26th Ave SW Greenway Bike Counter

Bike Counter SignWe count!

News from Dawn Schellenberg at SDOT: “To help measure how well neighborhood greenways are preforming, three permanent bike counters are being installed on greenways this month. Ultimately we hope to have 10. One will be located on 26th Ave SW Between SW Oregon St and SW Alaska St. It will be small metal controller box with a sign that says Neighborhood Greenway Bike Counter (see attached) placed on the sidewalk near the curb. Two small tube sensors will stretch from the box across the street. It is not as fancy as the Spokane counter and will not display counts. However, we will put the data online and update it once a month—probably starting in February.  I’ll have a link from our NGW home page.”

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Coalition

Collage

We had a great turnout for the the Highland Park/Delridge Greenway SDOT outreach meeting last month.  The North Delridge greenways on 21st and 22nd are actually being built and used!  We have greenways all over the map of West Seattle in the Bike Master Plan update.  One reason for this: the concerted action of the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways coalition. We are part of it, along with West Seattle Greenways and West Seattle Spokespeople. Our WS groups have zero budget, fueled by volunteer hours. But Seattle Neighborhood Greenways pays two people modest salaries to support groups like ours by doing the legwork that most of us with day jobs cannot do.

We are much more effective by being a part of the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways coalition of neighborhood groups that advocates for our needs and connects us to City Hall. Among many other things, working as a coalition we have dramatically increased funding and standards for neighborhood greenways and safe crossings.

In 2014, our coalition will focus on updates of the Pedestrian Master Plan, the Right-of-Way Improvement Manual, School Road Safety Plans, intersection improvements, tactical urbanism, Safe Routes to Parks, mini-grants for local groups, and a greenways “report card”!

Will you make a tax-deductible investment to power your movement to even greater successes in 2014? We have a $25,000 match that will double your gift, but only until January 1st. Please take advantage of this opportunity and donate today! http://seattlegreenways.org/get-involved/donate/

Thank you!

Bike Master Plan Update – Council Review

SDOT and the Mayor have sent the recommended Bike Master Plan Update to City Council for review and approval. It is subject to change by Council.

The Council’s Transportation Committee will be taking public input this Wednesday, December 11, 5:30 to 8:00.  See Events.

We’ve given lots of input from West Seattle during the development of the plan. It shows in the final product. Our “report card” is attached. We give it a grade of Excellent.  If you agree, this may be the best final opportunity to give it support before the full Council votes on it. 1301208 SBMP West Sea report

The plan is online at SDOT’s website

Duwamish Longhouse Gift Fair

It’s a nice ride on the West Duwamish Trail along the Duwamish river to the Duwamish HQ: Native Holiday Gift Fair continues Sat, Nov 30 and Sun, Dec 1, 10-4:30 at the Duwamish Longhouse in West Seattle, www.facebook.com/duwamishIMG_1120 .

Saturday Nov 23 Garden Party at the Fishing Pier

Post event:  We had a beautiful fall morning and a nice turnout.  Weeded the planters, cleaned debris from the trail, cut back ivy from trees, cut blackberries and did quite a bit of weeding and trash pickup from the landscaped area to the. Thanks to all who participated.

Cedars freed from ivy, at least for awhile
Cedars freed from ivy, at least for awhile
English ivy choking a Cedar
English ivy choking a Cedar
heading out. SDOT will pick up the piles of debris and bags of trash.
heading out. SDOT will pick up the piles of debris and bags of trash.

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Craig Rankin cutting a ring in the ivy around a Cedar. Craig has a habit of doing this in the West Duwamish Greenbelt, with other forest stewards.
Craig Rankin cutting a ring in the ivy around a Cedar. Craig has a habit of doing this in the West Duwamish Greenbelt, with other forest stewards.
making progress
making progress

If you wanted to, but can’t make weekends or anything that takes this long, think about just carrying some work gloves and a weeding tool, and stopping by here for 15 or 20 minutes once in awhile to remove obvious weeds or cut back blackberry canes. Watch for glass and biohazards.  SDOT prefers that we don’t work in  the planted strip along the roadway, to stay safe.

