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Your participation is needed to build a more bikeable South Snohomish County

Thursday, April 4th, 2013 by

Your participation is needed to build a bikeable South Snohomish County

As you may have read in your April and February Couriers, Cascade was awarded funding through the Verdant Health Commission to build on the great work underway in South Snohomish County to establish bicycling as a safe and attractive transportation and recreation option for families, commuters and tourists alike. With the Commission’s support, over the next two years, Cascade will work with city planners, elected leaders, businesses and the community to lay the foundation for each jurisdiction to make bicycling available to people of all ages and abilities throughout South Snohomish County.

We’ve officially kicked off our work in South Snohomish County, specifically in Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Bothell. We’ve met with city staff to learn about the efforts in each jurisdiction to improve people’s ability to travel by bike, and we’ve been impressed with what we’ve learned.

In Edmonds, for example, the City is working to create a safe bicycle route connecting from the Interurban Trail into the heart of downtown Edmonds with key projects underway to realize this connection. Meanwhile, among other bicycle projects, the city of Mountlake Terrace (recent adopters of a Complete Streets ordinance) is working to complete the Lakeview Trail, connecting to the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center and future light rail station. And Lynnwood is working to complete two critical missing links in the Interurban Trail network.

While progress is taking place, there’s still work to be done to realize the potential bicycling has to offer in these communities. The first phase of our Verdant work is focused on building relationships with city staff, community organizations and the business community in addition to learning from the community about key barriers to bicycling and opportunities for improvement. So, if you live, work or play in South Snohomish County, we wanted to let you know about upcoming opportunities for you to get involved in helping to build a more bikeable community.

SOUTH SNOHOMISH BIKES SURVEY

First, in an effort to better understand the bicycling environment, we have launched an online survey to learn from you about barriers to bicycling, important bike routes and destinations, and the types of bicycle improvements that would encourage you to bicycle more.

If you have ten minutes, we’d love your insight.

BIKEABILITY TOURS & ADVOCACY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

In addition to the online survey, this summer we will be conducting community bikeability tours in Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood, offering community bike rides to evaluate existing bicycle routes and identify future opportunities for bicycle improvements. The bikeability tours will be followed by a discussion focused on bicycle infrastructure and opportunities to help advance bicycling as community members. The bikeability tours will provide a foundation for Cascade’s two-day Advocacy Leadership Institute offered this summer to community members in South Snohomish County interested in building bicycle advocacy skills. Stay tuned for additional information about each of these events.

POLICY WORKSHOPS

We are also in the process of developing a workshop series focusing on bike-friendly transportation planning, policy and design for elected leaders, city staff, and community stakeholders, which will kick off this summer.

SUPPORTING EMPLOYERS

And last but definitely not least, we are continuing our work with employers throughout South Snohomish County to elevate the importance of bicycle commuting as key to a better business and bottom line. If you work in South Snohomish County and would like your business to increase its level of support for bicycling, please respond to the survey linked above and contact Stephanie Frans, Cascade’s Commute Programs Manager: stephanie.frans@cascadebicycleclub.org

As we move forward with each element of our Verdant work, we want to emphasize the importance of community involvement in helping to advance bicycling in the communities of South Snohomish County. We have a number of exciting opportunities coming up this summer and hope you can be involved! We will provide additional information about events like the bikeability tours and our two-day Advocacy Leadership Institute through upcoming email communications.

 

Posted in Advocacy, BizCycle, Commuting, Complete streets, Transit | 2 Comments »

Open houses galore

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 by

No, not the holiday kind where you drink eggnog and sport a Santa sweater, but the bicycle, transit and roadway kinds.

Broadway Streetcar Extension Community Open House

Thursday, Dec. 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Silver Cloud Hotel at 110 Broadway.

The City of Seattle has secured funding to plan and design the First Hill Streetcar Line’s Broadway Extension. This project would extend the line into Broadway’s retail core.

The Open House will give you an opportunity to view preliminary concepts of the extended route, meet the project’s designers and planners, and provide comments.

