Neighbors plan a ‘people-protected Bicycle Weekend’ following hit-and-run on a minor

Neighbors working for a safer Lake Washington Boulevard will host a people-protected Bicycle Weekend" demonstration noon Saturday (June 28) at Mount Baker Beach Park. They are asking anyone interested in helping to sign up online.

The demonstration comes after someone driving ran into a 16-year-old on an electric motorcycle, then ran over the teen's motorcycle, allegedly on purpose, before fleeing the scene. The teen was bruised but luckily was not seriously injured. The person driving dragged the motorcycle a few blocks away before the driver stopped, dislodged the mangled wreck from their car, then drove away. This all happened June 16 during Bicycle Weekends near the northern start of the car-free area at Lake Park Drive S, and one of the witnesses co-wrote an op-ed for the Urbanist describing what they witnessed, blaming Mayor Bruce Harrell for not building a planned stop sign at the location, and calling on the police, Seattle City Attorney and/or King County Prosecutor to pursue charges against the driver:

We have been a part of a coalition advocating for traffic safety improvements on Lake Washington Boulevard. This incident could have been prevented if the road had a safer design. Unfortunately, Mayor Bruce Harrell decided to remove an all-way stop sign planned at the Lake Park Drive intersection as part of the Lake Washington Boulevard safety project.

Had a stop sign been in place on Sunday - it could have been installed months ago - chances are good that the driver would have stopped and avoided colliding with the young motorcycle rider in front of him. When the planned stop sign was removed by the Harrell Administration, our primary concern was that drivers wouldn't yield to people walking and rolling crossing Lake Washington Boulevard between Mount Baker Beach and Mount Baker Park.

This crash demonstrates that concern was justified. Hopefully the mayor will recognize his mistake and lead with safety at this intersection, rather than following a handful of uncompromising complainers who have hijacked the process, which had been originally launched to enhance safety on the boulevard for everyone.

Read the full op-ed by Jason Rock and Terry Holme on the Urbanist.

People-protected" bike lane demonstrations are when safety supporters line a bike lane with their bodies to call attention to the need for proper infrastructure to keep bike lanes safe. Some folks held such a demonstration on Pine Street in the spring, an action that resulted in a very quick response from SDOT. But this will be the first people-protected Bicycle Weekend." The description on the sign-up page says that volunteers will split up in groups to people protect the intersections on Lake Washington Boulevard."