Category: Biking

Parks & Arts Ride #1

Two dozen young, middle-aged and older people on bikes had a great time this morning exploring and playing in Jack Block Park and north Delridge. We saw Coast Salish art, and a steel plant and trains. We rode down a Dead End that wasn’t, if you were on a bike, and went to a giant dragonfly. We rode on gravel along a creek in a green tunnel to a salmon bridge. Some of us tried a skatepark and climbed on a climbing rock and one of us climbed up some artwork. We rode on a greenway street and got counted, and on a street with beautiful raingardens and sidewalks, and we went back to the bay where all the water all goes.

We’ll do another one! Let’s boost the family riders in West Seattle by exploring more of the public art and parks that we can enjoy by bike.

We have reached out to the Duwamish Revealed organizers. They would love to have us lead a ride to the art projects that are going in along the Duwamish this summer.  Want to help plan? Your ideas and volunteering for other rides are DSC09045 DSC09041 DSC09039 DSC09034welcome, too.

Parks & Arts Ride – Saturday June 6

Come ride with us this Saturday! Bring the family! 9:30 am at Jack Block Park, at the first set of restrooms and parking spaces.

Ride details here  Parents please see the information for children riding their own bikes.

A West Seattle Bike Connections / Cascade Bicycle Club ride.  If this one is a hit, we’ll try others exploring West Seattle and South Park parks and public art by bike, including the Duwamish Revealed projects happening this summer. IMG_1898 DSC08976IMG_1911 DSC08979

Bike Rodeo at the Junction

From our bike rodeo May 30 at KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood Block Party at the Junction. Young riders gained confidence and riding skills, while having fun and earning prizes.  It was a Friday school and work day, without advance mention in KEXP’DSC08864 DSC08869 DSC08870 DSC08900 DSC08904 DSC08915 DSC08920s announcements, so most of our participants were 2 to 4 years old, on balance bikes provided by West Seattle Cyclery. with a flurry of olde kids after school. SPD bike patrol officers showed everybody how to ride it, and got the grownups into it, too.

Thanks for the invitation and support from Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association and Brad Loetel at West Seattle Cyclery.  Clarrisa Allen and Ed Ewing at Cascade Bicycle Club supplemented our rodeo props and literature,  and WSBC volunteers Kathy Dunn, Bob Winship, Jeff Hallman, and Don Brubeck were the bike rider wranglers and crew.

Arena final EIS – SDOT/DPD responses

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed basketball/hockey arena in SODO has been published.  We commented –  major impacts to traffic that would affect travel by bike from West Seattle, and use of bikes to get to the Arena were not really considered in the draft EIS.  SDOT/DPD responses to our comment letter are attached.   Links to the entire FEIS are online at DPD’s website here. IMG_1356

Arena FEIS-WSBCltr_Page_1

 

 

Arena FEIS-WSBCltr_Page_5

Arena FEIS-WSBCltr_Page_2Arena FEIS-WSBCltr_Page_3 Arena FEIS-WSBCltr_Page_4 Arena FEIS-WSBCltr_Page_5

The comment letters and responses are in Appendix F.

 

Bike to Work Day – Friday 5/16

Bike to Work Day is this Friday, May 15. Stop by our Commute Station under the West Seattle Bridge, open 6:00 to 9:00 am.

Bike mechanics from DIY Bikes. Home made cookies, fresh fruit, hot coffee, Cascade swag, other treats, and information about the Chelan 5-way intersections proposals.

If you can be there at 8:15, join a group ride to the BTW Day rally at Union Station.

If you go up Second Ave, you can stop at Washington Bike Law’s commute station at Cherry Street for fun and games.

Learning from the Best Bicycle Cities in the World

West Seattle Meaningful Movies presents:
 
Learning from the Best Bicycle Cities in the World
 
A number of short movies that highlight the best cities in the world for bicycling. A multicultural perspective on what others are doing and what we can do for our health, for the climate, and for our communities.     
 
Meet local bicycle advocates and hear about their efforts in West Seattle and in other neighborhoods.
 
Get inspired, get connected locally, get bicycling! 
6:30—doors open for snacks and social time
7:00—movies, followed by community announcements and a facilitated conversation
6400 Sylvan Way SW, Seattle 98126
Bus numbers 21 and 128
NO CHARGE, but donations gratefully received.
Help us minimize waste—bring your own mug.

 Gil Penalosa–on streets that are safe for all ages


“From the Netherlands to America–Best Bicycling Ideas”

 

 “Bike Friendly Cities–The Journey to School”
​

Get connected and informed for yourself, your family, your community, and your planet.

The new Water Taxis will rust your bike

Support your local bike shop: Ride the M/V Sally Fox to Vashon Island, or the new one coming to the West Seattle Route.

Or, contact these officials to ask for in-cabin bike racks like the old water taxis, or covered on-deck storage that excludes salt spray:

paul.brodeur@kingcounty.gov,
harold.taniguchi@kingcounty.gov,
Dow.Constantine@kingcounty.gov,
joe.mcdermott@kingcounty.gov

Here is what all four bike shops in West Seattle and White Center, and the closest to the water taxi terminal downtown, have to say:

150421 water taxis bike shops

 

 

PRO safety petition for 35th Ave SW

If you are FOR safety on 35th Avenue SW, please sign this PRO-safety petition.
You may have seen a petition circulating to STOP the safety improvements planned for “I-35”. There a several hundred signers who may be deceived by the petition claims that 35th is safe as is, and speed is needed, or actually saves time. It is hard to believe that they would be more willing to risk their neigbors’ lives rather than lose a few seconds of car travel time due to 5 mph lower speed limit; a signal at Graham; a greenway on 34th; pedestrian safety islands; a left turn lane to avoid rear-ending and left-hook car crashes.

If you are FOR Safety, please sign this PRO-safety petition, signed by over 600 concerned neighbors in 2014, and re-opened now.

Please keep the boxes clicked so that Seattle Neighborhood Greenways / West Seattle Greenways can notify you of victories in this project.DSC00064

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

Delridge-alextutu1821

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.