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West Thomas Street Pedestrian and Bicycle Overpass is now complete

Friday, October 12th, 2012 by

From @atkin901 on Twitter

After a series of delays, the construction of the West Thomas Street Pedestrian and Bicycle Overpass is finally complete.

Originally  slated for a May 2012 opening, the project encountered several delays due to trouble acquiring materials.

And while you may still see crews working near the overpass on minor tasks over the next several weeks, the overpass and trail through Myrtle Edwards Park are both open for use.

The new overpass gives bicyclists and pedestrians direct access from the lower Queen Anne community to Myrtle Edwards Park, crossing over the Elliott Avenue West and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad tracks at West Thomas Street.  The overpass also connects the Myrtle Edwards Park bicycle trail to the Lake to Bay Loop, which is a future bicycle route linking the Seattle waterfront with South Lake Union and Seattle Center.

Posted in Around town, Road & Trail News | 1 Comment »

It’s on. Seattle’s bike counter to start counting on Thursday!

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 by

Take 2.

It’s here, it’s finally here! The bike counter we announced on Bike to Work Day in May is being installed on the Fremont Bridge this week.  After a delay last week to replace a damaged part, we are on!

Come one, bike all! You are officially invited to the unveiling on Thursday at 11 and be among the first counted with the new counter. 

Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation is donating the bike counter to the City of Seattle with funding from the Mark & Susan Torrance Foundation for the project. We are grateful for the Torrance Foundation’s interest in supporting our mission of creating a better community through bicycling and to helping increase the visibility of bicycling in our city.

Cascade will cover the cost of the counter installation, and cover some initial administrative overhead and maintenance during the first year of operation.

The Fremont Bridge is an appropriate location as it carries the most bicycle traffic of any bridge Seattle and Washington. Manual statewide bike counts take place annually in Washington and citywide in Seattle during morning and evening commute times, thanks to dedicated, clipboard-wielding volunteers. With the use of bike counters, we may get a more comprehensive picture of how many trips are being taken by bicycle throughout the day and the year.

 

 

Posted in Around town, Events, Road & Trail News | 2 Comments »

Bike counter delayed a few days

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 by

It really pains me to write this, because we are so very excited to unveil Seattle’s first bike counter, but the launch will be delayed a few more days.

I got the call this morning that the display isn’t working properly. SDOT engineers were testing it yesterday, and happily reported that it was counting accurately and displaying each bike trip over the sensors. Then the display started failing intermittently and eventually stopped displaying. The sensors and counter are working, but trips are not displaying. That sort of defeats the fun of riding over a bike counter, but I suppose it’s better to have these kinks worked out now than during or after the launch.

We are putting the unveiling on hold for about a week. A new part is expected to arrive on Saturday and should fix the problem. If you ride over the bridge, thank the SDOT engineers working on the counter and making sure it’s ready to roll in good working order. Stay tuned for an update on the official launch.

If you subscribe to our blog (see the box on the upper left), you’ll get the update sent straight to your inbox as it’s published. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay in touch.

Posted in Around town, Road & Trail News | 2 Comments »

Mountlake Terrace, Lakeview Trail Project traffic engineers looking for input from people on bikes

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 by

The City of Mountlake Terrace is hosting an open house to share information and gather opinions about the Lakeview Trail Project, a plan to build a non-motorized connection between the Interurban Trail at 228th Street Southwest and the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center at I-5 and 236th Street Southwest.

The City is looking to build new bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and improve crosswalks and intersections. At the open house, traffic engineers will be presenting various options which include bike lanes, multi-use paths, and cycle tracks.

They are especially interested in hearing the preference of people on bikes. What kind of infrastructure would you feel comfortable using?

Trips by bicycle have been increasing in recent years and the Lakeview Trail Project is yet another example of traffic engineers and planners are paying attention. As Tom Fucoloro at Seattle Bike Blog penned questioned last week, could 2013 be the year that protected bike ways finally become a significant part of the greater Seattle area streetscape?

If we speak up, perhaps it will be. Please attend the open house and voice your opinion.

The open house is scheduled for TONIGHT, Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ballinger Lake Golf Course Clubhouse, 23000 Lakeview Dr. in Mountlake Terrace. Presentation starts at 7 p.m.

Project details from a City of Mountlake Terrace newsletter:

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Posted in Advocacy, Road & Trail News | No Comments »

Weekend Montlake Blvd closures

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 by

Construction of the University of Washington Station pedestrian/bike bridge construction continues and will have the following impacts:

 - From 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28 until 2 a.m. on Saturday, Sept.  29:

Northbound on Montlake:

- All lanes northbound on Montlake Blvd. including the east sidewalk will be closed.
- Northbound traffic must turn left on NE Pacific Street, right onto NE Pacific Place and turn left back onto Montlake Blvd. at the signal.
- Pedestrians/Bicyclists must use the crosswalk and the west sidewalk between NE Pacific Street and NE Pacific Place.

Southbound on Montlake Blvd:

- One southbound lane will be closed. The west sidewalk will be open between NE Pacific Street and NE Pacific Place.

- From 2 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29 until 3 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 1:

Northbound on Montlake:

- All northbound lanes and the sidewalk will be closed between NE Pacific Street and NE Pacific Place.
- Northbound traffic must turn left on NE Pacific Street, right onto NE Pacific Place and turn left back onto Montlake Blvd. at the signal.

Southbound on Montlake:

- All southbound lanes and the sidewalk will be closed between NE Pacific Street and NE Pacific Place.
- Southbound traffic must turn right on NE Pacific Place, Left onto Brooklyn, left onto NE Boat Street, left onto 15th Avenue NE, right onto NE Pacific Street, back to Montlake which merges with Montlake Blvd SB.
- Southbound traffic follow posted detour route.

Construction schedules are subject to change. Notifications will be sent out for significant changes. Please visit www.soundtransit.org/UWstation for more information about the University Link light rail project or contact Rhonda Dixon at (206) 370-5569 or ulink@soundtransit.org.

Posted in Road & Trail News | No Comments »

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