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Cascade Bicycle Club Endorses McGinn, Bagshaw, Conlin and O’Brien

Thursday, April 18th, 2013 by

Today, Cascade Bicycle Club announced its early endorsements in Seattle. Cascade Bicycle Club issues early endorsements to a select group of previously endorsed candidates who have demonstrated a strong and consistent commitment to creating a better community through bicycling and have made substantial accomplishments on bicycling-related issues.

Cascade’s early endorsed candidates in Seattle include:
• Mike McGinn – Mayor
• Sally Bagshaw – Seattle City Council, Position #4
• Richard Conlin – Seattle City Council, Position #2
• Mike O’Brien – Seattle City Council, Position #8

Mike O'Brien

“Mayor McGinn has shown bold leadership in making our streets safer for everybody, whether they drive, haul freight, ride transit, bike or walk,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager for Cascade Bicycle Club. “He recognizes that sixty percent of people in Seattle want to bicycle more, but they are not doing it because they don’t feel safe. So he has shifted our bicycling investments toward physically protecting bike lanes from speeding car traffic and building more neighborhood greenways – low-speed, low-traffic streets that are safer for families.”

“Councilmember Bagshaw has worked hard to make bicycling so safe that Seattle families will let their eight year olds ride their bikes to school, to parks, to libraries and through their neighborhoods; and grandparents will choose to ride their bikes to the local neighborhood business district for a morning cup of coffee and newspaper,” said Evan Manvel, Director of Policy, Planning and Government Affairs.

“Councilmember Conlin has a track record of leadership in taking bold steps to advance bicycling, from supporting safety improvements that make our streets safer for everybody, to getting a bike lane planned on the new Portage Bay Bridge, to working with partner agencies and jurisdictions to secure tens of millions of dollars for investments in bicycling,” said Benjamin.

Richard Conlin

“Councilmember O’Brien has championed efforts to secure additional funding for bicycling infrastructure and the region’s early efforts to bring a bike share program to Seattle,” added Benjamin. “He sees what other cities are doing to support building a better community through bicycling and wants to see Seattle not just keeping up, but leading the way.”

“We’re proud to endorse these candidates because of their hard work to make our streets safer for our children and everyone who wants to ride,” said Mo McBroom, a Cascade Bicycle Club board member and chair of its Legislative and Endorsements Committee. “We look forward to working with them to connect our city with a complete network of protected bike lanes and neighborhood greenways.”

Over the next few months, Cascade will make endorsements in additional races across the Puget Sound region.

Please contact Craig M. Benjamin, Cascade’s Policy and Government Affairs Manager, at (206) 713 6204 or craig.benjamin@cascadebicycleclub.org for more information. 

Posted in Advocacy, Elections, Media alerts | 7 Comments »

Cascade Bicycle Club and Feet First call for Safe Routes to School in response to Gregoire’s proposals for hundreds of millions of dollars for school busing

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 by

Today, in order to find more funds for education, Governor Christine Gregoire proposed raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes to cover the costs of busing students to school.

Yet she failed to ask the key question: why do so many students ride the bus to school instead of walking or biking?

One big reason: often, it’s just not safe to walk or bike to school.

“Many parents want their children to walk or bike to school, and kids themselves want to. But traffic is going too fast or there are no sidewalks or bike lanes or safe crossings,” said Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club. “When we build roads wider to move cars faster, and we neglect to provide for safe walking and biking, students must be driven everywhere.”

Through the Safe Routes to School program, the Washington State Department of Transportation provides grants to local cities and school districts for engineering such as sidewalks, bike lanes, crossing signals, educational materials, speed enforcement, education and encouragement. And these improvements work: according to WSDOT’s statistics, drivers drive more slowly and receive fewer traffic citations in school zones, students behave more safely when crossing streets, and the number of children who walk or bike to each school goes up an average of 20 percent.

But only about one-quarter of requests from local communities get funded.

“We recognize schools need more funds for education,” said Lisa Quinn, Executive Director of Feet First. “Student transportation is more than just the yellow bus. We should ask why are we taxing ourselves instead of making is safer and easier for children to walk and bike to school, which would have other positive benefits.  Additionally, without a simultaneous effort to educate and encourage families to walk and bike, it is equally likely that parents will replace their bus ride with a drive instead.”

Cascade Bicycle Club and Feet First are calling on Governor-elect Jay Inslee and the state legislature to make our children safer and healthier, and save millions in school bus costs, by investing more in safe routes to school.

