Category: Biking

South Park Connections

Art Brochet from SDOT briefed the South Park Transportation Committee on developments related to extension of the West Duwamish Trail through the industrial area of South Park at a meeting last Tuesday, 9/17. These street improvements are big deal for this vibrant, but under-served community. They fill in some key gaps we have recommended for the Bike Master Plan.

The West Duwamish trail extension will start at Holden, run southeast along the WA99 right of way, then east on Portland to 8th, with two added blocks south on 8th. Bike lanes along Portland will be separated from traffic by trees and lighting. Portland Ave is a gravel street at the moment, with truck traffic serving industrial businesses, and will be paved. The project is now proposed to extend an additional two blocks south from Portland to Kenyon on 8th, as requested by WSBC in our Bike Master Plan Update comments, with the bike lane on that stretch separated from traffic lanes by parking – a real state-of-the-art bike route! Because the path will be crossed by several entrances to industrial sites, with trucks and forklifts moving across the trail, Art would appreciate our help in designing signage to warn cyclists.

Design for the bike trail part of the project is at nearly 90%, but the road and drainage parts of the project are a bit farther behind. Still, Art expects the project to go to bid in November and construction to begin in May. He shared a draft project planning notice that should be finalized and available to us and others soon. More importantly, he plans to hold an open house on the project to solicit community reaction on November 12th from 5 to 7 pm (date and time to be confirmed), just before a meeting of the South Park Neighborhood Association. At least one business rep is opposed to the trail,  so our support at the meeting would be welcome.

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This report is from Bob Winship, West Seattle Bike Connections.  At the invitation of Dagmar Cronn, President of the South Park Neighborhood Association, Bob and others from WSBC began participating with the South Park neighborhood in working for safe bike routes to places people in South Park want to ride to, including parks, the community center and library, the Duwamish Trail, and West Seattle, where many South Park kids go to middle and high school. If you live or work in South Park and want to participate, please do! Let us know, or contact the SPNA.

East Marginal – Smoother Sailing

Wet and windy this morning, but the paving on East Marginal is feeling a LOT better. New surfacing at the Hanford to Horton intersections and another of the worst sections further north.  One less thing to think about when getting into the north bound bike lane, and just in time for wetter, darker riding.

Thank you SDOT!  These are more of the interim improvements requested by Mayor McGinn and approved by City Council, pushed by Transportation Committee Chair Tom Rasmussen.  Funded by savings from the Spokane Street Viaduct project.

IMG_0303  IMG_0309Some of the curved, buried RR tracks have been removed, and trees in the sidewalk from Spokane to near Horton have been transplanted along side or removed, and the tree pits have been paved. Still to come: moving hydrants and some signs out of the path and grinding down bumps. Puddle drainage. Widening the west side sidewalk to really convert the west side sidewalk to a multi-use path workable for two-way bike traffic?

If you have not tried the downtown commute via West Seattle Bridge Trail, East Marginal and Alaskan Way, this could be a good time to give it a shot. Not perfect (still have Lake Marginal and a big puddle near Spokane), but much improved surface, and there is still light to see and get to know it.  Come January, when the Viaduct is shut down for tunnel drilling, it may be dark and wet and colder, but a bike with lights and rain jacket for 30 minutes will beat being stuck in traffic for an hour or more.

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Here are a couple of “before” shots in the same area, from January of this year:

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SODO Arena EIS – this affects bike connections from West Seattle

Arena Draft EIS came out to no fanfare in August. The proponents’ preferred SODO scheme vacates public streets, and impacts our bike routes from West Seattle to downtown and Beacon Hill, to say nothing of freight traffic and shipping, bus routes and car traffic.  Comments due by September 30.

At first glance, it is predictably and sadly lacking in evaluation of the traffic impact for pedestrians, bikes, cars, trucks, buses, and trains. They  have no b-ball team right now, so this will be easy for the proponents to slip by the citizens of Seattle unless we read it critically and comment or appeal it. If you are interested in a group response, please comment here or send a message. Land use and environmental attorneys wanted!  We need serious analysis and mitigation proposals.

http://buildingconnections.seattle.gov/2013/08/15/seattle-arena-draft-environmental-impact-statement-available/

First public hearing is already past.

Second and final one:  September 19 at 6:00 p.m. Fidalgo Room Seattle Center

Saturday 9/14 – Bikes & Horses

Fiestas Patrias,  South Park

We’ll be there on behalf of Cascade Bicycle Club to do helmet fitting and give helmets to kids who don’t have one, and for bike information. Parade at 11 a.m. We’ll be at the fiesta after the parade, at Sea-Mar Plaza, 9634 Des Moines Memorial Parkway, 1:00 to ~5:00.
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Come volunteer with us, or ride with the Mayor from Seattle Center to the Parade and horse show, then come visit the fiesta. If you want to volunteer, comment or send a message.

 

This Friday 6:30-8:30 am: Bike & Truck Safety Fair

Share the road safely! Join the Port of Seattle and  partners for an opportunity to learn about truck blind spots and the challenges bicyclists and truck drivers face each day as they share Seattle’s busy roads.