This Saturday morning! Bring gloves, your favorite weeding tool or a rake, and a garbage bag or two, and meet us at the fishing pier. Lunch afterwards at the Chelan Cafe.   See “Events” for more details.

Delridge/Highland Park Greenway Planning

 

Quick report from the Delridge/Highland Park community meeting tonight at the Salvation Army building on 16th near White Center, attended by several from WSBC who live in the area, and one who doesn’t.
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SDOT and SPU were there in in a big way with maps, diagrams, and people including translators, to answer questions and take input from the neighborhoods. At times the ratio of SDOT to neighbors was about 1:1.  You can see the proposals at
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/delridgehighparkgreenway.htm

Input was almost all positive, with one exception who feels that added foot and bike traffic would disturb her quiet cul-de-sac. Craig Rankin, who has been working for Highland Park greenways for years, noted the need for a connection east from the proposed route on 17th to 11th or 12th. Others noted the need for connection west to the 26th Ave Greenway, and safety improvements especially at the crossings of arterials. But what is presently in the plans looks to us like a realistic route, with storm water improvements along part of it, and worth our support. You can send comments or questions to John Vander Sluis at SDOT: john.vandersluis@seattle.gov or 206.684.4617

Gordon Padelford from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Stu Hennessey, one of the leaders of the effort behind West Seattle’s first Greenways, on 21st and 26th Avenues in North Delridge, participated and lent their expertise.

Action Alert – State Transportation Funding

Here’s the takeaway from last night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting, thanks to Tom Rasmussen, our City Council Member from West Seattle, and Chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee:

Contact all of your friends, co-workers and relatives who live in Duvall, Cottage Lake, Redmond, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Medina, Bellevue, Sammamish, Newcastle, Auburn, Covington and East Hill.

Urge them to tell their State Senators Litzow, Hill, Fain and Tom and to pass a Transportation budget bill that includes the funding that the House bill includes for bus, bike and pedestrian transportation. We can’t all just drive cars everywhere all the time. If we did, the highways would come to a standstill. We need buses and safe bike and walking routes to work and school.

Time is of the essence.

The Governor may call a 2-day special session of the legislature next week only if the votes are there to pass a transportation bill. The House passed a bill that includes funding we desperately need just to maintain bus service as it is, and to fund safe routes to school, and specific improvements to East Marginal Way, and other critical bike and pedestrian safety improvements in West Seattle that our local representatives worked hard to include.

The fate of the bill in the Senate is in the hands of four east side suburban Senators:

Steve Litzow R-41st (Mercer Island-Bellevue-Newcastle),

Andy Hill R-45th (Finn Hill, Cottage Lake, parts of Redmond, Kirkland, Duvall, Sammamish)

Joe Fain R-47th (Auburn-Covington-East Hill),

Rodney Tom D-48th (Redmond-Kirkland-Bellevue).

If they hear from enough of their own constituents that we need the transit, bike and pedestrian funding that the House passed, they will have the political cover to buck their leadership.

Our Senator Sharon Nelson and Representatives Joe Fitzgibbon and Eileen Cody,  are already fully supportive.  They and Tom Rasmsusen are our champions on this. It is good to thank them, but we already have their votes.  Please contact your friends in those four districts by phone, email, FB or ham radio! Only their own constituents can really influence them.

Don Brubeck and Kathy Dunn attended, representing West Seattle Bike Connections

 

Funding for Delridge Greenway & East Marginal Way S

City budget time. Council is listening. Time to be heard.

What: City Budget listening session
When: October 24, 6:00 p.m. (5 p.m. sign up)
Where:  Garfield High School Commons – 400 23rd Ave Seattle, WA 98122

Cathy Tuttle, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Stu Hennessey, West Seattle Greenways, pass this on:

According to our briefing last week from a City Council staffer, continuing the Delridge Greenway and the East Marginal Way safety improvements are a high priority for SDOT. We need your help to make sure these projects stay in the budget and get even more money to be built in a timely way.

