Washington State House of Representatives Unanimously Passes Neighborhood Safe Speeds Bill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Bill makes safer streets and neighborhoods by removing red tape and hurdles to reduce speeds on non-arterial streets.

Olympia, WA – Jan. 30, 2012 – Today, the Washington State House of Representatives passed the Neighborhood Safe Speeds Bill (SHB1217) unanimously.

The bill’s unanimous bipartisan support is mirrored by its backing from over 20 organizations, boards, and cities from across the state, including the Washington State PTA, AARP-Washington, as well as the cities of Spokane, Bellingham, Seattle and, Kirkland.

The Neighborhood Safe Speeds Bill makes safer streets and neighborhoods by allowing cities and towns the authority to set speed limits to 20 miles per hour on non-arterial streets. It does not mandate any change, it simply provides cities and towns the authority to do so.

“Communities are asking lawmakers to give them more cost-saving tools and local options instead of mandates,” says, prime sponsor, Representative Cindy Ryu (D-32). “This bill will help. It removes an expensive state mandate that deters communities from lowering speed limits on non-arterial roads even when they recognize that lower speeds would make people safer or promote local businesses and jobs.”

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington has worked closely with the Representative to develop and support the bill.

Current state law limits the ability of cities and towns to set maximum speed limits to 20 miles per hour by requiring an engineering and traffic study – which requires staff time and money to conduct – before cities and towns can create safer streets on non-arterial streets.

“The Neighborhood Safe Speeds Bill, or similar legislation, provides Bellingham with an important safety tool, and does so by removing red tape. This bill will help us improve safety for Bellingham’s neighborhood streets by providing us with the freedom to set safe speeds without having to work around the current hurdles that state law imposes,” says Bellingham Councilmember Michael Lilliquist

This legislation is especially germane to more vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly. “Older pedestrians because of their increased fragility particularly benefit from low-speed environments,” wrote AARP-Washington in its letter of support for SHB 1217.

“The Neighborhood Safe Speeds Bill is a win-win for Washingtonians statewide,” says Bicycle Alliance of Washington Executive Director Barbara Culp. “This is legislation that provides more local control over roadway safety, saves local government money by reducing administrative and staff requirements, and adds to the growing safety toolbox for cities and towns to create complete and healthy streets for residents and visitors alike.”

Following today’s successful House vote, the bill will now move to the Washington State Senate for consideration.

###

Contact: Blake Trask

Statewide Policy Director 

Bicycle Alliance of Washington

206.310.4762

blake@bicyclealliance.org

Washington bicyclists & pedestrians are disproportionately at risk of being killed and receive less than their fair share of transportation dollar investments

For Immediate Release

Seattle, WA – Jan. 23, 2012 – Washington ranks tenth as a safe place to bike and fourteenth for pedestrian safety ranking behind North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, according to a new report, Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, released today by the Alliance for Biking & Walking.“

This report comes at a critical moment as Governor Gregoire has just proposed a state transportation package of $3.6 billion that dedicates 72 percent to roads, only 4 percent to transit, and lacks funding for the popular Safe Routes to Schools Program or locally-requested state bicycle and pedestrian safety projects.

The Benchmarking Report highlights that while 4.5% of work trips in Washington state are by bicycle or foot, bicyclists and pedestrians account for 13.6% of traffic fatalities in Washington state. Much of the Washington state and Seattle data for the report was provided by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, a state partner to the national coalition of over 200 organizations.

Lack of investment in bicycling and walking could be to blame as state and federal monies fall short of the choices that Washington residents make in how they get around. For biking and walking, the state currently allocates 2.7% of what it receives in federal monies and the state itself assigns less than 0.5% of its transportation budget to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety and Safe Routes to School Programs.

“The 2012 Benchmarking report points to the growing need for improved safety and mobility for the many residents who walk and bike. We are optimistic that the proposed transportation package can be improved to include investments in Safe Routes to Schools and other popular safety programs that residents across the state want,” says Blake Trask, Bicycle Alliance state policy director.

