Archive for the ‘Meetings & turnout’ Category

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Less talk, more walk — let’s go visit Northgate

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 by

As you are surely aware, Link light rail is on its way to Northgate. We’ve talked about it before – here and here. But enough talk – let’s go for a walk!

This Saturday, April 28, please join your friends at Cascade Bicycle Club, Feet First, and Futurewise for a walking tour of Northgate, the biking, walking, and transit neighborhood of the future.

Fifty years ago, Northgate’s expansive parking lots and auto-oriented design was an accurate reflection of how we lived, worked, and got around. But times are changing. With light rail and other improvements coming to the area, we’re investing in transforming Northgate into a vibrant, livable community where it’s safe and easy to ride a bike, walk down the street, and take transit.

Please join us for a morning of walking and discussion:

When: Saturday, April 28 / 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: Thornton Creek Plaza (319 NE Thornton Place)

RSVP here and let us know you’re coming!


It’s going to take a lot of care and coordination between the agencies involved – Sound Transit, King County Metro, the City of Seattle, and the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) – to recreate Northgate as a “transit-oriented community”. But what would it take to transform Northgate even further, into a “bike-oriented community”? Here are some ideas you could bring to the walk (scroll down for talking points).

Bring your ideas and questions, as there will be staff from Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD), King County Metro, Sound Transit, and PSRC on hand to address them. A short reception will follow the walk.

Hope to see you there!

Posted in Advocacy, Meetings & turnout, Transit | 1 Comment »

It starts with a corridor…

Thursday, April 12th, 2012 by

The City of Kirkland will finalize its purchase of 5.75 miles of the Eastside Rail Corridor from the Port of Seattle tomorrow. The purchase ensures that the land will stay in public ownership, and all future decisions about developing the corridor will be made by Kirkland residents and elected officials. Word is, there’s a world-class park, paved trail and transit line in store.

They’re inviting anyone who’s interested to help them commemorate the occasion on Saturday. Here are the event details:

Photo credit: Kirkland Views

Join the Kirkland City Council in commemorating the purchase of the Cross Kirkland Corridor
Saturday, April 14

10 a.m. Sign unveiling at Slater Ave NE. & 132nd Ave. NE

10:30 a.m. Sign unveiling at 108th Ave. NE (just north of the South Kirkland Park & Ride)

11 a.m. Reception at Google, Outdoor Courtyard, 747 6th Street S

More information is available on the City of Kirkland’s website here. Ride on over and check it out!

Posted in Meetings & turnout, Road & Trail News | 3 Comments »

Will bikes be left behind? Upcoming North Link light rail station meetings

Monday, March 19th, 2012 by

As Sound Transit’s North Link light rail station planning moves full speed ahead, we need your help to ensure bicyclists and pedestrians aren’t left behind.

You may have read our previous posts regarding the Northgate Link light rail station area plans (here, here & here), and maybe even attended a past North Link meeting. We’re calling on you again to make sure Sound Transit, King County and the City of Seattle are working together to plan and design all North Link station areas to encourage access by sustainable and healthy modes of transportation — specifically walking, bicycling and transit. In other words, safe and attractive bicycle and pedestrian routes to and from the stations, along with safe and accessible bicycle parking at the stations (with enough capacity to meet future demand), should be a priority as Sound Transit moves forward with its station-area planning for North Link.

For additional talking points related to bicycle access to North Link stations (specifically Northgate), please see here and here. We hope to see you at one or all of the upcoming meetings!

North Link Light Rail Community Meeting details:

Wednesday, March 21, 6 – 8:30 p.m. - Northgate Station to Tunnel Portal Construction
Olympic View Elementary School
504 NE 95th St., Seattle

Come discuss preliminary construction plans for Northgate Station and the above-ground light rail guideway and tunnel portal. Presentation begins at 6:30 p.m.

Monday, March 26, 6 – 8:30 p.m. – Roosevelt Station Construction
Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center
6535 Ravenna Ave NE, Seattle

Come discuss construction plans for Roosevelt Station. Presentation begins at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 11, 6 – 8:30 p.m. – Roosevelt Station 60% Design
Roosevelt High School Commons
1410 NE 66th St., Seattle

Come see and discuss the latest design for Roosevelt Station. Presentation begins at 6:30 p.m.

In addition to the three meetings listed above, a Brooklyn station design meeting is tentatively scheduled for May (more details to come).