If you want to make sure sufficient funding for West Seattle improvements stays in the budget, please help to rally West Seattle Greenways and West Seattle Bike Connections, please show up and speak out next week at the budget listening session.

Be sure to thank CIty Council for funding — and let them know we all want safer streets asap. you can do this via email as well @ council@seattle.gov

 

Seattle Parks Bike Policy Update

A packed house greeted the Seattle Board of Parks Commissioners for the 10/1/13 public hearing on a draft update of the Bike Policies for Seattle Parks.  Present policy limits most bike use to paved roads and paths designed for shared use (at least 60 inches wide). The draft update would allow for some mountain bike trails, including single-track.

Public comments to the Commissioners can go to rachel.acosta@seattle.gov by email through November 12.

With a few exceptions focused on pedestrian safety on trails, Parks Commissioners were receptive.  The proposal would allow soft surface bike trails built to current standards, expanding recreational bike use in parks. This update was triggered by the proposals for the Beacon Bike Park in the Cheasty greenbelt. There are no specific trail proposals right now being reviewed. No changes are proposed at Lincoln or Schmitz Parks.

The existing policy was written in 1995. It views bikes only as recreation. Its concerns were for erosion on steep slopes, degradation of wetlands and streams, and disturbance of wildlife and people walking in the parks, Valid then. Now there are established standards for mountain bike trail building. Now there is demand for both recreational and transportation use of bikes.  Volunteer trail builders and users now have a track record of “giving the greenbelts some love”, by removing invasives and actually improving conditions for native flora and fauna.

My testimony for West Seattle Bike Connections was in support of proposed policy changes, but suggesting they go farther to embrace connectivity with Greenways and other routes. Bikes as transportation as well as recreation. We will submit written comments, so if you have suggestions, bring ‘em on.

In West Seattle, there are easy possibilities, like using the path along the west side of Riverview Playfield as a Greenway destination and connection. Same at Hiawatha Park. There are also more ambitious and valuable possibilities to provide safe alternatives to our high-speed, poor-sightline, steep curving arterials up through the Duwamish greenbelt, to connect to the Duwamish Trail, South Park and Georgetown. See WSBC member Craig Rankin’s mapped routes here: http://goo.gl/maps/vkDa5 including the yellow line from Highland Park Way up to South Seattle Community College.

People testified about the frustration of burning fossil fuel and spending hours driving to bike trails on the east side for an hour or so of riding with kids. Other noted the high value of this kind of recreational use for exercise, fighting childhood obesity, and positive activity for kids and adults, especially teens and pre-teen boys, “who need something stupid to do”, one dad said.

The hearing on the update was preceded by a presentation on Greenways. Bob Edmiston, a Parks Commissioner and Greenways advocate, with Sam Woods from SDOT and David Graves from Seatttle Parks. They showed the Streetfilms video on Portland greenways and reported on Seattle’s progress and plans. Commissioners debated whether or not greenway routes should be shown through parks in the Bike Master Plan Update, or left un-mapped until neighborhood outreach can occur later on. But no one spoke against using parks as routes as well as destinations. Nevertheless, it is not in current policies, so not likely to be implemented or even considered by Parks staff.

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways was well represented, including Exec Director Cathy Tuttle and members from several neighborhood greenway groups.  Jodi Connelly, our West Seattle rep on the Seattle Bike Advisory Board member, spoke, as did Brock Howell from Cascade Bicycle Club. Testimony urged parks to develop more partnerships with SDOT, with routes into parks, bike parking, and good safe places in parks for teaching kids to ride bikes.

Commissioner Brice Maryman, a landscape architect from South Seattle was an outspoken supporter of bike use in parks, including getting lines on the BMP Update map now, so they will be considered high priority for funding later.

David Greaves from Parks noted that Greenways are presently a partnership between SDOT and SPU, for green stormwater treatments. He mentioned that the green stormwater treatment is still at the experimental stage, and that the treatments for the Delridge Greenways won’t go in until 2015.

Don Brubeck