Seattle Bike Blog

Lake City’s newest street mural is amazing

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 11, 2021

Mural at 32nd Ave NE and NE 140th Street. From SDOT: “The large piece is a Tlingit ocean monster that was used by the Shatx’Heen Kwaan and the smaller designs are Chilkat blanket sections. Artist Romel Da Vinci Belleza’s intentions are to uplift native youth and honor his Indigenous heritage. Photo: Stuart Danford”

Street murals are wonderful, and the newest one in Lake City is one of the best in the city. Designed to be part of the Little Brook Stay Healthy Street, Romel Belleza’s mural is the product of a partnership between SDOT, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the community organization Lake City Collective.

Street murals may have a traffic calming effect, but they are more than that. They are a way for a community to define a space that otherwise looks like every other intersection. Now it is special, and it tells a story.

“This is my way of giving back to other communities who respect our struggle for our Tribal Sovereignty and that we are the children of the land and the oceans we fish from and the true owners of this territory where people don’t acknowledge this,” said Belleza in the city’s press release.

The process of creating and celebrating the mural is also a big part of the benefit. It is a community-building exercise full of positivity about their neighborhood. Congratulations to everyone involved. SDOT is collecting feedback on the short Little Brook Stay Healthy Street through November 17.

More details from SDOT: (more…)

tags: lake city collective, little brook park, murals, nacto, romel belleza, sdot

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New 2.5-mile section of EasTrail now open between Renton and I-90

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 10, 2021

Segment A is now open.

A 2.5-mile segment of the EasTrail is now open between the Seahawks training facility in Renton and Coal Creek Parkway in Bellevue. The very wide trail replaces the old Lake Washington Loop Trail, which is being swallowed up by the state’s $705 million I-405 freeway expansion project.

This significant segment of the trail keeps the full visionary project on track for a major series of openings in 2023 and 2024, connecting Eastside communities and East Link light rail stations in a way that is almost unimaginable today. This trail and light rail will revolutionize non-driving transportation on the Eastside. It will rival the Burke-Gilman Trail, especially if the neighborhood connections are designed well.

The paved portion of the new trail is 12 feet wide with additional gravel paths on both sides. The newly completed section meets up with the existing trail connection to Gene Coulon Memorial Park in Renton, though people biking will continue using Lake Washington Boulevard to connect to the trail (unless you want to walk your bike through the park).

The new segment was funded in part by the state’s I-405 project and in part by the voter-approved King County Parks Levy. King County even took some great drone footage to show it off: (more…)

tags: eastrail, king county parks, wsdot

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Congratulations Mayor-Elect Bruce Harrell

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 5, 2021

Then-Councilmember Bruce Harrell at a 2015 protest for a safer Rainier Ave.

Congratulations to Mayor-Elect Bruce Harrell on a convincing win. If past voting patterns hold true as the rest of the ballots are counted, Harrell is positioned to win the Mayoral race by a wider margin than Jenny Durkan did in 2017.

Lorena González not only lost the election, but she also will no longer be on City Council. We wish her the best on whatever she pursues next, but it feels like a big missed opportunity for our city government to lose someone who has been an excellent leader in very difficult times.

Biking and transportation in general did not play a significant role in this election, though it should have. It was barely discussed in debates, and a pre-election opinion poll Crosscut commissioned put transportation at 7th out of 8 issues tested. Homelessness, policing, crime and even residential zoning placed significantly higher. Regardless, the Harrell administration will have an enormous impact on Seattle’s transportation future. He will lead the effort to replace the Move Seattle Levy due to expire at the end of 2024, a once-in-a-decade opportunity to significantly alter transportation funding in the city.

Seattle Bike Blog did not endorse Bruce Harrell, but that does not mean Harrell will be anti-bike once in office. He received a dual endorsement from Washington Bikes, and his campaign platform included: “Continue investing in safe sidewalks and bike lanes while implementing Vision Zero concepts that will help keep every commuter safe.” Though he said during a televised debate that he “won’t lead with bikes,” he voted in favor of Seattle’s ambitious Bicycle Master Plan as a City Councilmember. His name is attached to that plan just like it is on the Move Seattle Levy, Vision Zero Plan, Climate Action Plan and many other bold and progressive Seattle policies developed during this time on Council.

