Seattle Bike Blog

Councilmember Alex Pedersen will not run for reelection to represent Seattle’s District 4, he announced this week. He joins Lisa Herbold in District 1 and Debra Juarez in District 5, who have also stated publicly that they will not run … Continue reading →

SDOT will create temporary bike lanes to fill a gap in the Duwamish Trail and to improve safety on a significant stretch of 1st Avenue S in SoDo while crews work to repair the Spokane Street Bridge to West Seattle. … Continue reading →

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways recapped 2022 recently, and I think it’s a good reminder of the progress made while also setting the stage for the work needed ahead. It is difficult to celebrate wins when you’re talking about a transportation system … Continue reading →

The Spokane Street Bridge Connecting West Seattle to the mainland closed during the holiday ice storm and has been out of operation ever since. Repairs will take a minimum of two weeks, SDOT said earlier this week, pegging the earliest … Continue reading →

SDOT posted an update Tuesday evening with terrible news for people who walk or bike between mainland Seattle and West Seattle: The Spokane Street Bridge, the lower swing bridge with the biking and walking path, will be out of commission … Continue reading →

The Spokane Street Bridge to West Seattle didn’t make it through the ice storm, and it will likely remain closed for the rest of the weekend. SDOT Director Greg Spotts said on Twitter that the mechanical problem on the swing … Continue reading →

I spent the morning ice skating all around Wallingford and pushing cars that got stuck on the ice. I put a shoulder into a jackknifed pickup truck and body checked it halfway across the street and into perfect parallel parking … Continue reading →

SDOT released the results of autumn community outreach about Eastlake Avenue bike lane design options, and the results were once again very clear: People strongly favor safe bike lanes on this vital connection between the University Bridge and South Lake … Continue reading →

PM UPDATE: It sounds like a lot untreated surfaces have turned to smooth ice after sundown. Take care. I biked to play hockey last night, and the roads between the U District and Kraken Community Iceplex in Northgate were in … Continue reading →

If you’re heading out on a bike in the snow, you’ll quickly figure out that a lot of the slower streets and bike paths you typically ride have not been plowed. So unless you have a fully winterized bike with … Continue reading →

SDOT will upgrade the 8th Ave bike lane between Pike Street to Westlake Avenue to replace the paint and plastic posts with concrete barriers. Work will start in early January and continue for up to 3 months. The project was … Continue reading →

The crosswalk signal at 83rd and Greenwood made some headlines a few months ago in large part because it was constructed in the same place as a community-made crosswalk that was painted in September 2021. The crossing is part of … Continue reading →

Amber Weilert’s 13-year-old son Mikey was killed in July while biking in a crosswalk on Pacific Avenue S in Parkland. Since then, she’s been sharing her devastating story in an effort to make changes. She spoke during an event for … Continue reading →

SDOT is set to start work as soon as Monday on another fix to hopefully prevent people from crashing while biking across the train tracks under the Ballard Bridge as they navigate the notorious Burke-Gilman Trail Missing Link. Crews will … Continue reading →

Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from behind the Handlebars is officially available for preorder for $29.95 from the UW Press website. I have been working on this book since 2019, and I cannot wait for you … Continue reading →

Governor Jay Inslee’s proposed 2023–25 budget responds to rising traffic deaths across the state by accelerating safety projects, creating a $5 million fund for responding to “emergent safety needs,” and $3 million specifically for SR-7 in Pierce County. “Like other … Continue reading →

The Kirkland City Council voted 6–1 Tuesday to levy a $20 vehicle license fee to raise $1.3 million per year for walking, biking and Safe Routes to School projects. Collection will begin January 2024. The vast majority of the projects … Continue reading →

Seattle City Council is set to consider an ambitious lobbying plan for the 2023 state legislative session, including support for e-bike incentives, income-based traffic tickets, decriminalization of jaywalking, freeway removal in marginalized communities and much more. Every year, the City … Continue reading →

Mike Mike Motorbike (Michael Valeri) released this wonderful video last week documenting a bike trip he and his friend Nick took from Seattle to Spokane over the summer. Our state is really something. They stuck mostly to the Palouse to … Continue reading →

Mayor Bruce Harrell signed an executive order this week with a list of climate actions and plans, including an expansion of Healthy Streets, Safe Routes to School, bicycle freight and green neighborhood efforts. “We put together 23 bold actions that … Continue reading →

Sometimes when you’re digging through the city archives, you stumble on some true gems. This letter I found deep in a box in the Seattle Municipal Archives is one of them. In 1970, some students from the Rainier Beach Cottage … Continue reading →

The biggest decision point presented in SDOT’s Beacon Hill bike lane survey (open through January 6) is whether the city should build one-way bike lanes on either side of 15th Ave S or one two-way bike lane on the east … Continue reading →

Transit GO is an interesting and mostly functional mobile app that allows riders to pay for transit tickets on their phones while also gamifying the transit riding experience. And now scooter and bike share services are now part of the … Continue reading →

I like holiday lights as much as the next person. In fact, I like them so much that I never took the lights off my house after last winter! But sitting in idle traffic in the middle of a neighborhood … Continue reading →

Ryan Packer has some wonderful news: Seattle City Light will not build its planned surface parking lot at Western Ave and Blanchard Street after all. Word of the proposed parking lot, located within the Western Ave business strip that extends … Continue reading →

While taking the kid to preschool this morning, we passed this crew working on a utility of some kind underneath the 2nd Ave bike lane at Pine St. The crew had lined up cones directing riders into a temporary bike … Continue reading →

