West Seattle Bike Connections

We meet on Tuesday, June 4, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. You are invited!

Neighborhood House in High Point, 6400 Sylvan Way.

This month’s agenda includes quick updates on projects and ride planning, then a focused discussion on racial equity as it applies to our group, led by Tamara and Valerie. Please join in creating an action plan!

At last month’s meeting we talked just a little about the new racial equity plan developed by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. A couple of our members were a part of that process. It includes a “toolkit” for us to work on our own plan. That will be an ongoing process, if we are to meet the intentions.

If you can, think a bit about where you are, where we as a group are, and where our neighborhoods are, and where we can move to create a community of true racial equity and justice for all. Then come to talk about what we can do together.

Here is a link to SNG’s full plan document and toolkit.

Third Annual!
Family friendly! Leisurely pace! Good friends and great beer!

Join West Seattle Bike Connections for a 13 mile ride through some of Seattle’s coolest neighborhoods with stops for tastings at two family friendly breweries. We’ll be meeting next to the playground at the Delridge Community Center at 12:30 on Sunday, June 2. Safety talk and sign-in will be at 12:45. Rolling at 1:00 pm.

Note: the community center restrooms may not be open at the start. Nearest public restroom may be Delridge Library, on Delridge Way south of SW Brandon.

Although the route is fairly flat and mostly on bike-friendly streets and trails, there will be times when we ride in traffic. Kids of all ages are welcome but younger and less experienced children should be in a trailer or trail-a-bike. All 15 year olds and under must be accompanied by parent or guardian. Both breweries we’ll be visiting offer some snacks for kids but plan on bringing some of your own snacks too. Along our route, there will be a couple of bathroom stop locations and a playground stop for the kiddos.
Helmets required. No earbuds. Traffic laws will be followed. Waiver and sign-in required.

For the adults – each brewery offers a sampler or a pint for $4-$8. If beer isn’t your thing please feel welcome to attend anyway and enjoy the ride and fellowship.

Between the ride and two brewery stops this event will be the better part of the afternoon. If you are limited by time you can always break off after the first brewery and head home. For those doing the full loop we’ll return to the Delridge Community Center at the end of the ride.

Stop at our commute station!

from 6 to 9 AM at the west end of the Spokane Low Bridge, where the trails meet.

West Seattle Bike Connections members will be bringing homemade cookies and bars to power your ride. Besides baked goods, we will have coffee, other beverages, bananas, bicycling information, and on-the-spot bike checks and simple repairs courtesy of Westside Bicycle and Alki Bike and Board.  Cascade Bicycle Club has given us a stack of the latest Seattle bike maps, and we’ll have flyers for the June 16 Ride for Safe Streets.

*Extra cookies if you are flying a Norwegian flag for Syttende Mai*

We look forward to seeing you!

Here’s a map of detour routes that Bill, Tamara and others have tested out. It involves short steeper climbing than Avalon, but will get you out of the single traffic lane and rough pavement currently on Avalon from Yancy/Andover to 35th Ave SW.  Recommended especially for uphill southbound riding.

We are also asking SDOT for good detour signage and lower speed limit through the construction zone. We appreciate the Adonis and Sara’s outreach to us for biking safety.

Any way you choose to go, take special care on unfamiliar routes and with changing conditions. Let us know how it’s going.

Bike counts continue upward trend through winter.

Up 22.4% YTD over 2018 at the Spokane Street Bridge.

Bikes count! People riding bikes in January helped the city get through “Viadoom” without massive congestion, proving the cost-effective value of bikes for transportation. Demand exists, even in the darkest month, but we need safe streets to make it work. This is not the time for SDOT and the Mayor to back down on the Bicycle Master Plan and Move Seattle Levy commitment to build safe bike routes on Fauntleroy Way, Delridge Way, Sylvan/Orchard/Dumar, SW Roxbury and East Marginal Way S.

The Spokane Street Bridge 24/7/365 bike counter doesn’t count all bike rides in our area, but it shows the trends for people using bikes. It usually tracks closely with the Fremont Bridge trends. Looking at the bridge counts provides solid data vs. just surveys or one-day counts.

Up 65.6% in Jan 19 over Jan 18 during viaduct to tunnel transition.
Down 20.7% Feb 19 over Fab 18 during snow and ice (car and bus traffic was way down, too)
Up 19.2% Mar 19 over Mar 18.
Up 22.4% for year to date 2019 over 2018.

Our monthly meeting is Tuesday, April 2, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Neighborhood House in High Point. 6400 Sylvan Way.
Come join in for:
The good: Stu Hennessey of Alki Bike and Board – presentation on cycling in Germany;
Tbe ugly, but worth it: Input to SDOT on bike detours during Avalon paving;
The bad: Next steps to oppose the Mayor’s backpedaling on the Bicycle Master Plan and Move Seattle Levy;
And planning spring and summer rides and events.