Archive for the ‘Complete streets’ Category

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Today’s 8th annual Bike to Work Breakfast

Friday, May 4th, 2012 by

What an amazing turnout at today’s Bike to Work Breakfast! I am humbled when I look around the room at this event and see all of the people, companies and organizations who believe in — and support — our mission.

A special congratulations to Public Health — Seattle & King County, which was recognized with the Doug Walker Achievement Award for their Communities Putting Prevention to Work. Through CPPW, Public Health awarded 55 grants to community-based organizations, school districts, consultants and local governments to tackle the prevalence of poor health in communities of south and east King County, specifically through policy and environment changes that will lead to healthier transportation choices and healthier places.

Supported by CPPW funding, Cascade worked with seven jurisdictions in south and east King County to provide guidance and training around the development and adoption of active transportation policies and plans. Eighteen months later, we’re excited to announce that this collaboration has paid off. Communities, including Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, SeaTac and Snoqualmie now have new policies and plans in place — such as Complete Streets — establishing the vital voundation for bicycling and walking to be comine viable and attractive means of transportation and recreation in these communities.

Today’s keynote speaker, Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon held Seattle up as Portland’s “big sister” to the north. He praised us for being the nation’s most popular city. But, alas, we are falling behind Portland and other cities in terms of bicycling leadership. Portland gets that bicycling is part of a lifestyle that matters to people, and it helps attract talent and businesses. Based on changes that Rep. Blumenauer sees across the country — notably in the District of Columbia — bicycling isn’t just a passing fad or “weird Pacific Northwest thing”. It’s a movement that’s taken hold and accelerating.

Chuck Ayers, Cascade Executive Director, reminded us all in the room — citizen activists to elected leaders — that there is much work to be done in our region, and that we’re hungry to see Seattle and Washington lead the way for bicycling and accelerate the movement locally. Some of our work over the next year — working for the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan 2.0, launching the Advocacy Leadership Institute and releasing BizCycle — are some of the key ways we’re working to push the dial.

For me, the best moment (after hearing Blumenauer wax poetic about Portland) was our new video. Please meet three people who — with your support and the support of Cascade Bicycle Club and our Education Foundation — are helping lead the way in their communities. Brooks Stanfield of Burien, Madi Carlson of Seattle and Oliyad Beyene of Seatac.

Thank you to everyone who gave in support our mission
of creating a better community through bicycling.

 

Posted in Bike Month, Club news, Complete streets, Education, Events, That other Washington, Video | 2 Comments »

Celebrate Bike Month by giving BIG

Monday, April 30th, 2012 by

It’s Bike Month — and what better way to celebrate than by supporting Cascade’s efforts to transform the Puget Sound community into a community that bicycles?

On Wednesday, May 2, the Seattle Foundation is hosting its second annual GiveBIG Day, a community-wide giving challenge and a great opportunity for local nonprofits to stretch their fundraising dollars. For every dollar raised for Cascade’s Education Foundation on May 2, we’ll receive a proportional match from the Seattle Foundation. We hope you’ll consider donating to Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation on GiveBIG Day.

Need a good reason to give? Here are three:

(more…)

Posted in Bike Month, Bike to Work Day, Commuting, Complete streets, Kids on bikes | No Comments »

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 »

Your waterfront

Monday, February 6th, 2012 by

How many times have you biked or walked along the Seattle waterfront, felt the salt in the air, listened to the gulls, looked out to the snowy Olympic Mountains and thought: what a city.

But despite this scene that many of us enjoy, it’s likely that you had to work a bit to get there—I always carry with me a feeling of disconnection from the natural beauty of Seattle’s waterfront.

That’s all about to change.  Maybe.

Still in the early stages of design, we’re unsure what kind of waterfront we’re going to get. (I’m surprised that the teaser images on the Waterfront Committee website don’t have a single bicycle in them.)

But we have a pretty good idea of what kind of waterfront we want: a safe and connected one that works for bicycle commuters, recreational riders and pedestrians.

Nice cycletrack-- but whoa, those are pretty long crossing distances across all those lanes...

Safe means that the crossing distances should be shorter for bicycles and pedestrians, traffic speeds should be below 30 mph and intersections should be carefully designed and signalized.

Connected means that the bicycle facilities should be wide to accommodate the large numbers of anticipated riders, the facilities should work for all types of riders and there should be strong east-west connections for all modes.

Tell the design team to get it right from the start. There’s a workshop that’ll start with a brief presentation and finish with an open discussion and a chance to speak up.  It’s 5:30 to 7 p.m. this Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Town Hall (downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue).  RSVP for the workshop here.

Let’s make sure that we make the best of this opportunity to connect to the tremendous natural beauty of our waterfront and create the kind of waterfront we’ve all been dreaming about.

Posted in Advocacy, Commuting, Complete streets | 3 Comments »

UW Fixit stations welcome bikes to campus

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 by

The following is a guest post from David Amiton, Transportation Analyst | MURP with Commuter Services | Transportation Services at the University of Washington

This might come as a shock, but as a government employee I don’t receive a lot of fan mail. So you can imagine what a pleasant surprise it was when appreciative emails began trickling into my inbox in December.

One read, Thanks for one of the most useful things to ever be installed as a resource on UW’s campus! Another was more concise: This is so cool – thank you!

What were people going so gaga for? A new cycletrack on campus that someone forgot to tell me about? A fabulous new covered bicycle parking area? Had Red Square been converted into the world’s largest roller skating rink?*

Think smaller.

A Fixit station in action at the Law School

Late last year, UW Commuter Services installed bicycle repair stations at five popular campus bicycling destinations. Each station features an air pump and essential tools like tire irons, screwdrivers, and a hex wrench set. Manufactured by Dero, the stations are clean, simple, and functional. And the best part? The project was entirely funded through a grant from the University’s innovative Campus Sustainability Fund.

The bicycle repair stations give UW students, employees, and visitors convenient access to the tools that keep bicycles on the go. They also send a clear message that bicyclists belong on campus. This might seem like a small gesture, but it’s an important one, because generally speaking people who bike don’t receive many visual cues that invite them to use public spaces.

Consider some of the things you encounter on your bicycle errands and commutes: body-less bike symbols, wet leaves in the bike lanes, honking cars; sound familiar? Now, when was the last time you spotted a bicycle radar sensor, display counter, or waiting rail while pedaling around Seattle? These are also small gestures, but they add up to create an environment that welcomes people on bikes. Judging from the feedback I’ve received, the bicycle repair stations are definitely helping the University of Washington roll out the bicycle welcome mat.

*Apparently the honor goes to this place. But still, a guy can dream.

Posted in Around town, Complete streets, Guest post | No Comments »

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