Category Archives: Commute

Friday is Bike to Work Day (So, go on, … ride)

Full Bike Room at aork

I hope you are all ready for Seattle’s Bike to Work Day. Though I like my nice bike room (above), I’m hoping so many people ride that I’ll have to find my rack space elsewhere tomorrow morning.

It’s a good day to take the bike commute plunge. The weather is supposed to be awesome. Cascade Bikes, Starbucks, Group Health, and others are pulling out the stops—something like 42 Bike to Work Stations will be staffed tomorrow. Expect (possibly less-than-warm but) free Starbucks coffee, Powerbars or equivalent, water bottles, stickers, and some nice bikey camaraderie.

Even though I plan to swing by two or three commute stations conveniently located along my route, I realize it’s not about the stuff. Yeah, swag helps people get out, but the important thing is getting a butt load of riders on the road and in the public eye at least one day a year. Need another reason? Cascade does a count/census on Bike to Work day; consider a ride on Friday a way of “voting for bikes” with your wheels.

Big News: Mayor Greenhouse Gaseous Nichols is supposed to be at the Westlake Park commute rally. One wonders what kind of example he’ll set. I’m sure Greg plans to model a bike during the event, and maybe even roll down from City Hall. I’m doubtful, however, that we’ll see Hizzonor traverse the Swing Bridge and brave the less-than-relaxing trek from West Seattle. I’ve heard a few people say I’m a little hard on our mayor, so I’ll tell you what. If you do see him riding outside the Westlake-City hall radius—say south of Sodo—do let me know (grab a photo, too!). I’ll gladly take (most of) my snarky comments back.

Don’t forget it’s also Bike to School day. We’ve covered school biking events extensively so I’ll just say this: Encouraging your kids to ride to school (and showing by example) is the right thing to do.

Ride tomorrow. To work. To school. For errands. For everything.

Ride.

-Tim

Seattle Green Lanes: Laying it on Thick

Green Lanes going in on the South end of Fremont Bridge

A fine SDOT crew was hard at work this morning as I headed into work. Yep, it’s one of the green lanes we blogged about last February. I’m still thinking the green is a bit of “Emerald City” gimick, but it sure looks nifty on a sunny day. Overall, I’m on the fence about their effectiveness, but this individual spot is probably going to get the thumbs up from me.

This lane helps in an odd spot where cyclists are forced off the Fremont Bridge deck/sidewalk and onto the street right where motorists—often feeling rushed and frustrated because they just waited for the drawbridge—need to make an immediate right. Unlike the new Dexter and Green Lake locations, I can imagine this effectively warning motorists that they are crossing a bike lane.

I’m still waiting to hear if the city is going to bother doing anything with the deadly Fuhrman/Bryce Lewis intersection at the University Bridge. I’ve already speculated that fears of admitting liability will keep city officials from acting there. I still hope I’m wrong, because this one needs attention!

Have you ridden any of these “lanes” yet? Lemme know what you think.

edit: added Green Lane Flickr set here

New Bike Lane on 9th: Safety (or is it mail?) First

New Bike Lane on 9th Seattle -- supposedly _much_ safer than Westlake.

You know that new bike lane on 9th? The one the mayor scrambled to say they had been planning all along but didn’t mention until cyclists started protesting the SLUT? The one that is supposed to be way safer than riding near the trolley tracks? Yeah, that one.

Um, apparently not everyone got the safety memo. This was just one of three vehicles I saw blocking the less-than-Nichol’s-sized lane in a mere three blocks. Lots wackiness along this stretch of bike lane—cars parked over the line, doors flying without a care in the world and people swerving in and out of parking places. Finally, Lance’s old team colors put me over the top. I grabbed a photo and bailed.

As one might imagine, I’m not a bit impressed with the engineering or enforcement for this project. Judging from the still impressive volume of bike traffic on Westlake, I think most in-city riders have voted. 9th isn’t going to be worth the trip until such time the city can bother to enforce parking regulations more seriously around bike paths. From what I’ve seen lately, I’m not hopeful.

I met some Cascade Bike Club advocacy guys at trolley talk at REI in March. They say when 9th is done it will be really cool. But they admit it could take a while. For now I think I’m going to take my chances with Westlake. At least I know where the tracks are and I’m unlikey to get doored.

-Tim

Seattle’s Got a Whole Lot of Bikin’ Goin’ On

Just a bike commuter in SeattleI had minor knee surgery Thursday. I’m surprisingly mobile, (three laps around the block yesterday!) but not quite up for my normal ride. That meant a trip home from work via Metro bus today. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a very good bus commuter. I resent buses being late and early (and sometimes on time). Mostly it’s my problem because I have time issues. Regardless, I’d rather ride.