 

Open House for Burke-Gilman Connection to Sand Point Way

Saturday, Dec. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gould Hall at UW

Please join us for an open house to give your ideas for a trail connection Children’s is building at the Hartmann building (corner of Sand Point Way NE and 40th Ave. NE). This new trail connection is targeted for completion in late 2013.

People of all ages are invited to participate in the open house. Activities just for kids will be provided, including:

  • Free bike helmets with complimentary fitting
  • Bicycle safety and fun workshop
  • Free kids bike safety inspections

 

(If you go to one of these open houses on your bike in a Santa sweater, we want pictures.)

Posted in Burke-Gilman Trail, Road & Trail News, Transit | No Comments »

Unanimous Sound Transit Board vote assures improved access to Northgate light rail station

Thursday, June 28th, 2012 by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sound Transit Board Approves Precedent Setting
Northgate Light Rail Station Access Strategy 

Community leads effort to secure funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements
that will help transform the neighborhood

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

SEATTLE, JUNE 28, 2012 – Today, the Sound Transit Board of Directors unanimously approved a precedent setting access strategy for the future Northgate light rail station that will make it safe and convenient for everyone to access the station, whether they arrive on transit, foot, bike or in a car.

“Over the decade-long planning process for the Northgate neighborhood, and especially over the past few months, the community has made it perfectly clear that they want their neighborhood transformed into a walkable, bikeable, and transit-rich community where everyone has the freedom to choose how to get where they need to go,” said Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club. “It’s exciting to see Sound Transit moving forward with an access strategy that aligns with the community’s vision for the future of the neighborhood.”

The Northgate access strategy approved by the Board commits Sound Transit to:

  • Completing a Northgate access improvement study to identify potential additional pedestrian and bicycle access improvements to enhance access to the current Northgate Transit Center and future Northgate Station inter-modal transit facility as part of the Northgate Link Extension Project.
  • Contributing 25 percent (up to $5 million) of the cost of a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over I-5 to North Seattle Community College and Licton Springs, which the City of Seattle will match with an additional $5 million. The City will also seek other funding partners to secure full funding to complete design and construction of the bridge (total cost approximately $20 million). If a full funding agreement for the implementation of the I-5 pedestrian/bicycle bridge cannot be completed by July 2015, the Sound Transit Board will reallocate any unspent bridge funds to other priority pedestrian/bicycle projects identified through the connectivity and access study processes.
  • Matching up to up to $5 million in City investments in pedestrian/bicycle facilities in and around Northgate Station consistent with the improvements identified and recommended by the connectivity analysis and access study.

On Monday, June 25, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved Resolution 31389 endorsing this access strategy and the City’s intention to fulfill its obligations in this package of investments. Mayor McGinn subsequently signed this Resolution. Sound Transit is also planning to construct a new parking garage that accommodates 450 park and ride stalls, preferably in shared use, costing approximately $12 million.

“Given that according to Sound Transit’s own numbers, in 2030, 92 percent of the 15,000 people accessing the light rail station each weekday will get there on bike, foot or transit, it’s only fair that the access strategy spends more on the 92 percent than the 8 percent who will arrive through other means,” said John Mauro, Director of Policy, Planning and Government Affairs for Cascade Bicycle Club. “We’re hopeful that Sound Transit will develop similar access strategies for future light rail stations that also make it safe and convenient for thousands of potential light rail riders to walk and bike to access the stations.”

“We’d like to thank Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin and Mayor Mike McGinn for their hard work on developing this strategy and standing up for a better future for Northgate,” said Craig M. Benjamin, Policy and Government Affairs Manager with Cascade Bicycle Club. “The staff from Sound Transit and the City of Seattle who worked out all of the details of this complex issue also deserve a lot of credit and recognition for making this fair deal possible.”

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Posted in Advocacy, Media alerts, Transit | 2 Comments »

A fair deal for Northgate is within reach

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 by

Members of the community pack the June 4 open house

A month ago it didn’t seem possible, but this week a fair deal for Northgate’s 92 percent is within reach.

This didn’t happen by accident.  Over the past month the community has made it perfectly clear that they want their neighborhood transformed into a walkable, bikeable, and transit-rich community where everyone has the freedom to choose how to get where they need to go.

