Archive for the ‘Meetings & turnout’ Category

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Shutting down TWO lanes of I-5?

Monday, May 13th, 2013 by

Imagine if two lanes of I-5 were shut down. You would face an unprecedented traffic nightmare. 

You wouldn’t be able to get to work on time. It would take hours to pick up your kids from school. It would be painful to get just about anywhere.

Now imagine if the only reason these lanes were closed was the Washington State Department of Transportation couldn’t do its job. I don’t know about you, but I would be pretty angry.

This is basically what’s about to happen unless the state legislature grants King County Metro a new long-term funding solution to replace its current temporary stop-gap funding. If the legislature doesn’t act now, Metro will be forced to cut 17 percent of our bus service.

Since 400,000 people ride the bus on an average work day, a 17 percent cut would mean 68,000 people would be forced to drive or simply not be able to get where they need to go. That’s the equivalent of shutting down two lanes of I-5, simply because the legislature couldn’t do its job.

There are two ways you can help save our buses and prevent a traffic nightmare:

1. Contact your state representatives and tell them you support a transportation bill that includes state support and local funding options for transit and safe streets.

2. Attend a Public Hearing of the King County Council and tell them how bus cuts would affect you:

Tuesday, May 14
3:30 p.m. open house
4:00 p.m. public testimony
Union Station, 401 S Jackson St, Seattle

 

This is about more than preventing a traffic nightmare. It’s about providing people with the basic freedom to get where they need to go.

Like 10,000 other people in the Puget Sound region every week, I load my bike on the bus to get to work. My wife needs our car to drop the kids off at day care on her way to work, so I rely on the bus to get to work and make a living. Hundreds of thousands of your friends and neighbors rely on the bus to get to work, school, shops, restaurants, and places of worship.

A 17 percent cut in bus service would be devastating for all of us. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Prevent a traffic nightmare, tell your state representatives to save our buses.

Posted in Advocacy, Meetings & turnout | 1 Comment »

Will a complete streets redevelopment of 23rd Ave improve safety for people on bikes?

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 by

How do you envision a safe and accessible 23rd Avenue?

Improvement is coming for those who bike between the South End and University District, it is just a question of where these improvements will be made — on 23rd Ave. or a parallel route?

Starting in 2014, the Seattle Department of Transportation will begin a repaving, transit efficiency and complete streets re-evaluation of 23rd Ave. from East John St. to Rainier Ave. South, as reported earlier on the Seattle Bike Blog. As public outreach for the project continues, SDOT already has plans to electrify transit, install transit signal priority and improve the pedestrian environment on what is currently a four-lane arterial. However, as the city is still considering whether bicycle improvements will be made along 23rd Ave. as a component of this complete streets project. The upcoming March 2 Open House is a great opportunity to provide input about the issues and needs surrounding bicycle access along and across this corridor.

What could a “complete streets” redevelopment of 23rd Ave. mean for bicycles?

23rd Ave. represents a critical connection between the south end and the University District. Significant destinations impacted by the project corridor include the revitalizing commercial corner at 23rd and E Union, Garfield High School, the I-90 trail and the future light rail station at I-90.

The Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update’s preliminary draft bicycle network recommended protected bike lanes as the desired bicycle facility along the 23rd Ave. corridor, while also identifying the Central District thoroughfare as a “multi-modal corridor,” given the heavy demands for all modes operating in the limited right of way. For instance, Bus 48, running from Mt. Baker to the University District via 23rd Ave. and continuing north to Loyal Heights, is one of the busiest routes in King County. About 6,900 people ride daily on just the southern section.

The city is currently undergoing a Transit Reliability Study to help determine if 23rd Ave can support a three-lane cross-section while maintaining transit reliability and efficiency. While transit is a high priority for 23rd Ave, the majority of the corridor experiences motor vehicle volumes well below the threshold needed to support a three-lane cross-section, which would ultimately make it safer for people to travel by all modes along and across the corridor.

