Tom Fucoloro

In a time of tight state budgets and increased demand for preserved natural areas, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust is looking to get the area designated as a National Heritage Area. This would increase opportunities for grants and strengthen existing partnerships that make the 100-mile greenway possible.

The greenway follows the I-90 corridor. A recent extension of the trail brings it a little closer to Puget Sound, terminating (awkwardly) at Holgate on the west side of Beacon Hill. There are also plans to someday connect the trail from Beacon Hill to the International District.

A Heritage designation could also help to tell the story of the MTS greenway as a culturally-important stretch of America and help spread awareness of it.

From the MTS Greenway Trust:

The Mountains to Sound Greenway connects Puget Sound and Central Washington and is a national success story. In 1991, a broad coalition of stakeholders crafted a vision for a sustainable balance between the region’s built and natural environments. For the past twenty years, Greenway partners have worked together to achieve this vision of accessible natural areas, livable communities, productive working lands and incomparable scenic beauty.

Maintaining this balance is a growing challenge. Public land managers struggle with safety and sanitation in an age of shrinking budgets, while demand for outdoor recreation continues to grow. It is essential to carefully manage forests and natural areas that clean our air and water. Critical steps must also be taken to ensure that our cities remain attractive and dynamic, accommodating smart development and serve as catalysts for economic growth.

The designation of the Mountains to Sound Greenway as a National Heritage Area by the U.S. Congress is a key strategy in preserving this iconic landscape.

Official recognition of the Greenway will strengthen a sense of place, enhance funding opportunities, empower partners to work together more efficiently, and formalize the Greenway coalition’s cooperative management style across this broad landscape.

At the same time, a National Heritage Area Designation will not affect private property or water/fishing rights or add regulatory authority.

What a National Heritage Designation WILL and WILL NOT DO.

The Greenway Trust conducted an extensive study on the future of the Greenway that included active community participation of over 1,000 stakeholders. Government agencies, local businesses and conservation organizations support the designation of the Greenway as a National Heritage Area.

Here’s a draft of the National Heritage designation feasibility study:

Green Way Feasibility Draft

In a speech very much focused on big economic investments, public safety, social justice and education, Mayor McGinn took a few moments to acknowledge the important role of safe streets both for public safety and economic development.

Though he doesn’t use the phrase “bicycle economy” like we did in a post about Fremont’s bike-powered boom last week, he makes sure to highlight that a new Brooks Sports/Skanska building in Fremont could bring along 300 new jobs. And the Burke-Gilman Trail is a huge reason why that location is so desirable to these companies.

From the Mayor’s State of the City Speech:

Last week I met with the CEO of Brooks Sports and the head of Skanska. They have submitted plans to construct a new green building in Fremont that will house Brooks’ headquarters and bring 300 new jobs to Seattle. Like Amazon they want to be in Seattle, creating new jobs next to the Burke Gilman Trail. Their CEO is very excited about this – he said “if you looked all over the world there isn’t a better place to be than the corner of Stone Way and 34th in Fremont.”

Given that big-time companies like Adobe, Google and now Skanska have all chosen to locate important offices in Fremont along the Burke-Gilman Trail, any business district that is hoping to attract these kinds of jobs should take a good look at its streets. Is this the kind of place where people can move about freely and happily? Because that’s what people want from a workplace, and the car-centric streets in many Seattle business districts are starting to look pretty backwards.

The mayor also talked about safe streets and the city-wide calls for neighborhood greenways. He said the clear message from the Road Safety Summit is that “everyone should feel safe out there.”

One of the things that makes our neighborhoods special is that we have a lot of ways to get around. One of the common themes in our neighborhood plans is that people want the sense of community that comes from being able to walk around and get to know your neighbors.

Residents have begun organizing to design and build neighborhood greenways for bicycles, and with Councilmember Bagshaw we’re doing our part to help. A group of residents on Linden Avenue in the North End, many of them seniors, organized to ask the city to build sidewalks, bike paths, and other improvements to help them get around safely. That project is out to bid and should begin construction this spring.

Soon we will announce our Transportation Action Agenda for the next three years, describing the work we’re doing across this city for every mode of travel.