Since the Safe Routes to School Program’s inception in 2005, the Bicycle Alliance has worked with several partners, as well as the Washington State Department of Transportation and Office of the Superintendant of Public Instruction to increase the number of children safely walking and biking to 168 schools across the state. Program delivery at these schools has, and continues to improve walking and biking conditions for approximately 67,000 children. This represents almost $29 million being awarded to 90 projects from over $137 million in requests. Currently four out of every five requests for schools are not funded.

As a part of its advocacy for safer streets for everyone, the Bicycle Alliance is promoting state legislation to remove red tape and provide cities and towns the freedom to set speed limits to 20 miles per hour on non-arterial streets without a costly engineering and traffic study.  This legislation, SHB 1217 – the Neighborhood Safe Speeds Bill, does not mandate any change, it simply provides cities and towns the local control to do so.

The report compiles persuasive evidence that bicycle and pedestrian projects create more jobs than highway projects, and provide at least three dollars of benefit for every dollar invested. The report also highlights the health benefits of active transportation, showing that states with the highest rates of bicycling and walking are also among those with the lowest rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. “The data points to one conclusion—investing in biking and walking projects create jobs, leads to more people biking and walking, and improves safety and public health,” says Jeffrey Miller, Alliance President/CEO.

Despite the ongoing need, the Benchmarking Report also calls out the progress that Washington state has made in growing bicycling and walking.  “Washingtonians have responded to the improvements in safety and infrastructure that state and local government have made over the past 20 years by biking and walking more,” Trask notes. In 1990, 13,170 Washingtonians identified themselves as bike commuters.  That number grew to 28,395 in 2009—a 116% increase.  The number of people who walk to work in our state grew by 14% during that same time period.  In the same period nationally, biking experienced a 64% increase while walking declined by 12%.

The Benchmarking Report includes data on the 51 largest US cities, which included Seattle. Highlights from the report include

• Seattle ranked fourth among the large cities nationwide with a commuter mode split of 11.5% who bike and walk to work. Boston was tops with a combined 15.4% biking and walking mode share.

• Despite its high ranking for walking and biking mode share, Seattle ranked sixth as a safe place to walk and twelfth among 51 large cities as a safe place to bike. According to the report, safer cities to bike include San Francisco, Portland, Minneapolis, Sacramento, and Milwaukee.

“Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2012 Benchmarking Report” was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and made possible through additional support from AARP and Planet Bike. For more information and to download the report visit www.PeoplePoweredMovement.org/benchmarking.

Contact: 

Blake Trask

Statewide Policy Director

Bicycle Alliance of Washington

206.310.4762

blake@bicyclealliance.org

Jeffrey Miller

President/CEO

Alliance for Biking & Walking

202.445.4415

jeff@PeoplePoweredMovement.org

Week 2 Legislative Update

By all accounts, the 2012 legislative session has been unusually busy due in part because legislators are already up-to-speed on many of the pressing fiscal concerns due to the special session held in November and December of 2011. Unfortunately, the second week's weather slowed the legislature's previous fast pace, resulting in the cancellation of several committee meetings. Heading into week 3, the Bicycle Alliance will be watching to see this delay will affect the progress of bills we support and monitor in Olympia.

Bicycle Alliance Legislative Priorities:

• Neighborhood Safe Speeds (SHB 1217) – We are optimistic that in week 3 of session this legislation will be moved forward from its position in third reading and will then go on to a full House vote. As soon as we learn more, the Bicycle Alliance will be working to alert supporters about dates to provide testimony and support, as needed. We recently wrote about the bill on our blog: http://bicyclealliance.blogspot.com/2012/01/paving-way-for-safer-neighborhood.html and also made a call out to members to remind their House representatives to vote again for the bill: http://bicyclealliance.blogspot.com/2012/01/alert-remind-your-state-legislators.html 
• Flexible Design Standards (HB 1700) – The Flexible Design Standards bill was moved on Friday from the House Rules Committee to the floor. We expect it will be put to a floor vote in the House in week 3. For more legislative information on the bill see: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1700
• Health as a Transportation Policy Goal (HB 2370) – This bill that would add a health policy goal to the existing state transportation system policy goals was dropped last week. Its first hearing is slated in the House Transportation Committee at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25. For more legislative information on the bill see: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2370&year=2011

