cross-county trail bridge over the White River due to open this year means next summer should be a great year for the storied rail trail.

No comments on Pierce County plans to replace closed Foothills Trail bridge by summer 2025

tags: foothills trail, pierce county, spiketon ditch bridge, wsdot

— Advertisement —
New protected bike lanes on MLK connect the I-90 Trail to Mount Baker Station + BSC video

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 5, 2024

The northbound bike lane as it crosses the I-90 Trail.
Crews have finished work on a project that makes it much easier and safer to walk or bike between the I-90 Trail and Mount Baker light rail station. Perhaps most importantly, the project made some significant crosswalk upgrades at the complicated and dangerous intersection of Rainier, MLK and Mount Baker Blvd near Franklin High School. The team extended the curbs and added two missing crosswalks on the south half of the intersection.
Base images from SDOT.
This is a huge win for the neighborhood and the Franklin High School community. Students have been put in a dangerous situation here for decades, and they will finally have proper crosswalks to help them get safely across these busy streets. The out-of-the-way pedestrian overpass is still there for those who prefer it, but now the more direct option will have a proper crosswalk, too.
Looking north just north of S McClellan Street.
(more…)

6 comments on New protected bike lanes on MLK connect the I-90 Trail to Mount Baker Station + BSC video

tags: accessible mt baker, best side cycling, central district, mlk way, mount baker station, mt baker, sdot

— Advertisement —
In July, Lime bikes and scooters carried half as many trips as the $2B SR-99 tunnel

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

August 2, 2024

Average daily trips by month for Lime scooters and bikes, via SDOT’s New Mobility Program data dashboard.
People in Seattle took 24,118 trips on Lime bikes and scooters every day on average during the month of July. That is nearly five times the average weekday ridership for both Seattle Streetcar lines combined, and it’s about half the average number of vehicles using the $2 billion SR-99 tunnel under downtown (47,291 average vehicles per day based on WSDOT’s 2023 count, the most recent available). And Lime did all this while paying Seattle for the privilege.
The reported July 2024 ridership data for Lime’s scooters and bikes is so high I asked Lime to double check the numbers to make sure they aren’t the result of a software bug, and they confirmed they are correct. The figures reported to SDOT’s data dashboard for the month of July represent a 71% increase over the company’s previous monthly ridership record set the same month in 2023. Note that these numbers are reported by Lime, and we do not have the ability to independently verify them.
Lime continues to increase its dominant role in Seattle’s micromobility scene, and it seems users have mostly stopped being company-agnostic and are now going straight to the Lime app to find a ride. Bird saw a 40% decline in ridership in July 2024 compared to July 2023, SuperPedestrian shut down their Link scooter service completely, and Veo “temporarily paused” service in Seattle in March. I have reached out to Veo asking for an update on their plans to return and will post when I learn more (UPDATE: Veo said they have not renewed their Seattle permit, but they “remain committed to keeping in touch with the City and community partners and hope to serve Seattle again in the future.” They also sent the results of a focus group they conducted, which I will cover in a future post). Even Gig Car Share, which is only sort of a competitor to Lime, is shutting down in December. But Lime’s reported growth outpaces simply gobbling up rides from their competitors.
Lyft, operator of Portland’s BikeTown bike and scooter share program, has applied to operate in Seattle in the past but never actually launched here. They seem to be the most likely competitor to Lime at this point, assuming Bird does not make a miraculous turnaround.
Lime also introduced a new pricing scheme called LimePass in which users can save money by buying “minute bundles.” For example, $7 gets you 30 minutes of riding within a 24-hour period, and you don’t need to pay the $1 unlock fee every time you start a ride. 30 minutes of riding would cost $14.50 under regular pricing, assuming you only unlocked a device once. So especially if you are stringing together multiple shorter trips, LimePass is a lot cheaper. Other bundles include $10 for 60 mins over 3 days, $27 for 180 minutes over 7 days, and $34 for 280 minutes over 30 days. If you quality for the ORCA Lift low-income transit pass, you also qualify for the excellent and deeply-discounted Lime Access program.
(more…)

