WS bridge count up 29% March 2015 over March 2014

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Fourth month in a row of gains over previous year.

Weather assisted, or more people ready to ride in any weather?  You decide:

  • Days with >0.02″ rain at SeaTac:  16 in 2014, 17 in 2015
  • Inches of precipitation:  9.4 in 2014, 4.5 in 2015
  • Temperature: close to same number of “heating degree days”.  505 v. 441.

SDOT stats, WSBC graph.   Click on link at page top right for more counter data.

WSBC meeting Tuesday April 7

Open meeting – you are invited to come plan activities, and discuss everything related to using bikes in West Seattle.

6:30 to 8:00 pm at HomeStreet Bank,  41st Ave SW at SW Alaska St    thank you HomeStreet Bank!

Agenda includes

  • bike parking on the new water taxis , with Ken Pritchard from Vashon
  • Bike Month activities including our commute station and a bike commuting workshop
  • USDOT Safety event May 7
  • Denny-Lincoln Classic ride
  • 35th Ave Safety Corridor Project and Chelan 5-Way Intersection project
  • Bicycle Master Plan 5-year work plan update
  • rides, rides, rides:  Garage Sale Day ride, Park & Art Ride,  West Seattle STP, Spoke & Food Ride
  • grants, grants, grants for intersection improvements
at the fishing pier on the West Seattle Bridge trail. photo by Kathy Dunn

 

Delridge at the bridge

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Delridge path work in full swing near WS Bridge. Detour route on 23rd SW to/from SW Andover. Ignore the sign on 23rd at Andover that says “road closed” – it is open for bikes to the trail. Photo by Alex, who posts on WS Blog Flickr group as alextutu1821.

trucks + bikes? trucks = bikes?

As our city gets denser, and as people order more goods for home delivery, how do we deal with the need for more delivery vehicles in crowded conditions?   Some people and companies are going back to using bikes. The lines are getting blurred between what is a bike and what is a truck.  It’s not just Jimmie Johns for sandwiches. It’s UPS for holiday packages in Salem, and urgent medical supplies, and gardening companies in Seattle, and fresh fish in Port Townsend.

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More in this Seattle Bike Blog story, 

and an in depth study of bikes for freight in New York City.

bikes + trucks on the last mile

The Port of Seattle Seaport is open for business, and catching up on the container backlog.

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Easy to see how car traffic delays freight movement on East Marginal Way S. When people on bikes have a safe lane to ride beside truck traffic, they expand the bandwidth and ease congestion on this “last mile” of the major truck routes to the Port.

March 3 meeting – quick recap

That was a great meeting! Full house. Kathy will do minutes. Highlights here:

  • We set a 9:15 am meeting time to ride to South Park trail celebration this Saturday, leaving from under the WS Bridge where the trails meet;
  • Gordon Padelford from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways helped us prepare for 35th Ave Safety Corridor meetings and we discussed the new Vision Zero initiative;
  • Kathy Dunn gave a progress report on contacting owners about vegetation trimming on Spokane east of Harbor;
  • David Whiting will draft a letter to Cascade about advocacy;
  • Theresa Beaulieu, Al Jackson and Kathy Dunn volunteered to take shifts counting bike/ped traffic for a study Mike Hendrix is doing for the Delridge/Highland Park Greenway;
  • Don Brubeck will see if we need to back up Simon’s request to SDOT to restore lighting on bike path on Spokane near East Marginal, and Jodi Connolly and Keith Newnham’s request to repaint the bike box at Andover and Delridge;
  • Theresa will represent us at Delridge District Council for NPSF grants;
  • Mike volunteered for 2016 grant for SW Yancy & Avalon SW;
  • Don will go to the next Bridging the Gap Levy outreach meetings;
  • and last but certainly not least: Anna Hendricks volunteered to be our volunteer coordinator to receive, welcome and match up volunteers with projects and events.

Spokane Street Bridge – open for ships, breathing and stretching

Bridge open tonight… time to stretch, chat, check for messages. What do you do when the bridge opens just before you make it to the gate?

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Have you seen Kelli Refer’s little book Pedal Stretch Breathe – the Yoga of Bicycling? Bridge opening can be a good time to be present, to find contentment, even if you will be late for dinner, or in my case tonight, late for a yoga class.

Bicycling has the capacity to shift the paradigm of the way you see and interact with where you live. Distance is transformed, community is redefined. Try to integrate the same mindfulness of a yoga practice into the act of riding a bike. See what happens. When you integrate a yoga perspective into your riding it amplifies the importance of the present moment and helps you listen to your body.” Kelli Refer

Connect Seattle – West Seattle Bike Connections

We are part of Connect Seattle – the West Seattle, South Park and White Center part.  It’s a new initiative from Cascade Bicycle Club with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.  Connect Seattle is a long-term citywide campaign to create a complete network of bikeways connecting neighborhoods across the city so everyone can ride safely. The campaign is powered by a network of neighborhood groups led by teams of caring neighbors working together.  Want to get involved?  Join us at a meeting first Tuesday of the month or by email to westseattlebikeconnections (at) gmail (dot) com. DSC06539

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