For more information, or if you are unable to attend, please contact Ellen Blair with your comments, 206-398-5043 or northlink@soundtransit.org.

Posted in Advocacy, Meetings & turnout | 1 Comment »

The new Tukwila Station will save us all

Friday, March 9th, 2012 by

Have you ever been to the current Tukwila Sounder Station? Then you know how important it is for Sound Transit to open a new permanent station in the near future.

The current Tukwila Station. Photo: Sound Transit

Luckily, that’s exactly what they are planning on doing. And they want to hear from bicycle riders about how to make it best for us.

Sound Transit invites bicyclists who use the current Tukwila Station or plan to use the new station to attend an open house on Tuesday, March 13 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the current station at 7301 Longacres Way (South 158th St).

The new Tukwila Station will open in 2014 and will include bicycle racks, lockers and a storage cage. Sound Transit is asking for your feedback about how you plan to access the station, what types of bicycle parking you prefer, and what you think about the station design from a bicycling perspective. They’ve asked; let’s let them know.

The planned Tukwila Station, opening in 2014. Image: Sound Transit

But let’s also talk for a moment about the location of the station. Without a doubt, it provides important connections for people arriving at the station by bike or continuing their trip on two wheels after a train ride.

From the Tukwila Station, bicycle riders can access cities to the south via the Interurban Trail, including Kent, Auburn and Pacific. It also provides connections north (and south) via the Green River Trail and into Seattle. Which means one can then link to the I-90 Trail to Mercer Island and the Eastside. And from there, the possibilities are endless!

What I am trying to say is that the Tukwila Station isn’t just an important hub for commuters using Sounder or Amtrak, but it’s also a great place to use as a starting or ending point for an epic recreational ride. Imagine taking the Sounder for a few bucks to Auburn and working your way back up to Seattle on a beautiful separated trail. Sounds like a day off to me!

So come to the open house on Tuesday and get your comments in about how the new Tukwila Station can best serve you as a bicycle rider. It’s going to be increasingly important over the years that Sound Transit’s regional transit facilities make it easy and safe to hop on and off buses and trains with a bike – regardless of whether we’re doing it for fun or because that’s just how we roll to work.

Posted in Advocacy, Commuting, Meetings & turnout, Transit | 1 Comment »

Bellevue is asking for it (in a good way)

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 by

Do you ever bike through Bellevue? Or perhaps throw your bike on the bus for part of your journey? Either way, there’s a ton of transportation and bike-related action going down in Bellevue this month that you should definitely know about. Read on!

This 145th Place SE project includes bike lanes, sidewalks, medians, landscape planters, and street lighting improvements between SE 16th and SE 24th Streets. Photo by City of Bellevue.

First, the City of Bellevue is starting to prioritize road projects that are to be funded in the next 12 years—and new road projects open up the possibility for bike lanes and other treatments that make biking safer in Bellevue. But the City’s planners need to hear from you about where bike lanes are most needed, what intersections need to be made safer, and what new projects will make getting to your destination by bike all the more convenient.

So please attend one of the next Transportation Facilities Plan open houses this month and provide your input on what projects need to get built now and where you want to see bike lanes.

Thursday, Feb. 23 (this week!)
4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue City Hall (450 110th Ave NE), Room 1E-108

Tuesday, Feb. 28
4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at Highland Park & Community Center (14224 Bel-Red Road)

If you can’t make either of these open houses, you can also provide feedback through the City’s Transportation Facilities Plan survey, available here.

But wait—there’s more!

Also going on in Bellevue, the City is getting ready to launch its Transit Master Plan effort to examine the current state of transit in Bellevue and how it could be improved.

Though the City doesn’t own its own transit system, it can (and should) invest in roadway improvements that make transit more efficient, faster, and even make biking to the bus better than ever before.

Creating this seamless integration of bicycle and bus travel is what it’s really going to take to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions in our region—not to mention make us all healthy, bus savvy two-wheeled road warriors.

So if you have feedback about how to make connections to transit by bicycle safer and more convenient, including bike parking at transit stops, please take this short survey and let the City know what you think. After all, they’re asking for it!

And just for fun, here’s a short Streetfilm that illustrates the importance of bus/bike integration (featuring appearances by John Mauro of Cascade and Eileen Kadesh of King County Metro).

Thanks you help in making Bellevue better for bicycling (and transit)!

Posted in Commuting, Complete streets, Meetings & turnout, Transit | No Comments »

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