11 comments on In July, Lime bikes and scooters carried half as many trips as the $2B SR-99 tunnel

tags: bike share, deep bore tunnel, limebike, scooter share, sr 99

— Advertisement —
Study confirms that a safer street design doesn’t slow emergency vehicles

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 31, 2024

Before/after comparison images by the Iowa DOT that the study authors used for illustration.
Making a street safer does not increase emergency response times, a recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives found. It is the first significant study on the topic, according to the journal article.
Specifically, the study looked at the actual change in emergency response times on streets in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that went through a 4-to-3 lane conversion similar to Seattle’s most common style of safe streets redesign. Researchers Nicole Corcoran, Cara J. Hamann, Michelle L. Reyes, Stephanie Jansson, and Joseph E. Cavanaugh looked at actual EMS response time data and conducted a survey of emergency responders to gather their perceptions. They found “no difference in emergency response rates from before to after” implementation.
The team analyzed 3,872 emergency responses in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Note that even though the 42nd Street data shows faster responses after the changes, the study authors caution that the before data on 42nd was less robust, which is why there is such a wide uncertainty range. Chart description from the authors: “Emergency response travel rate (min/km) before vs. after road conversion by road segment.” Lower is better.
They also surveyed emergency responders to record their perspectives and found that “over half of EMS responders thing that [the safety projects] don’t affect emergency response times,” according to the journal article. The most common issue EMS responders reported was people not properly yielding to an emergency vehicle, which led researchers to suggest that “public guidance on how to properly respond to the presence of EMS vehicles on these roadways may be needed.”
Hopefully, this study helps put to rest one of the most frustrating and persistent arguments against safe streets projects. Every time I hear someone use emergency vehicles as an excuse for keeping an outdated and dangerous road design, I want to pull out my hair and scream. These arguments can be effective because it’s scary to think that assistance in an emergency might be delayed due to a city street project. There are emergencies, such as heart attacks, where every second counts. But the argument is often used as a convenient cover for people who simply don’t want the project to happen. It is also buried under many layers of misunderstanding at best and disinformation at worst.
Dangerous streets are NOT more efficient
(more…)

4 comments on Study confirms that a safer street design doesn’t slow emergency vehicles

tags: Cara J. Hamann, Joseph E. Cavanaugh, Michelle L. Reyes, Nicole Corcoran, road diets, Stephanie Jansson, vision zero

— Advertisement —
Bad news for car-free households: Gig Car Share is shutting down in December

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

July 29, 2024

Having access to pay-by-the-minute or pay-by-the-day cars nearby that included roof racks for bicycles made out-of-town bicycle adventures so much easier for car-free Seattleites.
Gig Car Share’s fleet of pay-as-you-drive Priuses and their pre-installed bicycle roof racks will leave town December 27 as the AAA-owned company ceases all operations, according to an email I received as a Gig member. Geekwire reports that the shutdown is for the whole operation, not just Seattle.
This is a huge blow to car-free households in Seattle because the Gig cars were by far the most useful of any of the free-floating car share services we’ve had since the launch of Car2Go in 2013. Gig launched at a very strange time back in 2020 when the news got very buried for obvious reasons, and it never felt like the service ever had a high-profile introduction to the city. It was just sort of here one day, and the people who found them and tried them out loved them. Thanks to SDOT’s data sharing requirements, we can see exactly how many trips people took each month since Gig launched:
You can see how strange and subdued the 2020 launch was. It took a year before the service really caught on. The peak was 872 average daily trips in April 2022. June saw the most use so far in 2024 with only 624. From the SDOT New Mobility Program’s data dashboard.
(more…)

14 comments on Bad news for car-free households: Gig Car Share is shutting down in December

tags: aaa, car share, gig car share

— Advertisement —