While other nations are reducing their traffic deaths and serious injuries, the US is heading in the wrong direction. KUOW’s Soundside asked Seattle’s Ryan Packer and DC’s Yonah Freemark why the US is exceptional. Listen to the 20-minute story. An … Continue reading →

Every new Danny MacAskill video is a burst of joy and wonder. He and his film team have been creating love letters to Scottish industrial ruins and natural beauty for years, so it was really fun to see them visit … Continue reading →

You have until December 5 to complete Sound Transit’s online survey about potential walking and biking improvements near South Tacoma Station. More details from Sound Transit: In 2021, we assessed current conditions for walking, rolling, bicycling, and taking transit to … Continue reading →

Cascade Bicycle Club this week released its first full-strength events schedule since 2019. The 2023 season will see the return of two major rides that have been sadly missing in recent years: The Emerald City Ride and the Ride Seattle … Continue reading →

I thought I had seen all Seattle’s bike-themed public art, but I had never been inside the Evan’s Pool in Green Lake Park before this week. While my kid took a swim lesson, I found myself looking at this large … Continue reading →

There you go SDOT, something more in line with your policy pic.twitter.com/PBZibVAofZ — Hamza (@hummusqueso) November 20, 2022 The crosswalk at Harvard and Olive Way is gone, but it left an impression on more than just the roadway itself. The … Continue reading →

My wonderful spouse Kelli hauled both a tree and a kid home. I definitely want to see your Seattle tree-by-bike photos. Tag them #SEAbikes if you post photos on social media. Or email them to me and I’ll add them … Continue reading →

SDOT has released a new online survey to gather feedback on the proposed Beacon Hill bike lane options. So take a few minutes to complete it now (check the project page for non-English versions). The department is also hosting a … Continue reading →

When I think of Cycle Dogs, I think of sitting in the backyard of Peddler Brewing eating a creative and delicious vegan dog. What started as a hot dog cart in a bike trailer (we wrote about the initial Cycle … Continue reading →

The League of American Bicyclists interviewed two wonderful friends of the blog for a story about how safe streets advocates won slower speed limits in Seattle. Brie Gyncild, who you may remember from this Pike Street bike lanes video, and … Continue reading →

Obvious challenges aside, biking in freezing weather can be a lot of fun. It’s also an excellent cure for cabin fever. Today’s flurries mostly failed to stick to roadways and paths, and people in Seattle have reported clear routes during … Continue reading →

A section of the Interurban Trail near the Algona/Pacific border will be closed for repairs now until January 27. There is no official detour or temporary trail. Frontage Road is probable the most obvious alternative, though Josh Putnam noted some … Continue reading →

Saw this making the rounds and had to share it with you all: Boeing workers have long relied on bicycles to move around their enormous facilities, and they started switching to cargo trikes back in 2015.

Though many of the Seattle City Council’s more ambitious budget goals were shelved following a grim revenue forecast, the nearly-complete 2023-24 budget retains the Vision Zero and Missing Link redesign funds that Mayor Bruce Harrell initially proposed and sets aside … Continue reading →

Timelapse from Saturday's #cranksgivingSEA pic.twitter.com/BvibRuI9K2 — Gary A. Fujioka, Sr. (@garyfujiokasr) November 21, 2022 Seattle’s 13th Annual Cranksgiving was one for the record books. The food drive bike ride’s 199 participants (180 riders and 19 volunteers) bought and hauled 3,308 … Continue reading →

People held a series of actions and press conferences across the Puget Sound region to remember the victims of traffic violence and call for action to prevent more of them. A Rainier Valley Greenways action at Seattle City Hall set … Continue reading →

In the dead of night in early April 2013, one First Hill resident dragged $350 worth of reflective plastic posts down the hill and glued them on top of the brand new bike lane line SDOT had painted on Cherry … Continue reading →

Amid all the tough cuts to the proposed 2023-24 budget, including $4 million over two year from the sidewalk safety repair budget, one curious project is getting funding: A railing and some lighting on the NE 45th Street bridge over … Continue reading →

The Seattle City Council has released its “balancing package,” an updated draft of the 2023-24 budget that factors in some Council changes as well as the city’s latest revenue forecast, which wasn’t great. As Ryan Packer reported for the Urbanist, … Continue reading →

A reader on Mastodon asked the other day, “Does anyone know what happened to the big glittery pieces of art at the south end of the Westlake bike path?” The blue and gray glittering sculptures on both sides of the … Continue reading →

The Rainier Valley Neighborhood Greenway may finally connect to the I-90/Mountains to Sound Trail after years of delay and inter-agency disagreement. In early 2021, Ryan Packer reported that WSDOT had refused to work with SDOT on completing the connection from … Continue reading →

The Seattle Parks District has budgeted $404,000 to develop a new design for the Bicycle Sundays section of Lake Washington Boulevard, and they need your input on what is important. Take the city’s “Visioning Process Survey” now to let them … Continue reading →

I spent yesterday at Cascade Bicycle Club’s office for a work party to get everything ready for Seattle’s 13th Annual Cranksgiving food drive bike ride. Y’all, it’s gonna be so fun. It’s by far the best-organized event yet, but it … Continue reading →

You can now find Seattle Bike Blog on Mastodon. We aren’t leaving Twitter, though. We’ll try using both and see how things go. There’s been a sizeable migration to Mastodon in the past week as people seek an alternative to … Continue reading →