West Seattle Bike Connections and friends welcome you once again to Bike Everywhere Day at the west end of the Spokane Low Bridge from 6 to 9 AM. Homemade baked goods, beverages and information on bicycling routes and planned improvements will be available, and local enthusiasts can answer questions about commuting, recreational cycling and other biking issues including the newest campaign we are cooking up. 
Tag: bridge
Spokane St Bridge closure – recommended detour
As you know, the Spokane Street Bridge is currently out of commission. To ride or walk from West Seattle across the Duwamish River it is now necessary to use the First Avenue South Bridge or the South Park Bridge.
Here is a bike detour route from our Resources page that we recommend. A bit longer but with less vehicle traffic and lower vehicle speeds than SDOT’s detour route. Most of it is signed as a bike route, but signage is lacking at the foot of the First Avenue S Bridge. The RideWithGPS route has audio and printable cues for turns. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34419471
Here is a current video of that route, from John Graham: https://youtu.be/eLyQXbQ7xfw
More than 2-1/2 years ago, we asked SDOT to make permanent improvements for a safe detour route to the Spokane Street Bridge for just this sort of predictable and likely event. Our allies at Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Cascade Bicycle Club joined us in these requests for the Reconnect West Seattle work. SDOT did not respond, except for minor improvements on 6th Ave S and one track crossing. Now it is an emergency. SDOT is putting together a temporary detour route with temporary protections, and the City is working with King County Metro to offer free bus and water taxi rides for all who need alternatives. While hoping for a more pro-active work for permanent improvements, we are grateful for the current effort. The temporary work and the transit fare relief give options for people biking, and provides a valuable opportunity to test out the planned bike lanes for part of West Marginal Way SW, and bike routes in Georgetown and SODO.
If you try either or both of these routes, or have another to suggest, please let us know what you think.
Bike Everywhere Day Celebration Station – Friday May 21
6 to 9 a.m. 5/21/21.
Come visit our Bike Everywhere Day station where the trails meet at the west end of the Spokane Street Bridge!
In partnership with Commute Seattle, WSBC will be joined by Westside Bicycle and Bike Works, who will be providing bike checks and simple repairs. We’ll have information on bicycling routes, giveaways (including a bike from Bike Works!) and a selfie booth to snap a #FlipYourTrip photo with Sal the Salmon, courtesy of SDOT. Volunteers will be on hand to answer your local cycling questions–from commuting to just getting started. We look forward to seeing you!
Check out Cascades Bicycle Club’s map for other celebration stations and Bike Month activities. https://cascade.org/rides-and…/bike-everywhere-month-2021
Biking to Bridge the Gap
Emily asked us how to ride her bike safely from West Seattle to work at the VA Hospital. Erin asked how to ride to UW Medical Center. Travis is willing to commute on his new e-bike all the way to Green Lake. We are fielding many inquiries. Bike sales are taking off. With alternate route traffic delays looming, Georgetown and South Park residents are fearful of gridlock, air pollution, and for the safety of their children walking to school. We know that using bikes instead of cars will help free up capacity on the remaining bridges. But we need a few improvements make it safe and efficient for these folks and many more people to bike instead of drive.
West Seattle Bike Connections with Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Cascade Bicycle Club sent a detailed proposal to the City yesterday, summarized here.
OUR GOAL
Mobility for West Seattle, SODO and the Duwamish Valley.
Keep people and goods moving safely across much lower-capacity bridges over the Duwamish while the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge is closed. Mitigate impacts on our communities. Honor Seattle’s commitments to equitable transportation, our environment, social justice, and economic vitality.
STRATEGIES
Encourage or incentivize as many people as possible to use bikes or transit, or both, instead of driving private vehicles. Accomplish this before the end of COVID-19 restrictions.
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- Improve conditions to make it safe, efficient and comfortable for people to ride bikes and transit.
- Concentrate on safety and wayfinding for biking and bike/transit connections:
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- On key West Seattle bike routes to the Spokane Street bridge, and from the bridge on East Marginal Way S to Pioneer Square, Downtown, SODO Trail, and SODO light rail station.
- On bike routes to the 1st Ave S bridge and South Park Bridge, and bike routes within South Park and Georgetown that are impacted by alternate route traffic and may also be needed for biking from West Seattle whenever the Spokane Street Bridge is closed.
