Spokane St Bridge bike counts are down this year for obvious reasons, but climbing back up, as more people try riding across the river for excercise or to get to essential jobs.
With drastically fewer people working downtown, the daily pattern is really different: more weekend riders; lower morning and evening commute hour peaks; more mid-day riding.
Too bad we don’t have data for neighborhood routes within West Seattle. Casual observation shows an amazing increase.
We are happy to see that the City recognizes the role biking can play to mitigate impacts of the West Seattle high-rise bridge closure by creating an aggressive but realistic bike mode share goal. To get acheive the goal of 10% of trips across the bridge at peak hour by bike, it will be necessary to make biking routes safe, comfortable and efficient.
But…
SDOT’s proposed funding and scope of projects to improve biking is insufficient. It will take fully funding the spot improvements list we provided in April. While we appreciate the inclusion of many of our suggestions in the Reconnect Seattle Survey, we are disappointed to see that the City intends to implement only a handful of spot improvement projects, spending less than $1M [up to 10 projects at less than $100,000 each.] This is woefully inadequate to attract the numbers of new bikers and sustain their comittment to cycling for the years of the bridge project.
And…
Paint and post improvements need to be complemented with programmatic support. The City must act to support people from a range of backgrounds so that people of all ages, abilities, languages, ethnicities, genders and races can equally rely on biking as a safe, affordable and sustainable way of getting around during the bridge closure.
See our latest proposals to the City, 200812 reconnect WS – bike mode shift , made in collaboration with Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Cascade Bicycle Club, and endorsed by 350 Seattle, Transit Riders Union, The Urbanist, Feet First and Lime.
Deadline this Friday, July 31:
Please take the Reconnect West Seattle survey.
Your voice is needed to help get more people on bikes across the bridges safety and efficiently. Mobility for West Seattle, South Park and Georgetown depends on it.
It’s going to take a lot more than 10 projects at <$100K each, but this is a start, and it’s what we have available to us at the moment, so let’s go for it. Most of the projects came from our input with Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
We ride on the Duwamish Trail. We live in the city named for Chief Seattle.
We acknowledge that we are on the unceded traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.
We have been working to support the Duwamish Tribe’s need for a safe crossing of West Marginal Way from the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center to the trail, park and river.
Here is another opportunity to support the Duwamish Tribe. Their video makes a compelling presentation, If you agree, you can take the Port’s survey , and fill in the Tribe’s name choice for T-107 Park: Ha Ah Poos Duwamish Village Park
This step is for nominations, to be followed by a public poll on selected nominations in September.
Please take the Reconnect West Seattle survey. Your voice is needed to help get more people on bikes across the bridges safety and efficiently. Mobility for West Seattle, South Park and Georgetown depends on it. It’s going to take a lot more than 10 projects at <$100K each, but this is a start, and it’s what we have available to us at the moment, so let’s go for it. Most of the projects came from our input with Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LM7MWN8
There are also separate neighborhood surveys for WS south end neighborhoods, SP & GT. Valuable input if you live in those neighborhoods.
Agenda this month will focus on biking to help provide mobility during the West Seattle Bridge closure. We have invited guests from Seattle SDOT, SDON and the community task force. See our proposals to SDOT
6:30 to 8:00 pm Zoom meeting. Please join us!
To receive log in information, email us at westseattlebikeconnections@gmail.com with your name and neighborhood.
While waiting for SDOT to get back to us on our April 28 (!) action requests for biking to the bridges, we did some of it ourselves, with folks from Highland Park Action Committee and the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group.
We share the outrage that has filled streets in Seattle and across the world over George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. We grieve for his family, for Breonna Taylor’s, and for the families of hundreds of others who are killed by police each year (1,000 Americans are killed by police yearly — these deaths fall disproportionately on Black men).
We are also heartbroken and enraged by the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a young man out for his regular run in his South Georgia neighborhood.
The awful truth is that in America, including here in Seattle, running while Black, biking while Black, walking while Black, driving while Black, even just being in parks and other public space while Black can trigger police intervention, hate-based harassment, and worse. This atmosphere of terror for people of color, Indigenous people, and especially Black people, cannot continue.
Our vision is rooted in safe, comfortable, accessible streets; in the belief that the ability to get around safely, to the daily necessities of life, is a basic human right. This includes the right to not be murdered by police or civilian racists and the right to assemble in public spaces to demand justice (“Whose streets? Our streets!” “Black Lives Matter!” “Say his name! George Floyd!”) — without being corralled, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, beaten, or shot with rubber bullets and flash grenades.
Our commitment now is to continue to advance community-led solutions for street and public space improvements; to implement our racial equity action plan at every level of our organization; and to build solidarity with Black people, Indigenous people, and all people of color in the fight to dismantle white supremacy and racism. There is a long way to go and difficult self-reflection to undertake, but we are committed to doing our part to advance racial justice in Seattle so that everyone can exist, enjoy, protest, and travel safely on our streets.
Please join us for an online meeting, 6:30 to 8:00 pm.
Draft agenda includes:
Email us at westseattlebikeconnections@gmail.com to receive login information. Include your name, neighborhood and something you are interested in, so we know you are a real person. [We will not share or use your email address for any other purpose.]
Doug Ollerenshaw is a year-round bike commuter and former professional bike racer. But he was not comfortable riding with his young son on Avalon Way SW. No longer! Here is Doug’s (and our) message of thanks to SDOT. This is what “Complete Streets” are all about.
Living in North Delridge, my family and I have always loved visiting businesses in Alaska Junction, but found it nearly impossible to get there safely by bike. So I was extremely excited to see the Avalon Way protected bike lanes being installed. Finally there is a family friendly route between our neighborhood and the commercial center of West Seattle. And last week, we had a major milestone, with our son seven year old son, Elliott, finally making the ride up the hill under his own power.