“Don’t let our children get driven into a ditch,” said Ayers. “We can support their health and well-being, improve their readiness for learning, and save money for school districts by making it safe for students to walk or bike to school.”

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Posted in Media alerts, Olympia | 6 Comments »

Community demands Seattle City Council tell WSDOT to get SR 520 right

Monday, November 26th, 2012 by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Community demands Seattle City Council tell WSDOT to get SR 520 right

Neighborhood leaders deliver “gift” of overwhelming community support to Seattle City Council for making it safe, comfortable and convenient for everyone to bike and walk in and through the Seattle side of the SR 520 corridor.

Contact: Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Cascade Bicycle Club, (206) 713 6204, craig.benjamin@cascadebicycleclub.org

A common rush hour traffic jam on SR 520. Photo from WSDOT

SEATTLE, November 26, 2012 – Today, neighborhood leaders delivered a “gift” of overwhelming community support to the Seattle City Council for making it safe, comfortable and convenient for everyone to bike and walk in and through the Seattle side of the SR 520 corridor.  The “gift” included a packet of community letters showing overwhelming community support for improved pedestrian and bicycle connections as part of the SR 520 project and additional information on how WSDOT can make these connections happen. Full contents of the “gift” are available here.

The Seattle City Council has until the end of 2012 to provide direction to WSDOT on how to proceed with final designs for the Seattle side of the SR 520 corridor. But right now, plans for the project do not include critical biking and walking connections.

“If we’re going to spend billions of dollars on a new 520 bridge, one that will stand long past our lifetimes, we have a responsibility to get it right,” said Gordon Padelford of Central Seattle Greenways. “The Seattle City Council should listen to the community and tell WSDOT to include a shared-use trail on the Portage Bay Bridge, redesign the North-South pedestrian and bicycle connections from the University of Washington to south of Lake Washington Blvd to make them work for people of all ages and abilities, and to collaborate with City agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the project design before it is finalized.”

“The public reviewed WSDOT’s plans for 520 and spoke loud and clear: better pedestrian and bicycle connections are needed as alternatives for getting through Montlake,” said Rainer Metzger of Montlake Greenways. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get this right – to build landscaped lids that reconnect neighborhoods, encourage walking and biking – and put Seattle’s natural beauty on display.”

“Now that we have a draft of a complete citywide bicycle and pedestrian network, Seattle is finally in a position to start integrating the proposed SR 520 in a way that connects not only the surrounding community, but also our region,” said Bob Edmiston of Madison Park Greenways. “Since this bicycle and pedestrian network vision did not exist even a year ago, a continuation of the design process is necessary in order to take full advantage of this unique multi-billion dollar opportunity.”

“The potential benefits are great. With improved walking and biking connections through Montlake, the new 520 project can work for everybody to reconnect our neighborhood, and leverage its unique location for the benefit of the entire city,” said Lionel Job of Montlake Greenways. “If done right, these improvements would capitalize on the ring of Olmsted Parks surrounding Montlake, the proximity of the UW, and greatly increase the safety of walking to schools and moving around our neighborhood.”

From September 14, 2012 to October 5, 2012, WSDOT invited public comments on its draft SR 520 west side design report. Highlights from public input on the project further demonstrate the overwhelming community support for making it safe, comfortable and convenient for everyone to bike and walk in and through the Seattle side of the SR 520 corridor and include:

  • 97 percent of respondents support a 14-foot shared-use path along Portage Bay Bridge. 1298 out of 1339 commenters in support of continuing the 520 Bridge regional trail from Montlake to Roanoke and I-5 via the Portage Bay Bridge).
  • Support for dedicated bicycle and pedestrian paths with direct, convenient and safe access to main intersections, neighborhoods and existing trails throughout the project area. 1028 out of 1102 commenters in support of pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvements along both sides of Montlake Blvd and 1146 out of 1245 commenters in favor of a 30-foot wide pedestrian and bicycle bridge over I-5.
  • General concern about bicycle and pedestrian connectivity and safety in and around the Montlake lid area and on Montlake Boulevard.

“Failing to make smart tweaks to the design before it is finalized writes another chapter in our city’s sad legacy of missed opportunities with highway projects that split our communities into isolated pieces,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager for Cascade Bicycle Club. “We can’t let the narrow interests of a few vocal opponents stand in the way of investments that would benefit so many. That’s just not how our democracy is supposed to work. Let’s seize this golden opportunity to connect our neighborhoods, provide choices, and to unify our region.”

