Category: General

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

READ ALL ABOUT IT

 

Saturday January 31 – Connect Seattle Summit

Going to Connect Seattle Summit at Cascade Bicycle Club on Saturday (tomorrow)?
If you want to ride there together to represent West Seattle, South Park, or White Center, meet on Alki Trail at 59th SW ready to roll at 10:30 am or under West Seattle Bridge where the trails meet, at 10:45.
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Options for Chelan 5-way intersection!

Short, Medium and Long Term schemes were presented at tonight’s Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board Meeting. These grew out of a workshop held last February with participation by SDOT and lots of stakeholders, including West Seattle Bike Connections.  The short term option has funding and can be completed in 2015. The medium and long term options are unfunded. There was no support expressed at the meeting for the medium option – confusing and regular users wouldn’t use it. There was enthusiastic support for the long term “flyover” option. It adds a lane to the Terminal 5 truck flyover lane and passes right over the intersection, landing on the Alki Trail behind the Chelan Cafe. It would be obvious, safe, easy, gets bike riders out of the way of trucks at the 5-way, and provides an all ages and abilities connection between the Alki, West Duwamish, and West Seattle Bridge trails, attractive to fast commuters and slow family groups alike.

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Flyover option cuts a gap in the guardrail at the T-5 stoplight, crosses SW Spokane St there, and attaches a bike lane to the inside of the curving T-5 ramp, peeling off before the RR tracks past the NW side of the 5-way intersection,  sweeping down to the Alki Trail by the Chelan Cafe.

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Crosswalks on Delridge for Boren School

A win for traffic safety at Boren School on Delridge! Last February we helped push Craig Rankin’s initiative in going after a Seattle Neighborhood Parks and Streets Fund grant for a crosswalk at Boren. It’s a super long block where people cross the busy street with no protection. The initial reaction to the proposal was negative, but now not just one, but TWO crosswalks will be built! Great work by Craig and Boren’s school community, and thank you Brian Dougherty at SDOT!

http://westseattleblog.com/2015/01/2-new-crosswalks-confirmed-for-delridge-way-by-boren-building/

Unblocking Bike Lanes and Detours

Today another vehicle driver decided that the bike/ped detour lane under the Alaska Way Viaduct near S Main St was a handy place to park and leave a truck. There has to be use of this area for loading for some of the businesses, but this van was obviously there for construction work, probably tunnel construction work.
Reporting to SPD Parking Enforcement didn’t work – non-emergency line was too booked up and the recorded message said call back later in the day. Worth a try,  but would have been too late.
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So, in addition to email to Cascade Concrete & Drilling directly to request better behavior, an email to SDOT’s “Construction Hub” program and WSDOT SR99 Viaduct Project got a quick response back from Melody Berry, SDOT Construction Hub Coordination Program Supervisor, promising enforcement. If you see a problem that has to do with construction detours or construction project use of streets in the downtown core area or the WS Junction, give them a try!

Alki Elementary – bike racks

 

The start of new bike racks today at Alki Elementary School. We helped parents, who met us at our Alki Summer Streets bike rodeo, scope out locations and connect with Brian Dougherty at SDOT.  Principal Shannon Stanton and teacher Mr. Leeper really are supportive of kids walking and biking to school.  A few parents, the Principal and a teacher or two. That’s what it takes! The kids are willing.2014-12-17 08.10.08

Another Hair Salon Crash

Yesterday, yet another hair salon was the victim of a collision with a vehicle, this time Salon 08 in West Seattle.

First question asked by media after the crash:  “Was she wearing a helmet?”

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Driver’s first statement:  “I don’t know what happened. That salon just came out of nowhere!”

Talk radio chat:  “Those salons should not be allowed on the road.”

Citizen comments:  “Getting your hair done is too dangerous. I don’t know why people think they should do that.”

Advocacy groups: “We demand protected hair salons lanes”

Columbia City, August 2014, 6 people in hair salon and adjacent restaurant were injured, and the historic building suffered serious damage.

Compton, California, September 2013, building red-tagged

Hockley, England, May 2011 , severe damage