Category: Advocacy

Essential bikers

Today at the east approach to the Spokane St Bridge, we met Seattle fire fighter Aaron and paramedic Kelly on bikes, returning home to West Seattle after their shifts. They carry all the gear they need on their e-assist cargo bikes. More than 100 Seattle fire fighters live in West Seattle. Many are turning to biking for the most reliable way to get to their stations. Likewise, over the past couple of weeks, West Seattle Bike Connections has given medical personnel custom bike routes to get from home to UW Medical Center, Pac Med, the VA Hospital and Swedish Cherry Hill medical center. Bike sales are through the roof at local shops.

As part of contingency planning and mitigation, we need the City to implement key bike safety improvements now for safe, efficient routes to the Spokane St Bridge, 1st Ave S Bridge and South Park Bridge.

Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, West Seattle Bike Connections, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Cascade Bicycle Club sent a memo to SDOT proposing strategies and actions. Sam Zimbabwe has promised a response.

Biking to Bridge the Gap

Emily asked us how to ride her bike safely from West Seattle to work at the VA Hospital. Erin asked how to ride to UW Medical Center.  Travis is willing to commute on his new e-bike all the way to Green Lake. We are fielding many inquiries. Bike sales are taking off.  With alternate route traffic delays looming, Georgetown and South Park residents are fearful of gridlock, air pollution, and for the safety of their children walking to school. We know that using bikes instead of cars will help free up capacity on the remaining bridges. But we need a few improvements make it safe and efficient for these folks and many more people to bike instead of drive.

West Seattle Bike Connections with Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Cascade Bicycle Club sent a detailed proposal to the City yesterday, summarized here.

OUR GOAL

Mobility for West Seattle, SODO and the Duwamish Valley.

Keep people and goods moving safely across much lower-capacity bridges over the Duwamish while the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge is closed. Mitigate impacts on our communities. Honor Seattle’s commitments to equitable transportation, our environment, social justice, and economic vitality.

STRATEGIES

Encourage or incentivize as many people as possible to use bikes or transit, or both, instead of driving private vehicles. Accomplish this before the end of COVID-19 restrictions.

    1. Improve conditions to make it safe, efficient and comfortable for people to ride bikes and transit.
    2. Concentrate on safety and wayfinding for biking and bike/transit connections:
      • On key West Seattle bike routes to the Spokane Street bridge, and from the bridge on East Marginal Way S to Pioneer Square, Downtown, SODO Trail, and SODO light rail station.
      • On bike routes to the 1st Ave S bridge and South Park Bridge, and bike routes within South Park and Georgetown that are impacted by alternate route traffic and may also be needed for biking from West Seattle whenever the Spokane Street Bridge is closed.
      • On routes to and bike parking at the King County Water Taxi dock at Seacrest.
    1. Protect Neighborhood Greenway streets near alternate routes from cut-through traffic, to keep them safe for residents and for walking and biking by people of all ages and abilities.
    2. Ensure availability of bikeshare bikes. Provide bikeshare discounts and bike/e-bike financing to people with low incomes.
    3. Use up to 1% of the bridge repair cost for mitigation measures for bike and pedestrian safety and efficiency.
    4. Use advocacy groups like West Seattle Bike Connections, Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways to:
      • Identify opportunities to improve safety and wayfinding.
      • Provide route advice, route maps, bike buddy matching, bike trains and educational rides.
      • Connect people to good advice and local bike shops for selecting and maintaining bikes, including e-bikes.
    • Screenshot 2019-01-05 21.58.42

RECOMMENDED WORK FOR STREET SAFETY

PRESERVE these already planned and funded projects on schedule: 
EXPEDITE these key Bicycle Master Plan high priority routes:
    • Sylvan Way SW / SW Orchard and east to Highland Park
    • Highland Park Way SW off street multi-use path
    • 1st Ave S Bridge to 1st Ave S safe route north from bridge
    • SW Roxbury  bike lanes without reducing traffic lanes
QUICKLY IMPLEMENT spot improvements for wayfinding and safe routes:
    • On Spokane Street Bridge routes at the Chelan 5-way intersection; on Fauntleroy Way and Admiral Way; on the “Nucor Trail” connection from Delridge to the Alki Trail; at Terminal 18 trail crossings on Harbor Island; on East Marginal Way; and on the connections to the SODO light rail station and SODO Trail.
    • On 1st Avenue South Bridge and South Park Bridge routes at the Duwamish Trail “missing link from the Alki Trail; on Highland Park Way at West Marginal Way; at rough rail crossings on the Duwamish Trail and in Georgetown; and on routes in Georgetown through SODO.