We know there have been concerns about how we share the roads, especially in the wake of tragedies that took place on our streets and sidewalks last year. That’s why we called together a Road Safety Summit. Working with Councilmembers Bagshaw and Rasmussen, we brought the public together to listen to what they had to say. We heard a lot of ideas and comments about ways we can improve safety on our roads. But the main thing we heard was that people in Seattle agree — everyone should feel safe out there.

As a result of that summit, later this spring we will launch a sustained campaign to address safety on our roads. It will emphasize education, enforcement, and the way we design our roads for safety. It will also focus on creating a culture of empathy on our roads.

Watch the speech:

Text of the speech:
FINAL SOTC With Links1

From SDOT

Plans for a key crossing for the Wallingford neighborhood greenway has been scaled back in response to concerns from residents. The crossing at N 43rd St and Stone Way is the biggest component of the project, giving people on foot or bike a safe and more comfortable way to cross the busy street.

Originally, plans called for a median island that would have prevented people driving from turning left both from 43rd onto Stone Way and from Stone to 43rd. New plans would remove the center sections of the median to allow left-turning movements (see above). Here’s how plans looked at a December open house:

From a December community open house

SDOT says the change came after some community members expressed concerns about the diverting traffic when a 90-unit building opens with driveway access only on 43rd. They say traffic volumes are already low enough that the median was not seen as a key to the greenway’s success.

From Sam Woods at SDOT:

The current design provides pedestrians and bicyclists with a significant safety improvement.   Left turn movements will be taken more slowly and with more awareness of crossing pedestrians and bicyclists.  The islands on the approaches to the crosswalks allow pedestrians and bicyclists the opportunity to cross half the roadway, with a stopping area.  This generally results in very good compliance with motorists stopping from the other direction because the pedestrians and bicyclists are very visible.

We did hear pushback with the original design (with some people suggesting a traffic signal – which would have drawn more traffic to the greenway route) with the new development of 90 units on the corner with driveway access only on N 43rd St and residents having to reroute to other residential streets.  The alternate routes were on narrow streets that we would have had to improve for the diverted traffic with parking restrictions at the intersections.

Consistent with many of the streets in this neighborhood, the traffic speeds and volumes on N 43rd ST,  are below the thresholds for neighborhood greenways, so diversion of the left turning traffic is not critical to the success of the greenway.  Finally, we also heard some questioning of the N 43rd Street route for bicyclists due to the grade.  In the end, the improvement of the full median did not outweigh the impacts to the surrounding neighborhood due to the diversion.

The cost of the full median versus the partial median was not a consideration in the decision process.

Calling all Washington crafters, makers, artists and bike lovers: The first ever Pedaler’s Fair will be held in Ballard April 21-22, and they want you to sell and demo your stuff.

Swift Industries and Go Means Go are organizing the fair, which they hope will support and highlight all the creative people in Seattle and around the state who make things for and about bikes.

They got the idea from Portland’s annual BikeCraft fairs.

“We thought, ‘We don’t have anything like that in Seattle, that would be really cool,’” said Jason Goodman from Swift.

In addition to the fair, there will be music, workshops and a beer garden with locally-crafted beers. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Washington High School Cycling League, which promotes high school mountain biking programs.

If you want a space at the fair, you need to register online by March 31. A basic table space is $85 for two days.

More info from the Pedalers’ Fair:

We hope to showcase handcrafted goods from across the state, not just the Seattle area. There will also be free workshops, music, food, a beer garden and who knows- maybe some pleasant surprises.

Pedaler’s Fair was borne of a strong belief in buying local and supporting people that make things themselves.  We enjoy having a connection with the products we use on a daily basis.

Whether you are new to cycling, a seasoned rider, or someone that is just curious about handmade goods are being made in Washington state, you are invited to come peruse amazing wares celebrating the bicycle.

This is our first year with many more to follow.  Please spread the word!

While I was busy ranting about a questionable Letter to the Editor the Seattle Times Ed Board chose to publish, Mike Lindblom in the news department was working on a story about how the number of bicycle crashes and collisions in Seattle is staying constant even as the number of people biking increases dramatically.