While complete streets are designed to enable safe, attractive and comfortable travel for all users, space constraints throughout the corridor may limit which modes the redesign of 23rd Ave. can prioritize. The City is exploring options to improve pedestrian safety and access through the project; however, the City is preliminarily proposing favoring an alternative, parallel route to support bicycling given the constrained roadway width and concerns about conflicts between bicycle traffic and transit on the corridor. Whether 23rd Ave. can accommodate a bicycle facility that will be safe and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities will be determined by the results of the study as well as input from the community.

How do you envision a safe and accessible 23rd Ave? The city is interested in hearing from you!

Join SDOT at an open house on Saturday, March 2, to learn more about the project from the design team. If you are unable to attend the open house, you can still comment on the project by contacting the Project Manager, Lorelei Williams at (206) 684-5178 or by email.

Open House Details

When: Saturday, March 2
Where: Garfield Community Center, 2323 East Cherry St, Seattle, WA 98122
What Time: 2 to 4 p.m.

We hope to see you there!

Posted in Advocacy, Complete streets, Meetings & turnout, Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Let’s kick off the greenway movement on the Eastside!

Friday, February 15th, 2013 by

Kirkland resident Glen Bluhmann has a vision. He envisions being able to go from his Eastside home to his kids’ school, his favorite coffee shop, the library, that new restaurant he heard about from friends and everywhere else in the Eastside neighborhoods on a complete network of quiet residential streets.

He dreams of safe streets where kids are riding their bikes and playing, families are walking their dogs, and neighbors stop for a quick chat while people in cars ride by slowly, cautious and cognizant of sharing the road with all of these other people.

He envisions this network connected to current and future shared use trails, enabling us all to ride our bikes comfortably and safely to destinations even farther away without ever having to ride in traffic and on a high speed arterial.

Glen is dreaming of neighborhood greenways.

In Seattle there are 20 neighborhood greenway groups who have been working hard over the past 18 months to design and start making their greenway dreams a reality.  Now it’s time for the Eastside to start working on theirs.

Come help Glen, a graduate of Cascade’s Advocacy Leadership Institute, and his fellow visionaries kick off the greenway movement on the Eastside!

On Wednesday, Feb. 20, come learn about greenways and share your dream. Where would you like to be able to walk or bike to?

Attendees will be encouraged to mark up maps of Kirkland and the rest of the Eastside to indicate your favorite neighborhood destinations, existing safe walking and biking routes and dangerous conflict areas.

The City of Seattle is taken its first steps toward creating healthier, safer and connected neighborhoods, now it’s time for the Eastside cities to do the same.  Help Kirkland Greenways work with the City of Kirkland and the other Eastside cities to turn these visions into reality.

Details:

What: Kirkland Greenways Kickoff Meeting
When:  Wednesday, Feb 20. 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Where: Houghton Fire Station #22, 6602 108th Ave. NE, Kirkland

Visit their Facebook page for more information.

Posted in Advocacy, Eastside, Greenways, Meetings & turnout | No Comments »

I might be relocating to Virginia, but I’m leaving a bike in Seattle

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 by

I don’t think I have ever been so happy/sad/excited/depressed in my life. I am giving up a great job, a passionate community, and the company of so many wonderful friends and colleagues to help begin and grow something new. I’m off to be the Director of the Bike Walk RVA initiative in Richmond, Virginia for an organization not unlike Cascade Bicycle Club – but one that is in the infancy of its advocacy movement.

My last day at Cascade will be Friday, Feb. 15.

The best photo taken of me by anybody, ever. Credit: Mariana Kajlich, Seattle Magazine

In all the excitement, I can’t help but feel like I am leaving things somewhat unresolved here in Seattle. The Bicycle Master Plan has not been adopted and there is still much work to do before we have a world-class plan for bicycling. Shoot, there’s not even enough funding for implementation of the plan we have now. There are a bunch of projects coming up this season (like this) that will need your support in order to get built correctly. And there are pro-bike candidates we need to elect.