Come for bagels, fruit and coffee. Stay to ride along in a semi on a short course to see what truck drivers can and can’t see. 15 minutes at the Bike & Truck Safety Fair may give you a new perspective, and an opportunity to meet SDOT, WSDOT and Port of Seattle representatives.

When: Friday, September 6, 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
Where: Terminal 25, 3225 East Marginal Way, south entry, just north of Spokane Street, where the truck drivers park

Bike_Truck-Fair_Flyer_final_2-1We are partners of this Port of Seattle sponsored event. if you would like to volunteer an hour, we could use one or two more.

 

East Marginal Way – interim improvements

The West Seattle Blog reported this week on interim improvements for East Marginal Way S from S Spokane St to S Atlantic Street (at the Coast Guard’s Pier 46).

In addition to the improvements listed by SDOT, we have asked for
– removal of fire hydrants that are right in the middle of the path. These violate SDOT, SPU and ADA standards.
– widening of the path/sidewalk to make it safe and usable for high volume 2-way bike and low volume pedestrian traffic, with safe room for passing.
– improvements to sightlines at some of the terminal driveways where fencing, signs or other obstruction interfere with views.

It will be a tough sell to get the bike commuters currently using the northbound bike lane to switch to the sidewalk on the west side unless it is really improved to be a safe, smooth bike path with room to pass safely.

trees in "tree pits" and hydrant obstructions
trees in “tree pits” and hydrant obstructions

trees in "tree pits" and hydrant obstructions
trees in “tree pits” and hydrant obstructions
trees in "tree pits" and hydrant obstructions
trees in “tree pits” and hydrant obstructions
sign could be raised up to avoid obscuring sight triangle at drive.
sign could be raised up to avoid obscuring sight triangle at drive.

Bicycle Loop Detectors

WSBC heard that some people don’t know that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) added bicycle loop detector markings at many intersections. These markings indicate where cyclists should stop in order to trigger a green light at a signalized intersection.

The marks can be seen as one pulls up to a red light, so as long as there are no motor vehicles in front of you. The marker will generally be located behind the white stop line and generally slightly to the right, positioned over the vehicle sensor that’s embedded in the pavement. There are two forms we see most regularly; the older “T” marking or the newer small “bicyclist” marking, seen here.

loopdetectorPortland

Simply make sure your front tire, at least, is centered over this white marker and you should be added to the signal rotation.

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Some intersections don’t have this marker, or they may be faded away. If you think a specific intersection should have a marker but doesn’t you can contact walkandbike@seattle.gov and let them know.

Some intersection signal phases are triggered by camera, not a pavement marker, and these are trickier to identify. If you are not picked up when using a loop detector marker, the light skips you on a regular basis, takes an inordinate amount of time to change, or you need more information, you can contact SDOT at the email address above. Reporting signalized intersections that don’t pick up waiting cyclists should be fixed quickly to help prevent impatient red-light running and general cyclist frustration.

Another Collision – Let’s Stop This

Once again, flashing red lights on East Marginal Way. Medic 1, Rescue 1, Ladder 7 and a bike rider on a backboard. This time, bike-on-bike collision. Second one within weeks. Thank you Scott Johnston for this report on Bikewise.org

This was not an “accident”. This was negligence. The one who caused it walked away. The one who was riding correctly in his lane got a trip to Harborview. I hope the injured rider [edited] receives full restitution from the rider who caused the injury, and that the one who caused it is charged with negligent driving and penalized under the new Vulnerable Users law if the injured rider’s injuries are substantial.[end edit]

We need to get to work safely. We need to get home safely. Commuting to work is not a damn race. No one cares how many riders you pass or if you get downtown 2 minutes faster. If you want to race, sign up for a race and stop pretending. Riding to work or home relaxed and alert has all kinds of benefits.

How about trying some of this?

• Stay alert.
Be aware of what is in front and beside and behind you. Watch your line. Keep your hands near your brakes.

• Ride in a predictable manner.

• Share the road.

• Leave space between you and others, so you can see what is ahead.

• Don’t pass unless you can see well ahead that the way is clear.

• Call out your passes before you pass, or ring a bell. When it is crowded or you can’t see ahead, SLOW DOWN and communicate.

DB

Bike Master Plan Update Comments / Deadline

Deadline for public comments to SDOT is this Friday, July 26.
Seattle Bike Master Plan Update
West Seattle Bike Connections submitted group comments last December. We met twice as a group with SDOT staff, participated in the public workshops, and just submitted detailed comments and a “report card” on the changes made in the June 2013 draft compared with the December 2012 draft.

SDOT bike planners, traffic engineers, and their planning consultants at Alta are working hard to make this a world-class plan for bicycle transportation. We appreciate their good work. But they don’t know every aspect of the city, and that’s where we come in. If you send your own comments on areas important to you, we will give West Seattle a strong voice in this important planning and policy document.

A plan does not guarantee that the planned improvements and programs will be funded, but if something is not included in the plan, it will be much less likely to ever be budgeted by the Mayor, funded by City Council, or implemented by SDOT.

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