WSBC Meeting March 3

Taylor Knowles, SDOT’s Outreach person for the East Marginal Way Corridor Project, will present the 60% design for discussion.  Please join us!

Tuesday, March 3
6:30 to 8:00 pm
Neighborhood House
6400 Sylvan Way SW  (at SW Morgan, in High Point)

We are really excited to see progress on this catalyst project. It is West Seattle’s main bike route to downtown, and the Port of Seattle’s most important “last mile” freight route. This design milestone is a great opportunity for input to dial in the design so it will really work for bike riders and truck drivers.

We and our allies at Northwest Seaport, BNSF, and SODO industries all want a safe route with clear and robust separation of vehicle and bike traffic. The result should be bike riding that is predicable for truck drivers and comfortable for bike riders of all abilities.

If you can’t make the meeting, here’s a link to the project website. One more click takes you to a survey for online input.

Semi-truck tractor with a bike in a rack on the front of the truck.
Some people commute by bike on East Marginal Way to work driving a truck.

Low Bridge Counts High

Bike Counts on the Spokane Street Bridge: +5.8% more bike trips this year through September, compared to same time in 2018.  2018 ended at 8.6% above 2017.

Seattle Bike Blog has a post today about the awesome increases at the Fremont Bridge. Counts from West Seattle confirm the trend.

Ridership would surely be even higher if we were not contending this year with

  • the Avalon Way paving project;
  • riding through the middle of a large homeless encampment on an isolated stretch of trail (now cleared);
  • the messy and confusing Alaskan Way viaduct demo work;
  • lack of progress on bike master plan implementation.

On the plus side this year:

  • good weather in January (offset by ice and snow in February) and a summer without smoke;
  • traffic congestion, including crowded buses slowed by Viaduct demo impacts;
  • increasing popularity of e-bikes.
  • What  else?

Green Light for East Marginal Way!

Really great news for biking from West Seattle!

Funding and City commitment to fully protected bike lanes and signals on East Marginal Way S for the first phase of the East Marginal Way Corridor Improvement Project.  This is a win for moving freight safely and efficiently to our seaport and major industrial center; it’s a win for making biking a significant part of a sustainable transportation system.

We’ve been working for this since 2012 as top priority.  It could multiply severalfold the number of people riding bikes to downtown and points east and north. It’s a game-changer. SDOT is resuming design now, First phase construction is scheduled to be completed in 2021 from bridge trail at S Spokane to Portside trail at S Atlantic.

Quoting CM Lisa Herbold’s newsletter (Lisa has been a champion of this project):

“On Monday the Council voted to accept $5 million in grants for the East Marginal Way Corridor Improvement Project. This will allow Phase 1 work to proceed.

“This is good news for bicycle access from West Seattle to Downtown. When I met with West Seattle Bike Connections members in March, this project was a high priority.

“”Phase 1 work will include work in the northern portion of the project:

  • “Constructing a bicycle facility between S Atlantic St and S Spokane St with full separation between people biking and people driving and delivering goods to make biking safer and more predictable
  • Rebuilding the existing traffic signal at S Hanford St to protect all bicyclist and motorist movements
  • Constructing a new traffic signal at S Horton St to provide a protected diagonal crossing for bicyclists
  • Updating the existing signal at S Atlantic St and S Spokane St to work better with the changes to the corridor
  • Potentially relocating the railroad tracks at S Hanford St to provide more space between truck traffic and the bicycle facility

“Phase 1 design work will proceed in 2019 and 2020, with construction starting as soon as fall 2020. The project website has an update about the timeline.