 

Governor's Transportation Package. During the first week of session the Governor, in her State of the State speech, proposed a $3.6 billion transportation package. The legislation, introduced yesterday, will use fees to fund the package (as we understand it, the chance of a transportation package going on a November ballot is now slim). It is slated for hearings in the House and Senate Transportation Committees concurrently at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24.

The Bicycle Alliance has concerns about the current legislation, but is hopeful it can be improved. In brief, the proposal is heavily weighted in favor of operations and maintenance for roads and ferries (good in that it generally takes a 'fix it first' approach), includes some money for transit, and provides some (at present, the limitations are concerning for active transportation interests) money for local governments. Notably, it fails to include funding for bicycle mobility, safety, or education (including the Safe Routes to School Program). In the coming weeks we will be working to convey the import of a more balanced package that includes the active transportation and public safety elements, as well as more freedom for local government revenue options, necessary for a balanced transportation package. 

Programmatic Threats and Opportunities. In addition to the Governor's transportation package, the Bicycle Alliance is closely following the funding conversation both around existing funding and exploring potential new revenue streams for Safe Routes to School, bicycle and pedestrian mobility, to fund the currently unfunded Complete Streets Grant Program (passed last year as HB 1071), as well as issues around future funding for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program. As we better understand these situations, and if and when future issues arise, we will be alerting our partners and membership.

Transportation Advocacy Day. We have set an ambitious goal for over 200 participants to make it down to the January 31 event where you can meet legislators, get to know fellow advocates, and make a difference in growing bicycling in Washington. The Bicycle Alliance is coordinating with our transportation partners on making sure the event is a huge success. Please join us on January 31 and spread the word to friends and colleagues! RSVP for the all-day event here: http://transportationchoices.org/action/transportation-advocacy-day-2012 

Put a Share the Road mini license plate on your bike

Remember the mini license plate you could put on your bike when you were a kid?  Now you can get one that looks just like our Washington Share the Road license plate!

The Share the Road mini plate can adorn your bike, trike, or unicycle.  Hang it on your backpack or shoulder bag.  Frame it and put it on your desk.  Attach it to your snowboard or skateboard.  Give one to your child or favorite bicyclist as a gift!

The text on your Share the Road mini license plate is personalized.  You can display your name, nickname or other message with up to 10 characters.  Buy a set of them proclaiming the name of your bike club, racing team or Bike to Work team!

Purchasing a Share the Road mini plate is an investment in yourself as a bicyclist.  Not only are you conveying an important message, but proceeds from the mini plate--just like the Share the Road vehicle license plate--is used by the Bicycle Alliance for bicycle safety and education.

Check our merchandise page for details on purchasing a Share the Road mini plate. 

Own a car, truck or motorcycle?  You can show your support for bicycling with a Share the Road license plate!

Greenways Organizers Kick Off the New Year with a Meet Up

This post was submitted by Alexa Heidrich.  Alexa grew up in Corvallis, lived in Portland, and studied abroad in Australia before she landed in Seattle.  She will be a regular contributor to the blog.

The Seattle Neighborhood Greenways continues to build steam and connect neighborhoods through community advocacy and action.  This meeting in Beacon Hill started with an introduction by Dylan Ahearn, and segued to updates from Madison, Phinney, Wallingford, Ballard and Delridge neighborhoods.  Bob Edminston was fresh from presenting at Monday night’s Madison Park Neighborhood Council meeting, which resulted in the addition of new members for the Madison Park Greenways group!

Next up was Sally Bagshaw, who began with updated information about the RFQ for the upcoming Seattle Bike Master Plan update.  She was able to intone City support for Seattle Greenways and improved bicycle facilities, which will be detailed in a press release coming soon from Cathy Tuttle of Seattle Greenways Wallingford.

Keynote speaker Blake Trask, statewide policy director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, began his Next Steps presentation which provided the historical context of biking in Seattle, gave his comments about the current Seattle Bike Master Plan, and the importance of Greenways in the overall improvement of biking in Seattle.  He emphasized that additional measures included emerging best practices of bike facilities which continue to evolve with international and national examples, such as better intersections, improved signals, and better data collection and analysis.  It will be important to advocate for all of these improved facilities to comprehensively connect the neighborhoods of Seattle. Blake concluded with some observations about the release of the Governor's proposed transportation package urging state residents to continue to highlight to their elected officials the importance of bicycling and walking as affordable, healthy, and safe choices for our state's transportation system (outside of funding for local transportation funding, the Governor's proposal did not mention funding for bicycle or pedestrian projects).

Blake provided information about the opportunity to show support at the state level on Transportation Advocacy Day on January 31^st in Olympia, in addition to emphasizing continued advocacy and community driven efforts to effect real change in the neighborhoods of Seattle.  Blake voiced concerns about fiscal support from the State in the near future, but encouraged a long-term approach that would build on the gains made by groups like Seattle Neighborhood Greenways in the short-term.

(For more information about Transportation Advocacy Day in Olympia visit http://transportationchoices.org/action/transportation-advocacy-day-2012) 

Overall the members and attendees of the meeting left with a better understanding of the resources available, which included a number of City grants and a generous amount of support and knowledge for groups new to the process.  For more information about Seattle Greenways and community grants available for neighborhood bicycle and pedestrian improvements please contact Cathy Tuttle at Cathy.Tuttle@gmail.com.

Board Ballots Due January 31

If you’re a member of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, be on the lookout for an email or postcard inviting you to vote for board members.

The Bicycle Alliance is served by a board of up to 24 volunteer directors who bring a variety of skills and perspectives from all corners of the state.  Board members serve 3-year terms which are staggered to maintain continuity.  Approximately one-third of the board positions are up for election each year.

Three new individuals are running for the board this year:

·         John Pope of Anacortes has served on our Legislative Committee for several years.  Manager of Engineering Specifications and Standards for Tesoro Refining and Marketing, John is interested in expanding his role with the Bicycle Alliance.  His community involvement is extensive and includes serving on the boards of Skagit Regional Transportation Planning Organization and the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce.

·         Seattle resident John Vona is an avid bicyclist and daily bike commuter.  John holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Georgia and is the Manager of Business & Analysis for Green Diamond Resource Company.  He is interested in serving on the Bicycle Alliance board because he wants to contribute to an effort that promotes safe, alternative transportation in Washington.  John has volunteered for the Phinney Ridge Community Center and with various homeless shelters and missions.

·         Marc Mims of Veradale dove head first into bicycle advocacy a couple of years ago when he successfully championed a grassroots effort to save a bike lane project in Spokane Valley.  This experience inspired Marc to join the Bicycle Alliance board so he can further advocate, defend and support bicycling as a transportation choice.  Marc managed a small software company for 15 years and now works freelance as a software developer.

In addition to the three new candidates, seven current board members are seeking re-election to their positions:

·         Mary Anderson, Bellingham

·         Brian Foley, Black Diamond

·         Julie Gregg, Seattle

·         Kirste Johnson, Seattle

·         Rod McDonald, Arlington

·         David McLean, Seattle

·         Ralph Wessels, Gig Harbor

Bios on current board members can be found here.  Voting closes on January 31.

Job Opening: Development Manager

Here’s an opportunity for someone to combine their fundraising skills with their passion for bicycling!  The Bicycle Alliance of Washington is actively seeking a Development Manager.  Applications are due by January 31.  Read the position announcement for more details.