Category Archives: Human Powered Politics

Second Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin’

Posted on December 15, 2008 by Anne | 15 comments

We pedaled up to the local tree lot over the weekend and picked up our Christmas tree. Although the novelty of hauling a large tree by bike has faded a bit, it was still pretty satisfying to pull up to the tree lot on our bikes, park right in front, choose our 6′ Noble fir, strap it to Tim’s bike with very little effort, and pedal home. No drama, no fuss, no big deal. Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bigger than here, bikes, kids, seattle, streetsblog, sustainability, xtracycle

Tagged 2008, christmas, Christmas Tree, local, seattle, streetsblog

Bike the Vote: Car Free Days goes Xtracycle style

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Tim K | 6 comments

Anne and I are holdouts. We, unlike the rest of the county, prefer in-person voting over the mail-in/absentee alternative. Call us old fashioned if you like (and this article does), but we really enjoy seeing our neighbors while we soak up the mood at our local community center on Election Day.

We also think in-person voting is darn useful for getting get the kids involved in their democratic responsibilities at a young age. For my money, there’s nothing better for inspiring responsibility than bringing your kids with you to vote. I vividly remember standing behind my mom in the big metal voting booth and craning my head in wonder as she yanked the curtain and started pulling the levers that cast her vote. By the time I was old enough, those booths were gone (dang!) and I had to make do with hanging chads and coloring in bubbles.

But I still got to vote.

Booth or no, the experience is rich. Our polling place was just humming this morning. We’ve been voting at the same community center for 12 years and have never seen it so busy.

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, extravehicular activities, Human Powered Politics, xtracycle

Tagged bikes, election08, election2008, xtracycle

World Carfree Day is Monday, September 22

Posted on September 20, 2008 by Anne | Leave a comment

Leave your car at home on Monday in honor of World Carfree Day. Tell your friends, family, neighbors, and co–workers to do the same.

World Carfree Day is an annual celebration of cities and public life, free from the noise, stress and pollution of cars. Each year on September 22, people around the world organize events of all sizes to showcase alternatives to the automobile.

Check out the World Carfree Day events page to find a gathering in your part of the world.

Seattle has an event in Ballard: Get your Undriver License in honor of World Carfree Day. Just pedal, walk or bus it over to the Ballard Neighborhood Service Center, NW 56th St and 22nd Ave NW on Monday, September 22, 2008 from 1-4pm to get your undriver license.

We got Undriver licenses last year at the Sustainable Ballard Festival – hopefully they aren’t expired yet.

Have a good weekend.

– Anne

Check out the New Walk Score Site

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Anne | 1 comment

http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/Seattle

I first talked about Walk Score back in September. I’m a big fan of the site and think it’s a great tool for motivating people to get out of their cars and walk (or ride) more. When you see all of those businesses within walking distance of your home, how could you not walk to some of them?

The new version has already been covered by Eric de La Place at Siteline. and Aaron at Streetsblog. I don’t have anything new to add to their insightful posts. Just go check it out for yourself. I will say – it’s much improved over the last version.

Have a great weekend.

– Anne

1 Comment

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, Human Powered Politics, neighborhoods, sustainability

Tagged neighborhoods, walk score, walking

Ride of Silence Today

Posted on May 21, 2008 by Tim K | 2 comments

A quick reminder (thanks Janet!) that today is the annual Ride of Silence, Seattle edition. The purpose of the ride is to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while riding on public roads. So far, 285 rides in 17 countries are planned.

Seattle participants should meet at Gas Works Park (by 6:10 pm) to conduct a silent, easy-paced ride through downtown, the U-district, Fremont and other areas. Black (for riders killed) and red (for those injured) armbands are recommended. More rides are planned around the state. For full details, visit the Ride of Silence or Bicycle Alliance site. If you aren’t in Seattle, check the schedule for your nearest ride.

I plan to make at least part of the ride, assuming I can escape the office. Frankly, I’d much rather scramble to make time for the ride than explain white bikes to my children!

Curious about the ride? Check out this short PSA video:

-Tim

2 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, Human Powered Politics

Tagged bikes, ghost bike, respect, ride of silence, seattle, video

Are Women The Key To A Successful Bike Culture?

Posted on May 13, 2008 by Anne | 11 comments

This morning I was reading Copenhagen Cycle Chic’s report on the véloculture in Paris. It’s so wonderful to read about the success of the Vélib program. Since the program was introduced last summer, biking has exploded in the city of Paris.

When I lived in Paris many years ago, transportation options were limited to

Métro (efficient but underground so you can’t enjoy the scenery, also crowded and stinky at times)
Bus (also efficient but always crowded)
Walking (my preferred method of transport but took a long time to get anywhere)

Biking around Paris would have been so great!

Tim and I were there last July and we missed the installation of the Vélib bikes by one week. We saw the stations all over town, but they were all bikeless. We walked and took the Metro – but would have prefered cruising around Paris on bikes. I guess we’ll have to go back and give Vélib a try.

While Copenhagen Cycle Chic’s post was about biking culture in Paris – my key take away was this quote:

The key to any successful bike culture is to get women onto bikes. They are the group that is most likely to ride and yet least likely to actually do it, especially in urban settings. Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, Human Powered Politics

Tagged bike culture, cycling, Paris, Velib, women

Seattle, Take the One Less Car Challenge, We’ll Give You Some Gas, a Car Wash, and Highway Map

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

AAA Image As we’ve said, we took the One Less Car Challenge last fall. We sold our newish Saab, and got $600 in Zipcar benefits (among other things) in exchange.

It seemed like a pretty good trade. We didn’t drive very much, but wanted to keep the car around because, well, you know: “just in case.” The Zipcar benefits handled the just in case part and it was a lot easier to let go of the car, it’s sunk costs, and associated negative externalities.

We’ve yet to use the Zipcar benefits, as we drive even more rarely since giving up the Saab (funny how that works), but having the benefit made it easy to let it go. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, Human Powered Politics, seattle, sustainability

Tagged alternative transportation, One Less Car, seattle

Bike to School Month, Parents Who Ride Rule!

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Anne | 6 comments

I would like to applaud all of the parents who are taking their kids to school by bike this month. You are all doing a fantastic job. Way to go! Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, Human Powered Politics, kids, neighborhoods, seattle

Tagged bike-to-school, bikes, Family Cycling, kids, parents

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

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Tim K | 2 comments

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

2 Comments

Posted in bicycle neglect, bikes, Commute, Human Powered Politics, seattle

Tagged Add new tag, bike lanes, bike neglect, bikes, Commute, seattle, traffic

Pacific NW Per-Capita Gas Use Down to 1966 Levels

Posted on April 20, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

According 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.

Continue reading →