According to an annual Census survey, the percentage of people in Seattle biking to work increased by more than 55 percent between 2007 and 2010 (and that does not factor people who started biking for reasons other than commuting). Yet the total number of collisions appears to have plateaued at somewhere between 359 and 392 crashes per year. This means Seattle is seeing the same “safety in numbers” trend recorded in cities with growing cycling populations around the world.

Basically, as more people in a city bike, the safer biking becomes for everyone.

The Times also put together a pretty cool (though rather daunting) interactive map of bike crashes and deaths in the city from 2007-2011. You can toggle between years and see how things have evolved over time.

The main things that jump out to me are:

• We need safe bicycle facilities downtown NOW.
• The Pike/Pine corridor needs to go back to the drawing board. The bike lanes on Pine are not cutting it.
• The University District needs some serious improvements.
• As the SunBreak points out, streets that got bike lanes do not necessarily show reductions in collisions. However, given that bike lanes significantly increase the number of people biking, they may still represent a decline in the collision rate. But obviously, we need to be thinking bigger and more family-friendly.
• The Burke-Gilman Trail has far fewer collisions along it than I would have thought. Given the thousands of people who use it every day, I would say this map shows that it has a remarkable safety record (though some tricky spots need help)

Lindblom notes that the still-unsolved death of Mike Wang has helped to round up energy for bike facilities with more separation than just one simple painted line.

That tragedy helped discredit the fashionable idea in the 2000s that bikes, provided with lane stripes and icons, can coexist happily with arterial traffic.

A groundswell has formed for more separation. On portions of the Dexter bike route, bus-stop medians separate bikes from traffic. On Broadway, a “cycle track” will be separated by curbs, bollards or stripes as part of the future First Hill Streetcar installation [...]

Neighborhood advocates and the city are designing greenways, where plantings, curbs and a 20-mph speed limit would encourage bikes and pedestrians to take side streets, starting in Wallingford this year.

He also notes that downtown has no family-friendly bike facilities, though they could be included in this year’s Bicycle Master Plan update:

But the supply of road space here is tighter than in most U.S. cities, and getting inexorably more crowded through population growth, road projects and office campuses — including maybe a third Sodo sports complex coming mid-decade. Downtown lacks even one north-south bikeway safe for novice or nonathletic riders. The city doesn’t have any major bike projects downtown this year, but will consider ideas in a pending update of the cycling master plan.

Protected bikeways will help, “but intersections are where the crashes are,” says Mauro. “We need more than just separation, we need signalization.”

Meanwhile, Portland reports an astounding 61 percent jump in just one year (!) on their new neighborhood greenways. People are thirsty for family-friendly bike routes. Let’s make it happen.

A front page news story on neighborhood greenways in the Seattle Times earlier this week prompted what I thought was a pretty conversation on the blog about how people looking to promote neighborhood greenways should present them: Good for children, efficient and comfortable for people walking and biking and cost effective, to name a few great points.

The Times story was largely positive, but — compared to my idea story — it focused too much on adults biking and not enough on the benefits to people walking and people living along such routes. After all, they aren’t really for people who currently find biking and walking efficient and comfortable, but for people who do not yet feel that way.

Then came the Letter to the Editor. As soon as I read the headline “This only supports 1 percent of the population,” I knew things were about to drive right off a factual cliff. Sigh…

In fact, Seattle has among the highest rates of walking and biking in the nation. 11.5 percent of people walk or bike as their primary way of getting to work. Add on top of that the unmeasured (but certainly very high) number of people who walk or bike for other tasks — like going to a grocery store, restaurant or park — or the number of people with mobility issues who need more safe crossings at busy streets, and you see that this letter’s “one percent” assertion is so laughable that I’m amazed they published it.

The letter then goes on to say that the planned Wallingford neighborhood greenway eliminates half the parking (it actually adds parking) by placing bike lanes on the street (there are no bike lanes in the plans). The letter writer then bemoans the addition of parking elsewhere because those spots had been blocked due to safety concerns (again, not true).