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Click here to send your letter to the Seattle City Council and tell them to reconnect our neighborhoods and make critical biking and walking connections with the SR 520 replacement project.
 
About Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
Formed in August 2011, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is rapidly growing volunteer coalition representing 19 neighborhoods across Seattle to identify, advocate for, and activate safe healthy streets. Find your neighborhood at www.SeattleGreenways.org
 
About Cascade Bicycle Club
Founded in 1970, Cascade Bicycle Club is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington, serving 14,000+ members and more than half a million cyclists in the Puget Sound community. Cascade is operated by a 12-member volunteer Board of Directors, 30 professional staff and thousands of volunteers. More information about Cascade Bicycle Club’s advocacy, commute, education and riding programs is available online at http://www.cascade.org/ or by calling (206) 522-3222.

Posted in Advocacy, Media alerts, SR520 | 8 Comments »

Leading U.S. companies become bicycle-friendly businesses

Thursday, October 25th, 2012 by

Today, the Washington D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists recognized 71 new Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFBs) for their role in pedaling America toward greater prosperity and making their businesses welcoming to bicyclists.

 The Fall Award winners included companies like Facebook (Gold award), Apple, Inc. (Silver), Burton Snowboards (Silver), Hewlett-Packard Company (Silver), General Mills (Bronze) and William-Sonoma Inc. (Bronze).

Locally, Kona Bicycles (Gold) and Sustainable Connections (Bronze) were added to the ranks of Washington State businesses and universities already recognized by the LAB.

These businesses are among a growing number of household names that have taken steps to encourage bicycling as a means to enhance the workplace, contribute to the community and improve their overall earnings.

“Businesses are the engine of our economy, but more and more companies are realizing the bicycle can be a powerful catalyst for increased profits, reduced health care costs, happier employees and more customers,” stated Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, in a press release. “We’re excited to see the most innovative minds in technology, retail, and manufacturing voting for a morebicycle-friendly America and making significant contributions to our economic growth by promoting healthy, sustainable transportation.”

The League’s Bike Friendly America program partly inspired Cascade’s new bike-friendly business program, BizCycle.

Locally, Cascade has been supporting bike-friendly business practices for years. As we were making the business case for bicycling, local businesses were making the business case for BizCycle; they wanted specific guidance on actions that would increase bicycling, as well as a sense of how well they stack up against their local peers.  Further, they wanted a program that would addressed local context, challenges, and opportunities unique to Puget Sound.

Cascade responded with BizCycle, which will not only raise the bar locally among bike-friendly businesses, it should also put more local businesses, universities and cities on the national map.

Visit http://bizcycle.cascade.org for more information.

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Posted in BizCycle, Commuting, Media alerts, That other Washington | 3 Comments »

Arena deal brings needed transportation infrastructure fund

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cascade Bicycle Club Applauds Transportation Funding in Proposed Arena Deal

$40 million for transportation improvements in Sodo will help address important transportation needs in the area 

Contact:         Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager
(206) 713-6204, craig.benjamin@cascadebicycleclub.org

SEATTLE, September 11, 2012 – Today, Cascade Bicycle Club applauds the transportation funding in the agreement reached between Seattle City Councilmembers Sally J. Clark, Tim Burgess and Mike O’Brien and Chris Hansen’s ArenaCo for a new sports and entertainment arena.  The agreement includes a $40 million Sodo Transportation Infrastructure Fund to help address important transportation needs in the area.

“Two years ago we worked hard with our friends and allies in the freight community, the Manufacturing Industrial Council of Seattle, the Duwamish Transportation Management Association and Feet First to identify and prioritize infrastructure improvements to make it easier and safer for everyone to move through Sodo and south. It’s exciting to see that many of these recommendations may now get funded,” said Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club. “Whether you’re hauling freight, riding your bike, walking, taking transit, or driving your car, you can expect this fund to improve your mobility in the area.”

“We applaud City Councilmembers Sally J. Clark, Tim Burgess and Mike O’Brien for recognizing the need to fund important transportation needs in Sodo and thank them for their hard work in developing the Sodo Transportation Infrastructure Fund,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager with Cascade Bicycle Club.  “We’re hopeful that the full City Council will approve this agreement and we look forward to working with our partners at the City and County to secure additional funding to make it easier for everyone to move within and through Sodo.”

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Posted in Media alerts | No Comments »

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