They sent hundreds of emails to the Sound Transit board, packed an open house on June 4, and continued talking with their neighbors about what kind of Northgate they want for themselves and their families.  The community spoke and Sound Transit listened.

On Thursday, June 28, the Sound Transit Board will consider a motion that funds a package of investments for Northgate.  If approved, this package will spend as much making it safe and convenient for the 92 percent of people who will access the future light rail station at Northgate on bike, foot or transit as it does for the 8 percent who will arrive through other means.

But there’s no guarantee the Sound Transit Board will vote to approve this motion.  They need to hear from you one last time that Northgate’s 92 percent deserve a fair deal.

At the June 14 meeting of Sound Transit’s capital committee, Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin proposed a strategy to make access to the Northgate light rail station safe and convenient for everyone, whether they arrive on transit, foot, bike, or in a car.  Over the past two weeks Councilmember Conlin has worked with Mayor McGinn and staff from Sound Transit and the City of Seattle to refine the details of this proposal.  The Sound Transit Board will consider this proposal and the package of investments it contains on Thursday, June 28.

Through this package of investments Sound Transit would do three things:

  1. Contribute 25 percent (up to $5 million) of the cost of a bike/pedestrian bridge over I-5 to North Seattle Community College and Licton Springs, which the City of Seattle will match with an additional $5 million;
  2. Match up to $5 million in City bike and pedestrian investments around the station; and
  3. Fund a new 450-stall parking garage, costing approximately $12 million.

That’s a combined $20 million in new investments for biking and walking from Sound Transit and the City of Seattle for Northgate.

On Monday, June 25, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a Resolution endorsing this access strategy and the City’s intention to fulfill it’s obligations in this package of investments.

Again this didn’t happen by accident.  It happened because hundreds of people like you spoke up.

Now, the Sound Transit Board needs to hear from you one more time to make sure that Northgate’s 92 percent get the fair deal they deserve.

Together we are creating a better future for Northgate.

Posted in Advocacy, Transit | 1 Comment »

The Train’s at the Station—and We’re About to Move

Friday, June 15th, 2012 by

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of community members have stood up to Sound Transit and asked for a fair deal at Northgate.  They sent hundreds of emails to the Sound Transit board, they packed an open house on June 4, and they continued talking with their neighbors about what kind of Northgate they want for themselves and their families.

The community has spoken loud and clear.  They want the 92 percent of people who will access Northgate Station by bike, foot or transit to have the freedom to choose how they get around and to do so safely.  And they don’t want a $30-40 million parking garage with up to 900 stalls that will be used by the 8 percent.

We’re starting to see the effects of the community’s efforts.

At the Capital Committee meeting of the Sound Transit board yesterday, residents from Northgate gave more hours of their time believing that, as advertised, they’d have a voice.  The committee didn’t ask for comment, unfortunately.  But we heard from Seattle Councilmember Richard Conlin, also the vice-chair of the committee, who proposed a package of investments for the 92 percent.  Under his proposal, Sound Transit would do three things:

1) Contribute 25 percent (up to $5 million) of the cost of the bicycle/pedestrian bridge over I-5

2) Match up to $5 million in city bike and pedestrian investments around the station

3) Fund a new 450-stall parking garage

The committee directed staff to work in the next few weeks to refine Councilmember Conlin’s proposal and then to bring it back to the board.

We thank Councilmember Conlin for moving the conversation forward about how Sound Transit can address safe access for those who want to bike, walk and take transit.  The Councilmember’s proposal would undoubtedly be a strong improvement from the current plan and it’s clearly a better deal for Northgate. But the question remains: is it a fair deal for the 92 percent? Ultimately, the question will be answered in the details being worked out over the next few weeks.

We are proud of the community members who have spoken up, changing the conversation and helping to ensure a vision for Northgate where everyone has the freedom to safely and easily get around. So thanks to all of you who have lent your voices to help make this change. Stay tuned and stay involved, as the train is about to leave the station. And join us at the June 28 board meeting to help ensure that we don’t miss the incredible opportunity to realize the community’s vision.

 

 

 

Posted in Advocacy, Transit | No Comments »

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