He then says the mayor is wasting $200,000 on it, yet the whole project only costs $100,000 from a citizen-initiated neighborhood project grant supported by the neighborhood council. Most of that money is being spent on a safe ADA-compliant crossing at Stone Way that will help people walking and biking cross that buys street (and access the transit stops).

So, basically, almost every piece of information in the letter is not true, and all the facts could have very easily been checked by a single phone call to SDOT, which holds regular business hours (here’s a post with lots of details and an SDOT presentation).

I don’t expect to agree with the Seattle Times Ed Board on very many things, and of course a Letter to the Editor does not necessarily represent their opinion. But it seems like they at least have a duty to get raw hard facts right before publishing something.

In the meantime, it’s probably best for the ever-growing number of neighborhood greenway supporters in the city to use this as a learning opportunity. If people think neighborhood greenways are just for the four percent (and growing!) of Seattleites who bike to work every day, then the projects will face serious opposition. But they are about making our neighborhoods more family-friendly, which is why so many people from all walks of life are getting involved in their neighborhoods today. The promise is powerful and the costs are low.

It’s time for the weekly Thursday or Friday Bike News Roundup! As always, this is an open thread. Got any nagging questions? Ask them in the comments below.

First up, we have an awesome video from the 2011 World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships held at Magnuson Park (see our coverage). Since the lights at Cal Anderson are scheduled to be out until early next week, you might as well watch videos of bike polo on the internet!

World Class Polo from Mr.Do on Vimeo.

Pacific Northwest News:

• West Seattle Blog… » Reader report: Teen finds ‘mystery gift’ on West Seattle bench – A wonderful find while on a bike ride
• SDOT Blog » Trail Improved in North Delridge
• Vancouver Veteran nabs suspected bike thief – KPTV – FOX 12 – Must watch:

• City Planning Director Talks Waterfront Transportation | PubliCola
• Chilly Hilly 2012: Bainbridge Island’s Biggest Bike Ride Turns 40 | Inside Bainbridge
• No charges for driver who caused fatal car accident » My Ballard
• The Seattle Times: 17th Annual Cascade Bicycle Club Bike Swap – Good photos from the swap
• Drunken drivers who kill could face tougher penalties – seattlepi.com
• The Latest on Plans to Eliminate Passenger Ferry Service at Colman Dock | PubliCola – Hmm…
• Man in wheelchair in serious condition after he’s struck by car | HeraldNet.com – Local news
• Person Hit & Killed By Vehicle In Airway Heights – KHQ Right Now – News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho |
• Go Means Go! » Help find Julian’s bike! – Complete with sketch
• The Seattle Bike Commuter – On going two month without being a bike commuter

Nation and World:

• Phantom Bike › Illusion – The Most Amazing Creations in Art, Photography, Design, and Video. – Makes your head hurt a little
• Mega Study Says Driving After Smoking Pot is Dangerous | PubliCola
• The Muffin Exchange operates on good works from you – Isthmus | The Daily Page – Remember Ian from Bicycle Benefits? This was his January project, and it’s amazing. Must Read.
• Obama Takes a Stand, Threatens to Veto House Transpo Bill | Streetsblog Capitol Hill
• The Urban Country Bicycle Blog: Americans Work 3.84 Minutes Each Day To Pay For Their Bicycles – Compared to two hours for a car!
• BBC News – Bristol bus driver Gavin Hill who drove into cyclist jailed – Scary video.
• Bike Furniture Design-Modulus Series Chair – Awesome.
• ‘Give cyclists a head-start at traffic lights’ | The Times

If you were hoping this year would be the last time you find yourself navigating across dangerous train tracks on Ballard roads filled with speeding cars and industrial trucks, I’ve got some bad news for you. The Burke-Gilman Missing Link has once again been sent back to the city for further study.

King County Superior Court Judge Rogers agreed with the city Hearing Examiner on 18 of 19 conclusions, but ultimately decided the city needs to have more detailed plans for the trail design (see our coverage of those arguments). So that means the city will do more design work, then go back to the Hearing Examiner and then to Judge Rogers. These delays make the planned (and funded!) 2012 construction look unlikely.