The good news is: Seattle in great hands. The reality is: we need more hands.

Between grassroots groups sprouting like weeds all over the city, both new and established bicycle advocacy organizations, capable city staff and visionary elected officials, Seattle is certainly on its way to becoming one of the best cities for bicycling in the country. Yes, there’s lots of momentum. But if we’re ever going to be the city we know we should be, Seattle still needs more people banging on doors of electeds, louder voices demanding more funding at budget hearings, and more butts on bikes.

The Richmond area – on the other hand – is more of a blank canvas. There are a few great recreational trails but there are even fewer bike lanes. I saw a couple sharrows when I was there. There are no neighborhood greenways or cycle tracks. If all goes well, that could change in the coming years (and then some), but it’s going to be a lot of hard work. Richmond doesn’t yet have a training program for bicycle advocates, or a neighborhood greenways movement – but it does have a lot of untapped potential that will take time to realize.

My point is, take advantage of what you have here, Seattle. If you haven’t gotten involved yet, what are you waiting for?! Now is the perfect opportunity to sign up for ways to get involved.

Seattle will always be my home. My friends and family are all here and I can’t wait to visit often and see how the bikeway network has grown, both downtown and in our neighborhoods. I’ll leave a bike at my folks’ house to use while I am in town, at least until bike share is up and running in 2014.

But will someone email me once the 39th Ave NE greenway is finally finished? I mean, we had the ribbon cutting ceremony in October, and it’s still not done! What gives?!

Okay, I digress. I want to thank all of my friends and coworkers at Cascade, all my colleagues on the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, and all my partners in the community for one hell of a ride. Nearly everything I learned about effective advocacy, I learned here. Now I get to go apply it to Richmond.

Watch out, Seattle – RVA is going to give you a run for your money!

Posted in Advocacy, Elections, Meetings & turnout, Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update | 5 Comments »

Tonight: Seattle Bike Master Plan update and last chance to vote

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 by

Today is the last day to vote in the Club election, and tonight is the Annual Membership Meeting with a special presentation on the Seattle Bike Master Plan.

CLUB ELECTION 

Meet the four candidates put forth by the nominations committee to run for Board of Directors:

Each Club member may vote for up to two candidates. Two proposed bylaws revisions are also up for your consideration.

How to vote: Paper ballots can dropped at the office by 5 p.m. today, returned by mail with a postmark of Oct. 9, or submitted at tonight’s Annual Membership Meeting.

Current members in good standing should have received an email with a link to their e-ballot. Look for an email message dated Friday, Oct. 5 from Chuck Ayers with  a subject line “Less than a week to vote!”

Please don’t try to vote more than once, because that will invalidate your ballot. If you have any difficulties at all, please contact us at (206) 522-3222 or at via email.

TONIGHT!
Annual Membership Meeting
at the South Lake Union Discovery Center

GETTING THERE:
The South Lake Union Discovery Center is located at 101 Westlake Avenue North, on the corner of Denny Way and Westlake Ave.By bike: uncovered bike racks will be set up outside. Bring your own lock to secure your bike.

By transit: use Metro’s trip planner to find a nearby transit route.

By car: the Center has a very limited fee parking. Street parking is available along with several area parking garages.

6 p.m: Meet and greet board candidates. This is your last chance to cast your ballot for board of directors candidates and proposed bylaws changes.

6:30 p.m: ”State of the club” address given by Cascade Staff and Board.

7:15 p.m: Seattle Bike Master Plan presentation by SDOT. The first Bike Master Plan positioned the city on the road to being more bike-friendly, and we want the next version to launch Seattle toward becoming a truly world-class city for bicycling. Cascade members can make a difference!

The meeting is scheduled to end at 8 p.m. If the discussion with SDOT is going strong, however, we are open to staying later and ending no later than 9 p.m.

Posted in Board of directors, Club news, Meetings & turnout | No Comments »

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