“In addition to the $5 million in grants, the Council legislation conditionally accepted another $4 million, which may become available soon. Voting to approve this now allows SDOT to accept the funds without an additional vote. The additional funds can be used for design of all the project work on East Marginal as far south as Diagonal Avenue. This will make it easier to apply for large federal grants.

“The website notes “Expect to see additional materials and events starting in summer or fall 2019. Comments and questions are welcome by emailing EastMarginal@seattle.gov or calling 206-684-8105.”

“East Marginal Way is a major freight corridor that provides access to the Port of Seattle terminals, rail yards, industrial businesses and the regional highway system, and between local Manufacturing and Industrial Councils (MIC’s). It is also a designated Heavy Haul Route, critical last-mile connector and vital route for over-sized trucks or those carrying flammable cargo. In addition, the corridor provides a major connection for people who bike between the West Seattle Bridge Trail, downtown, and the SODO neighborhood.

“This project will:

  • Improve safety and reliability in the movement of people and goods
  • Support freight loads by rebuilding the roadway
  • Promote efficiency through signal modifications and intelligent transportation systems (ITS)
  • Improve safety by better separating non-motorized modes from freight traffic”

Details of funding and phasing are in this SDOT report to the Levy Oversight Committee, starting on page 49 of the slide deck .

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Roadway definition and separation will prevent deaths and injuries.
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Separation of bike riders from heavy truck traffic and impatient car drivers requires more than paint and posts.
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Bike + Truck Rodeo at T25 with Port of Seattle, WSBC, SDOT, WSDOT, BNSF, SFAB, Drayage Truck Drivers. We are partners and allies with all those who depend on Seattle’s industies, import/export through our seaport, and freight mobility, for their livelihood. And that’s a LOT of us!

 

 

Bike to School!

It’s Bike to School Day for Bike Month! Lots of little engines powered the bike trains to Alki ES, Louisa Boren STEM K-8, Genessee ES, and other schools around town. There are always lots of riders to Lafayette year round, thanks to active parents and teachers – it only takes a few to make every day can be bike to school day!

West Seattle Bike Connections members helped out. Joe Laubach organized the day at Louisa Boren.  Bryan Fiedorczyk, Al Jackson, Kathy Dunn and Don Brubeck led and “caboosed” the trains to Alki ES. Bryan had some awesome custom Alki slap bracelets and stick-ons for the kids.

West Seattle Blog story and more pix are here.

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The bike trains arrived on time for school and socializing at Alki ES

Seattle pedaling backwards

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

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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.
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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.

 

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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
Riding to to downtown in January
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.

Online voting for Neighborhood Street Fund

We have three West Seattle projects to recommend for District 1:

2019-134 Duwamish Longhouse Pedestrian Safety & Accessibility Project – from The Duwamish Tribe. See our post for more info.

2019-8 Brandon Street Sidewalks – Delridge to High Point

2019-124 Sylvan Way SW Low Cost Sidewalk South of Holly Street

There are also District 1 applications from members as individuals, and some from neighborhood associations that you might have a special interest in. The next step is up to you!

 

Please attend a community prioritization meeting or vote online

Saturday, February 2, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW

Monday, February 4, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, South Park Hall, 1253 S Cloverdale St

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Concerned About Congestion?

This is how to create more space on the streets:

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Source: Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan , Transportation Appendix

Compared to driving alone:

  • Walking is least expensive, and great for personal and public health. But it is slow.
  • Car-pooling costs extra miles, a bit of extra time. It can be inconvenient.
  • Transit uses road space efficiently, but is expensive to build and operate, It can be time consuming and inflexible, depending upon when and where you want to go.
  • Biking is great for personal and public health, and is often the fastest way to go  places in the city. No waiting, no worries about traffic jams.

Building and maintaining safe bike routes is a tiny fraction of the costs of building and maintaining streets, bridges, tunnels and rail lines for transit and cars.  But lots of people do not use bikes for transportation because they don’t feel safe on the streets they need to use. If you want to increase street capacity for driving cars, trucks and buses, it makes sense to support building a safe bike network, to get more people using bikes.