- On routes to and bike parking at the King County Water Taxi dock at Seacrest.
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- Protect Neighborhood Greenway streets near alternate routes from cut-through traffic, to keep them safe for residents and for walking and biking by people of all ages and abilities.
- Ensure availability of bikeshare bikes. Provide bikeshare discounts and bike/e-bike financing to people with low incomes.
- Use up to 1% of the bridge repair cost for mitigation measures for bike and pedestrian safety and efficiency.
- Use advocacy groups like West Seattle Bike Connections, Duwamish Valley Safe Streets, Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways to:
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- Identify opportunities to improve safety and wayfinding.
- Provide route advice, route maps, bike buddy matching, bike trains and educational rides.
- Connect people to good advice and local bike shops for selecting and maintaining bikes, including e-bikes.
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RECOMMENDED WORK FOR STREET SAFETY
PRESERVE these already planned and funded projects on schedule:
EXPEDITE these key Bicycle Master Plan high priority routes:
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- Sylvan Way SW / SW Orchard and east to Highland Park
- Highland Park Way SW off street multi-use path
- 1st Ave S Bridge to 1st Ave S safe route north from bridge
- SW Roxbury bike lanes without reducing traffic lanes
QUICKLY IMPLEMENT spot improvements for wayfinding and safe routes:
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- On Spokane Street Bridge routes at the Chelan 5-way intersection; on Fauntleroy Way and Admiral Way; on the “Nucor Trail” connection from Delridge to the Alki Trail; at Terminal 18 trail crossings on Harbor Island; on East Marginal Way; and on the connections to the SODO light rail station and SODO Trail.
- On 1st Avenue South Bridge and South Park Bridge routes at the Duwamish Trail “missing link from the Alki Trail; on Highland Park Way at West Marginal Way; at rough rail crossings on the Duwamish Trail and in Georgetown; and on routes in Georgetown through SODO.
Low Bridge Counts High
Bike Counts on the Spokane Street Bridge: +5.8% more bike trips this year through September, compared to same time in 2018. 2018 ended at 8.6% above 2017.
Seattle Bike Blog has a post today about the awesome increases at the Fremont Bridge. Counts from West Seattle confirm the trend.
Ridership would surely be even higher if we were not contending this year with
- the Avalon Way paving project;
- riding through the middle of a large homeless encampment on an isolated stretch of trail (now cleared);
- the messy and confusing Alaskan Way viaduct demo work;
- lack of progress on bike master plan implementation.
On the plus side this year:
- good weather in January (offset by ice and snow in February) and a summer without smoke;
- traffic congestion, including crowded buses slowed by Viaduct demo impacts;
- increasing popularity of e-bikes.
- What else?
Spokane Street Bridge Bike Counts
2018 bike count is +2.9% above 2017 for year-to-date, despite a wet winter/spring, closure of the bridge for over a week for emergency repairs in June, and then the forest fire smoke air quality alerts. If you look at the data in detail, a few things jump out:
- Weekday trips far exceed weekend trips. These mostly are working bike riders.
- Weather and light/darkness during commute hours are by far the biggest factors.
- Alaskan Way Viaduct closures cause a spike. See May 2016.
- Spokane Street Bridge emergency closures cause a dip. See June 2018.
- We don’t yet have the key safe routes to downtown to really grow the numbers yet. Fauntleroy, Avalon, Delridge, and East Marginal Way should be the game changers.
SDOT data. Our graph.
State Transportation Funding & West Seattle Bridge Trail
This received today from our West Seattle state Representative Joe Fitzgibbons. Thank you, Joe!
“Thanks for reaching out to let me know how important transportation safety programs are for you and for our state. The House passed a transportation package today that includes an amendment I sponsored to put $16 million in pedestrian and bicycle safety projects around the state.
“One of the projects is an investment of $500,000 that will be provided to make improvements to the West Seattle Bridge Trail, making this commonly used, but dangerous, route safer and more accessible for the many folks who right now are risking their lives using this trail.
“While it is unclear what will happen to this bill in the Senate, I will keep working towards its final passage and try to hold on to the pedestrian and bicycle safety funding that is in the current transportation package.
“Thanks again for contacting me and please feel free to keep in touch with your questions and concerns.
“Take care,”
Joe Fitzgibbon
State Representative
34th Legislative District
Joe.Fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov