2012 Legislative Agenda Set

The Bicycle Alliance board approved a set of 2012 legislative priorities as recommended by the Legislative & Statewide Issues Committee.  Our agenda will include:

•  Continued support of HB1700, which carries over from 2011 and would encourage higher-quality bike and pedestrian facilities by allowing greater flexibility in design standards.
•  Continued support of HB1217, which would give cities and counties the authority to establish 20 mph zones on some non-arterial streets to lower accident rates and protect vulnerable users.
• Work with other non-profits to support a transportation funding package called Transportation for Washington.
• Work with WSDOT and others to support funding for the Complete Streets bill passed in 2011.
• Use 2012-2013 to see if there is support for a 3-5’ safe passing bill and, if so, build a coalition of support.

Please check the Legislative Page at bicyclealliance.org or read our blog for more information and updates.  And mark your calendars now for 2012 Transportation Advocacy Day in Olympia on January 31!

SPD Says Call 911 When a Motor Vehicle Driver Acts Aggressively Towards You as a Bicycle Driver

One morning this week while riding to work at about 7:00 AM I was aggressively cut off by a car driver. I was travelling south on 5^th Avenue at about 17 MPH in the right curb lane approaching the Pine Street intersection (at the south end of the monorail in Seattle) and the driver of a late model white Subaru Impreza (WA ABW 3335) aggressively merged into my travel lane forcing me to brake and move towards the curb. I slowed and honked my air horn. After she passed through the intersection she turned her head back to look and flew me the bird. The driver was a brown-haired middle-aged woman.

I moved out of the roadway onto the sidewalk and looked for paper and pen to write down the plate number and vehicle description. Somehow I didn’t have anything to write with so I memorized the plate number. I didn’t think that I should call 911, and that was my mistake.  

Later after getting to work and navigating the Seattle Police Department directory and automated phone system I talked to a human on a non-emergency line. She was very helpful and told me that I should have called 911 even though there was no physical harm or explicit verbal threat. She said if I had called immediately they would have put out a call to officers in the area and looked for the driver and vehicle, come and talked to me etc.

I am not a vindictive person, nor overly oriented towards crime and punishment but I did want to seek some recourse after being run off the road. So, if you find yourself in a similar situation, go right ahead and call 911 immediately and make a report.

Keep the situational awareness up and the rubber side down. Happy urban biking!

Summer Rides

I shot and edited this video at the final everybodyBIKE Summer Ride - #17, the Woods to Woods Spruce Social, on Sunday, August 21, 2011. It's my first attempt at a helmet camera and editing, so please be forgiving.

New Bike Box in Seattle's Fremont Neighborhood

Photo by David McLean.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has installed a bike box at the intersection of Fremont Ave N and N. 34th St. in Fremont. This photograph is courtesy of David McLean and illustrates the view east down 34th street from the crosswalk on Fremont Ave. The Fremont bridge is 90 degrees to the viewer's right from this vantage point.

SDOT has a page on bike boxes that can be found here: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikeboxes.htm. This new bike box is the latest addition to SDOT's bike box program. The initial round last summer created three bike boxes and now we have four in Seattle. Some European cities have used bike boxes for years and Portland, OR has also applied bike box treatments to some of their intersections.

Bike boxes require some re-learning on the part of bicycle riders and motorists alike. The SDOT bike box page linked above explains how different road users should treat bike boxes. The intention of bike boxes is to help with the visibility of cyclists by other road users by putting them at the front of the queue for a traffic light. Not only do bike boxes help separate left and right-turning traffic from through traffic--they also make bicycle riders more visible to oncoming traffic, which helps reduce the likelihood of oncoming traffic making a left turn into a bicyclist at an intersection (the often injurious or fatal 'left hook'). 

Keep an eye out for our changing bicycle and roadway infrastructures and don't be surprised if you see more bike boxes or other new facilities types in Seattle. According to one source, Seattle is the only city in the State of Washington to apply bike box treatments to intersections, although that may be changing when we see great successes here with the bike box program.

Ride for a purpose in September

Yes, the days are noticeably shorter.  And yes, kids are heading back to school.  But there’s still plenty of good bike riding in September, and the following rides support the advocacy and education efforts of the Bicycle Alliance.

Looking for a bike ride on Labor Day?  Ride PROS!

PROS, which stands for Perimeter Ride of Seattle, is an annual Labor Day ride organized by the Cyclists of Greater Seattle (COGS).  The 80-mile ride--which literally follows the perimeter of the city--features lofty hills with 4200 feet of elevation gain, water views and cityscapes.  There is also a 60-mile option with 2700 feet of gain.

Cycle the WAVE on September 18 is a women’s only non-competitive ride with options available for all levels.  You can choose from the 25-mile Girly Girl route to the 62-mile metric century with climbs.  This rides benefits domestic violence programs.

Spend a week (September 11-16) riding the scenic Oregon Coast with the People’s Coast Classic.  The ride features 50- to 70-mile days, with rest stops and activities along the way.  Dinner and camping is included.  Two and four day options are also available.  The ride is fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation.

WaCanId is a another multi-day tour (September 20-24).  This scenic 5-day tour travels the acclaimed International Selkirk Loop through Washington, Idaho and British Columbia.  This fully supported ride benefits seven local rotary clubs.

Keep pedaling into fall and beyond!

Can a commuter morph into a roadie?

I ride my bike nearly everyday, although I don't log very many miles. I live about 2 miles from my work, so my daily mileage is around 7-10 miles, depending on how many errands I run, or if I decide to take the 'long way home'. Every once in a while I have to go to a meeting in a neighboring town, if that's the case I may ride up to 25 miles round trip. I do this on my commuter bike. I don't own a road bike, however, I may soon.

During the hubbub of the Tour de France and the STP my brother threw out an idea: "Why don't we try and do the STP next year or the year after". You see, he recently inherited our child bike seat and has been biking all over Renton with his almost two year old. He's been bitten by the bike bug and I couldn't be happier.

I thought about his challenge, the STP, huh? Well, the furthest I've ridden in one day is 30 miles, and that was to go to work meetings, so it was split up. Also, like I said above, I don't own a road bike. As much as the idea of doing a LONG ride (60+ miles) on Fred, my Big Dummy Complete intrigues me, I'm pretty sure my body would be happier with an actual road bike. Not to mention the skinny tires, it'd be so much easier, well as easy as 60+ miles can be.

So now I'm in the conundrum of buying another bike. But I'm a commuter, not a roadie. I don't know the first thing about road bikes. If you've read the book Bike Snob, you can laugh with me about the different types of bicyclists and how they may or may not get along. If you haven't read it, you should, it's hilarious!

A trip to my local bike shop was educational, I learned a lot about road bikes and the different components. I'm still not sold yet, I'll admit. While I can justify spending a lot of money on my commuter bike, we only own one car, I'm getting exercise, it's awesome, I use it every day, etc. It's harder for me to justify spending a lot on a road bike that I will ride a couple times a week. So to answer the question, can a commuter morph into a roadie? I honestly don't know. I like the idea of doing a century, I'm just not so sure about the the spandex and $800+ price tag of a new bike.

What do you think? Can you convince me to do it? Do you have a similar story to share? Do you have tips on buying a road bike?

Bike Cage Opens in Tacoma

Photo: Downtown on the Go

Bike commuting to downtown Tacoma just got a little easier with the opening of the Park Plaza North bike cage. You’ll find it on the fifth floor of the garage, directly across from the skybridge to Broadway.

The bike cage offers secure, 24/7 bike parking for folks who bike to work in downtown Tacoma. The cage, which comfortably accommodates a dozen bikes, is accessed with a security code. You provide your own bike lock. There’s a nominal fee to use the bike cage--$8 per quarter or $25 per year.

Ready to sign up? Just download the agreement from Downtown on the Go website, sign it, and return it with your payment. You’ll receive a personal security code to access the bike cage. Start parking!

There’s a grand opening ceremony for the Bike Cage this Wednesday, August 31 from 8-8:30am.  A second bike cage is in the works at Pacific Plaza.