Harrell should be a significantly better mayor than Durkan. He is a longtime politician and pragmatic leader who responds to and celebrates community organizing. He is also very familiar with how the City Council conducts its business and how transportation plans and priorities are created and funded. While Mayor Durkan had no problem ignoring Council-approved plans and policies, Harrell understands all the work and public outreach it took to make them. He also knows how persuasive and organized safe streets and bicycling supporters can be, and he has a big incentive to bring them into the coalition to pass an ambitious and successful transportation levy in 2024. (more…)

tags: 2021 general election, bruce harrell

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Scaled back Missing Link plans could put the trail on budget and sidestep lawsuits

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 1, 2021

The Missing Link appellants have won! But not really.

The Seattle Department of Transportation announced today that they are prepared to submit a significantly scaled-back version of their plans to complete the Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail through Ballard. The trail connection remains, but many of the extra elements included with it have been cut. The result is a project that costs less, can be constructed faster, and should be small enough in scale to be exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act’s requirement for environmental review.

“Completing the Burke-Gilman Trail missing link is an important and too long delayed piece of safety infrastructure in Seattle,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan in a statement. “By redesigning the missing link we will finally be able to give the bike, walking and rolling community a safe route to enjoy the treasure that is the Burke-Gilman trail. After continued legal challenges, these next steps will bring us tangibly closer to finishing this crucial project.”

The design proposed in SDOT’s massive 2016 environmental impact statement was a full-scale remake of the entire corridor, complete with new traffic signals, a realigned railroad, and a lot of new pavement. Much of the cost of that design was from an effort to win over appealing businesses along the route through a community design process. Some of those businesses appealed the design even after the community process was complete, and they have successfully tied it up in court for years. Though the project’s latest court loss was completely unrelated to the trail design (more on that below), it would likely be impossible to complete that version of the trail before the 2024 expiration of the voter-approved Move Seattle Levy, which specifically earmarked funds to complete the Missing Link.

The new design will retain the safety benefits of the previous design, SDOT staff stressed during a call. But it won’t be as polished as the big-budget version. For example, the previous design would have paved a buffer space as wide as 5 feet for the entire length of Shilshole Avenue. The trail will still have three feet of buffer space separating it from general traffic. Many of the curb bulbs and other design elements that were planned to be fully constructed will instead be created with low-cost paint and posts.

Another major change is that because SDOT cannot move the railroad tracks, NW 45th Street will have to remain a one-way street. Originally, the design called for opening the roadway to two-way traffic plus a trail, but they cannot do so without moving the railroad tracks. So if anyone has a problem with this, they can file their concerns with the Ballard Terminal Railroad. Not moving the tracks has the added benefit of significantly reducing the scope and cost of the project. The trail will still be moved to the south side of the roadway as previously planned, and a new railroad crossing will be constructed west of the Ballard Bridge.

The last major change is that three planned traffic signals along Shilshole Ave NW have been removed from the design. Instead, the department will place an all-way stop at Shilshole and 17th Ave NW, which is a high-demand crossing for people accessing Ballard Ave. They will also install new crosswalks with rapid flashing beacons at NW Dock Pl and NW Vernon Pl. The signals previously planned were not warranted, SDOT said, but were included due to feedback from the community design process. They could always be added later in a different project.

So it won’t be as nice looking at the city wanted, but Ballard can thank the Appellant group for that. Their lawsuit successfully stopped the big budget version from going through before the levy ran out. SDOT really did try to deliver the full-build version. Instead, this version prioritizes the vital work of keeping people safe and connecting the city’s busiest biking and walking trail. People keep crashing on the Missing Link, and the injuries won’t stop until the city completes this project. We can’t wait any longer.

(CORRECTION: A previous version said SDOT will file a “Determination of Nonsignificance,” but that was an error. They will file for the environmental permits they need to begin work. Opponents will have opportunities to take legal action if they choose to.) This time, SDOT says they believe the project is too small to fall under the requirement for a full environmental review. If they are right, then they should be able to get through the courts easier and more quickly this time and begin construction in 2022 or 2023.

