April 2019 – West Seattle Bike Connections

Seattle pedaling backwards

We need safe bike routes on East Marginal, Avalon, Fauntleroy, Delridge, Sylvan/Orchard/Dumar and Roxbury.

The 2014 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan lists these as highest priority “Citywide” routes, slated for protected bike lanes or off-street paths. But Mayor Durkan is pulling SDOT back. The draft annual update of the work plan would cut back design and construction on almost all West Seattle safety improvements until at least 2025.

The City is hosting several “cafe-style conversation” open houses to discuss the draft 6-year implementation plan for new bike facilities in Seattle. One will be in West Seattle.

Wednesday, April 24

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

4408 Delridge Way SW

Café-style Conversations

6:00PM Doors open

6:15PM Short presentation

6:30PM Conversations

This is a good opportunity to give your feedback about the new implementation plan [PDF], and to comment on some projects coming to or not coming to our neighborhoods this year.

Let’s tell SDOT to stop backpedaling. We voted for, we are paying for, and we all need safe streets now. Essential for safety, connectivity, equity, and for Seattle to meet it’s Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero goals.

Unable to attend a meeting? Send comments to CCBike@Seattle.gov by April 30, 2019.

The Seattle Bike Blog has a short overview of the plan.

No photo description available. — Map of where we stand with the build-out of the Bicycle Master Plan’s “Citywide” network routes. When will these highest-priority routes be built?

The Mayor didn’t like what she heard from the Bicycle Advisory Board (“find funds and build it”) or what she heard from the Move Seattle Levy Oversight Committee (“find funds and build it”), so now she and SDOT are side-stepping the process mandated by City Council, hoping to get the answer they want from the rest of us. Please let them know how you feel.

BMP_Imp_Plan_2019_S sector map — SDOT’s draft 2019-24 implementation work plan for south Seattle, corrected to show what they have DELETED since the 2017-21 plan.

WSBC members getting out the vote for the Move Seattle Levy on Fauntleroy

Families need safe routes to school, parks, libraries, and work

8/23/18 Move Seattle Levy Oversight Committee Recommendations from “levy reset:

• Work with the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board on an annual basis to develop a 5-year BMP implementation plan, with projects selected taking into consideration stakeholder priorities, level of traffic stress, the quantitative analysis outlined in the 2014 Bicycle Master Plan, other modal plans, other projects in development, and additional funding opportunities

• Document how SDOT will fully fund and complete a proportional share (from a cost perspective) of the BMP network and programs each year, so that the entire citywide and local connector network may realistically be completed by the BMP milestones of 2030 and 2035

• Prioritize downtown bicycle network and connecting the urban villages on the citywide network.

Bike Counts Up

Bike counts continue upward trend through winter.

Up 22.4% YTD over 2018 at the Spokane Street Bridge.

Bikes count! People riding bikes in January helped the city get through “Viadoom” without massive congestion, proving the cost-effective value of bikes for transportation. Demand exists, even in the darkest month, but we need safe streets to make it work. This is not the time for SDOT and the Mayor to back down on the Bicycle Master Plan and Move Seattle Levy commitment to build safe bike routes on Fauntleroy Way, Delridge Way, Sylvan/Orchard/Dumar, SW Roxbury and East Marginal Way S.

The Spokane Street Bridge 24/7/365 bike counter doesn’t count all bike rides in our area, but it shows the trends for people using bikes. It usually tracks closely with the Fremont Bridge trends. Looking at the bridge counts provides solid data vs. just surveys or one-day counts.

Up 65.6% in Jan 19 over Jan 18 during viaduct to tunnel transition.
Down 20.7% Feb 19 over Fab 18 during snow and ice (car and bus traffic was way down, too)
Up 19.2% Mar 19 over Mar 18.
Up 22.4% for year to date 2019 over 2018.

SDOT data, our graph.

April 2 WSBC Meeting

Our monthly meeting is Tuesday, April 2, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Neighborhood House in High Point. 6400 Sylvan Way.
Come join in for:
The good: Stu Hennessey of Alki Bike and Board – presentation on cycling in Germany;
Tbe ugly, but worth it: Input to SDOT on bike detours during Avalon paving;
The bad: Next steps to oppose the Mayor’s backpedaling on the Bicycle Master Plan and Move Seattle Levy;
And planning spring and summer rides and events.