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.
It’s Bike to School Day for Bike Month! Lots of little engines powered the bike trains to Alki ES, Louisa Boren STEM K-8, Genessee ES, and other schools around town. There are always lots of riders to Lafayette year round, thanks to active parents and teachers – it only takes a few to make every day can be bike to school day!
West Seattle Bike Connections members helped out. Joe Laubach organized the day at Louisa Boren. Bryan Fiedorczyk, Al Jackson, Kathy Dunn and Don Brubeck led and “caboosed” the trains to Alki ES. Bryan had some awesome custom Alki slap bracelets and stick-ons for the kids.
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 is proceeding now withsuggestions we madeduring the Delridge Transit + Multimodal Corridor planning. There’s a good Neighborhood Greenway on 26th Ave SW from Andover to SW Juneau, parallel to Delridge and just two blocks west. It’s at basically the same grade as Delridge Way, with less traffic, and connects to the Spokane Street Bridge and Alki Trail. There is also the Delridge-Highland Park Greenway up on Pigeon Point, along Puget Ridge to Highland Park and White Center via 21st Ave SW – SW Myrtle – 1 7th Ave. That one needs some improvements, and was not connected to the 26th Ave Greenway.
Now it is connected! SDOT has installed speed humps on Juneau between 26th Ave and SW Croft Place, and along Croft, which angles up the hill for a less steep way to go from 21st Ave down to Delridge Way.
A crew was out yesterday installing bike detectors on Juneau to trigger the stop light at Delridge. One of them asked me as I stopped at the light if I ride this way often. And he gave a nice unsolicited explanation of the bike detectors, here for you, too. short video
SDOT agreed to a bunch of our suggestions to improve the Delridge-Highland Park Greenway to make it a viable compromise route in lieu of northbound protected bike lanes on the south half of Delridge Way. It’s good to see work proceeding even before the final plans for the RapidRide H line are set. Good bike and walking c0nnections are vital for people to safely get to and from the farther-apart RapidRide bus stops. It is time for safe routes to ride, walk and roll in Delridge.
New speed humps on SW Juneau St from Croft Place to Delridge Way SW.New speed humps on SW Croft Place.New speed humps on SW Juneau St from 26th Ave SW to SW Croft Place.SDOT crew working on greenway improvements on SW Juneau St at Delridge Way SWBike detector to trigger the stop light on SW Juneau St at Delridge Way SW.
For safety improvements at the intersections of SW Spokane/ Alki Trail/ Harbor Ave SW/ Avalon Way/ SW Manning. Ranked #1 in the city of the 12 projects awarded from the 40 proposals that made it through the District Council voting and SDOT vetting. Background here and SDOT evaluation here.
Ranked high because the need is so obvious for better crossing safety for people walking and riding bikes. And because under Jodi Connolly’s leadership, with Bill Gobie’s ideas, we worked put together a coalition with Tony Fragada and Alki Community Council, Luna Park Neighbors, Nucor Steel, and got support from David Whiting of Admiral Neighborhood Association and SW District Council, and worked with Luna Park businesses to make sure their needs are included. Thanks to Dongho Chang, SDOT Chief Traffic Engineer, for coming out to observe conditions and steer us in the right direction. Thank you to Joe Laubach and all members of the Move Seattle Oversight Committee for supporting this project!
Urbanist article here about all of the projects. Would be great to see more of them funded!
Neighborhood Street Fund Grants come up every three years, for projects in the $100-500K range. Year 1: selection. Year 2: design. Year 3: construction.
6:30 to 8:00 pm at HomeStreet Bank, 42nd Ave SW and SW Alaska Street
Let’s work together to improve conditions and enjoy bike riding in West Seattle. Proposed greenway routes along the central spines of WS are on the agenda, along with World Day of Remembrance, Fauntleroy,… Print: “The Politicians” by Jose Guadelupe Posada in 1890, Mexico.
Let’s keep our saints alive and riding este’ dia de los Muertos and election season.
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