So let’s all hope they are right, because I am sick of these delays, and I’m sick of writing about this project. There’s so much more work to do in this city. We need to finish this one and move on.

Here is a look at the new project design details, from SDOT: (more…)

tags: ballard, burke-gilman trail, missing link, sdot

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Seattle can elect transformational leaders, but only if you vote

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

November 1, 2021

King County ballot drop box map.

Seattle voters have the chance to elect transformational leaders, but only if voter turnout increases dramatically before 8 p.m. Tuesday. So tell all your friends.

If you have your vote-by-mail ballot, return it to a King County ballot drop box. You can also mail your ballot, but the post office must postmark it by Tuesday to be valid. If you still need to register, you can register and vote in-person at a voting center such as Lumen Field Event Center. If you have lost your ballot, you can either go to a voting center to vote or you can complete your ballot online, print it out and then return that printed version to a ballot drop box or mail it in. To check the status of your registration or print out a new ballot, use the King County Voter Information site.

The choices this election are clear. We previously compiled the regional and statewide endorsements of Seattle Bike Blog (SBB), Washington Bikes (WB), The Urbanist (U), The Seattle Transit Riders Union (TRU) and Seattle Subway (SUB). Below is the Seattle Cheat Sheet:

Seattle Mayor

M. Lorena González: SBB, WB (dual), U, TRU, SUB

Bruce Harrell: WB (dual)

Seattle City Council Position 8

Teresa Mosqueda: SBB, WB, U, TRU, SUB

Seattle City Council Position 9

Nikkita Oliver: SBB, WB, U, TRU, SUB

Seattle City Attorney

Nicole Thomas-Kennedy: SBB, U, TRU

King County Executive

Dow Constantine: WB, SUB

Joe Nguyen: SBB, U, TRU

tags: 2021 general election

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Seattle Neighborhood Greenways: ‘With your help we can triple the Vision Zero budget’

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

October 29, 2021
The Seattle City Council is currently considering some significant budget additions to combat the terrible increase in traffic deaths and injuries in 2021. Seattle’s increase is part of a horrible nationwide trend, and the city should be a leader in finding solutions that keep people safe.

“Seattle has committed to Vision Zero, the goal to eliminate road-traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030,” wrote Seattle Neighborhood Greenways in a blog post. “But we are failing to reach that goal. One big reason why is that the Vision Zero program has been chronically underfunded. Decades of neglect have created a huge backlog of high-speed streets that see crash after crash, and often lack basic safe places to walk, roll, or bike. Right now, with your help we can triple the Vision Zero budget, and invest in safety projects like sidewalks, safety redesigns, crosswalks, and traffic calming where they are needed most.”

You can voice your support for the various budget actions by using their handy online tool to contact Councilmembers. Here is the text of their form letter:
Dear Seattle City Councilmembers,

Thank you for reviewing the mayor’s transportation budget and making improvements to better match our city’s goals around equity, safety, affordability, climate stability, and health. Please support the following budget priorities:
- Vision Zero: Increase funding for our Vision Zero program, which has strong equity and safety prioritizations. I support both the Mayor’s Vehicle Licsensing Fee spend plan proposal, and the idea to increase the Commercial Parking Tax to fund Vision Zero.
- Solidarity Budget: Defund the Seattle Police Department and reinvest in communities.
Specifically, please support proposed amendments for:
1. Safe Places to Walk: Increase funding for sidewalk construction along critical transit corridors and Home Zones for non-arterial neighborhoods, improving safety and access for disabled people, elders, and others.
2. Prioritize South End Investments: Including park space for people on Lake Washington Boulevard and street safety on Martin Luther King Way South.
3. Remove Data Collection from the Police: Ask SDOT to analyze what it would take to collect street safety and crash data in order to move this work away from the Seattle Police Department.
4. Smart Planning: Demand accountability for the “Citywide Integrated Transportation Plan,” which may undercut efforts to make safer streets.
tags: 2021 budget, seattle neighborhood greenways

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