More details from Cascade:

Cascade Bicycle Club, a leader in creating more livable communities through bicycle education, advocacy and riding programs, announces the ruling by King County Superior Court Judge Rogers on the “Missing Link” of the Burke-Gilman Trail. The decision, the latest in a string of suits brought by the Ballard Business Appellants, finds in favor the City of Seattle and joint-defendant Cascade Bicycle Club on 18 of 19 conclusions, but this does not clear the way for trail construction.

Specifically, Judge Rogers ruled against conclusion #9 of the Hearing Examiner’s ruling, asserting that, despite already being at a 10 percent level of design as is usual under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), further design details from the City of Seattle are necessary.

“This decision is yet another set-back for Ballard and the greater cycling community,” said Chuck Ayers, Cascade Bicycle Club executive director. “We worked to find a compromise route – the so-called ‘Green Route’ – yet that wasn’t enough to satisfy the appellants. Today, this case should be behind us, but the appellants continue to frustrate the process with a mentality that bicycling and industry cannot mix. But this has been proven untrue. Cities around the world have succeeded in sharing transportation corridors, and here in Seattle we’re showing it can be done respectfully and safely as with the new Ship Canal Trail and the Alaskan Way Trail.”

The project is planned and funded but progress has been frustrated by years of legal challenges brought forth by a small group of Ballard businesses and the Ballard Chamber of Commerce. Completing the “Missing Link” section of the Burke-Gilman Trail has been planned by the City of Seattle since it agreed to acquire the abandoned rail line right of way from Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 1989. The BNSF discontinued rail service and abandoned the line in 1997, and the transfer of much of the property took place shortly thereafter. A handful of businesses opposed the safety improvements along the corridor and have appealed every decision made.

“While we’re disappointed with the result, we are confident that the City will be able to provide the necessary detail to show that the project would not pose a significant impact to the environment,” said Jeff Eustis, attorney representing Cascade. “Cascade continues to support the City as it works to supply the additional information.”

This 1.5-mile Missing Link is located between Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, where the trail approaches from Golden Gardens Park, and the Ballard Fred Meyer, where the trail resumes for another 15 miles to Kenmore. From there, the Burke-Gilman joins with the Sammamish River Trail, giving continuous trail access to east King County communities. When completed, the project will provide a new, separated trail and signed routes for bicyclists and pedestrians, and will solve numerous safety problems. At present, there are few safe routes for bicyclists and pedestrians through this section near the Ballard Bridge, which has been the site of many injuries.

“Too many people have suffered serious falls and injuries in this corridor due to years of delays that have blocked improvements,” said Kevin Carrabine, longtime Ballard resident, bicycle commuter and member of the Friends of the Burke-Gilman Trail. “I’m sad to hear this will continue. The community has been waiting for a safer trail for too long.”

Wallyhood posted this email from a young person in Wallingford on the verge of starting a cargo bike and e-bike business. He’s got the tools and know-how to do Xtracycle conversions and install CleanRepublic (see my profile of them here) e-bike wheels. All he needs is a space.

Know of anything? Contact Henry via the LionTail website.

From Wallyhood:

As you know, I’m starting up a bike business dedicated to cargo bikes and electric bikes (and electric cargo bikes).  I have all the tools I need, a bunch of cargo bike attachments, electric bike kits, a website… but no space to work!

I have at least one other lead, but I’m curious — do you know of anyone in the Wallingford area with a garage or shed who might enjoy having me set up shop?  In return I can offer some rent money (~$150 a month), bike maintenance work, and the satisfaction of supporting a young person in living his passion.

Let me know if anything comes to mind.

Police are investigating a racially-motivated attack on a man making a bicycle delivery on Leary Ave just south of Market St. The suspects are a group of drunk white males who started yelling racial slurs at the man when he rode by them.

When he turned around, a confrontation heated up and a witness tried to deescalate the situation. The group then threw rocks at both the delivery person and the person trying to break things up. One suspect also tried stomping on the man’s bike, but was too drunk to hurt either of the victims or the bike, according to the police report.

The delivery person told police he did not previously know the suspects and that he believes he was targeted due to his race. No arrests appear to have been made, though witnesses recognized the suspects and gave names to the police.

More details from the police report:

(h/t My Ballard)