One advantage of the bus, I found today, is the ability to check on the state of the Seattle bike commute. On my daily ride, I see a few folks out there but don’t get a sense for numbers. I don’t pass a lot of riders and don’t get passed too much either. Mostly I just roll along alone, occasionally waving toward oncoming riders. Am I alone or just riding in a bike-free bubble? It’s hard to tell.

Continue reading

Pacific NW Per-Capita Gas Use Down to 1966 Levels

Gas Consumption is DownAccording to the Sightline institute, gas consumption is down in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington and Idaho. For more stats and details, read the full report.)  In terms of weekly gasoline consumption per person, Oregon and Washington are in the top 10 least consuming states (Washington D.C. actually leads the pack.)

This is good news–way to go northwesterners, but don’t go celebrating just yet.

Our total consumption, keeping pace with population growth, has not dropped. Per-captia we still consume more gas than a handful of states including New York, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Alaska, Utah, Illinois and Pennsylvania. And compared against the world, the report reminds us we still have a long way to go:

Despite recent reductions, northwesterners still consume prodigious amounts of gasoline. Daily consumption in the Northwest states remains nearly twice as high as the global average for high-income countries. 

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You know how we said spring had sprung?

Lovin' the Late April Snow

Um…. I think we might have been a bit premature.

I got really wet both directions on Friday. I had rain gear but it was not raining when I left so I thought I’d risk it. On the way home I thought “what are the odds that it will start raining on two trips in a row.” I didn’t think to ask about the odds of snow.

Of course by the time I decided it was probably prudent to gear up, it no longer mattered. It’s only water, right?

-tim

Bicycle Neglect: $100M Buys Two Bike Racks?

Garfield High School Contruction

Richard Truax, YMCA Earth Service Corps adviser and social studies teacher at Garfield High School wrote an interesting opinion piece in the Seattle PI about what he says is a pathetic lack of bike parking at the Central District school and what he contends is complete indifference on the matter from both the mayor’s office and school district. Give the piece a read yourself, peruse the comments (the one from Beth2000, posted at 3:00 AM, is particularly entertaining – we love the middle-of-the-night-angry-ranting), and form your own opinion. Continue reading

Seattle Weather Smackdown: Spring Edition

Spring-Rain-RideWho would have thought—rain, sleet, and snow—all on the same ride? Well, maybe in January, but not on March 26th!

Sheesh, it was a wet, cold, and lonely night out there. Not a bit like last week when I enjoyed a lovely spring ride in the company of a backpack-clad fellow commuter all kitted out in Broadmark Capital gear.

As he spun along on his unencumbered rain bike he couldn’t help but comment on me and my Clampett-size load of crap:

“You sure ride with a lot of stuff.”

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My Bike Commute = Daily City Immersion

Space Needle through the xtracycle barsOne thing I like about bike commuting is the opportunity to experience more of my city. In the morning, I might see a single scull or kayak slip under the University Bridge, the rising sun reflecting on the Olympic range, or a familiar landmark partially obscured by fog.

Of course, the downside of such an immersion is a heightened awareness of Seattle’s runaway construction projects. I rant about the state of our roads because I’m all too aware of how poor they’ve become. As I daily dodge cement trucks, impromptu street closures, and poorly patched pavement—a victim of heavy equipment or new-utility runs—I can only wonder about the sustainability of Seattle’s current development choices.

In the morning, I worry if Seattle knows what she is doing. Continue reading

Now *That’s* a Rack

Airgo Rack at Cycleliciousness, the Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog

The Northern European-style lovefest continues here at Car Free Days. This time we’re ga-ga over a lowly bike rack blogged by Cycleliciousness, those Copenhagen Bike Culture bellwethers.

I’ve posted before on our shortage of good racks, and about the Seattle Department of Transportation’s rack request program. And while the program is admirable in scope, the aesthetics (and in some cases, security) of the designs leave something to be desired.

But this 2006 Dutch design winner (either known as the Airago or the Heklucht– feel free to correct me) squashes those issues by bridging urban art, emergency functionality for passing commuters and safe locking space for neighborhood velos.

heklucht at Flickr

I’m sure someone else can point out how the racks are cost-prohibitive (though if we are looking at cost per use, then our beloved cars, ferries, SLUT and the Sounder train would be off the table) or how they’ll require much maintenance in our rainy climes; or even how they’d be a liability issue because someone might stick the hose somewhere it doesn’t belong.

But this time I am not the cynic. I love it!

Since we can’t seem to solve all (any?) of our bike infrastructure problems with any speed, I’d be up for some token public spending on some only moderately practical, but very nice looking bike racks. Personally, I think they’d look mighty swell as the official rack for Paul Allen’s South Lake Union pet project (and as an added bonus: I could use them on my daily commute).

So, how about it Mr. Mayor?

-Tim