Seattle Bike Blog

Mayor Jenny Durkan removed all doubt about what she thinks about Eastlake Ave bike lanes during a mid-day press event today. “Without prejudging what would come out of an EIS or what the lawyers would say, we need that bike … Continue reading →

Thanks to everyone who voiced their concerns about SDOT’s incomplete plans for E Union Street bike lanes in the Central District, the project team has changed their designs to now extend the new bike lanes through the intersection with 23rd … Continue reading →

Transcript I’m trying something new here, so definitely let me know what you think. I created a stream-style video that’s me talking through the RapidRide J project and the Eastlake bike lanes. It’s quite long and definitely rambling. But it … Continue reading →

In our post about the planned Eastlake Ave bike lanes, we mentioned that the bike route there would be part of a regional network once the 520 Trail reaches across I-5. It might be hard to imagine what that connection … Continue reading →

It’s hard to think of many potential bike lanes in Seattle as important and fundamentally game-changing as Eastlake Ave. I would probably put it at number two behind only Rainier Ave. There is no other viable option for a quality … Continue reading →

So you finally got used to biking around the SR 520 construction in Montlake, eh? I have bad news. It’s about to get way worse for two weeks. Starting as soon as Monday, people walking and biking on the east … Continue reading →

Imagine if instead of buying the cheapest bike you could find on Craigslist for getting around as a college student, you could rent a quality Kona complete with helmet, lock and lights all for just $75 per quarter. Well, UW … Continue reading →

Last week, King County took action to reclaim public land in one of the wealthiest areas in the state: Sammamish. The County fought and won a very difficult legal battle to determine that, yes, the public does own the entire … Continue reading →

Alex Pedersen won District 4 by 1,386 votes, narrowly defeating Seattle Bike Blog’s endorsed candidate Shaun Scott in one of Seattle’s closest races in the 2019 City Council election. In addition to this site, Scott was also endorsed by Washington … Continue reading →

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is by Emma Scher through our partnership with UW’s Community News Lab journalism course. Heather Eliason wore spikes on her shoes to help her slow down and gain traction on the ice when she biked on snowy … Continue reading →

Are you waiting for SDOT crews to clear your street? Well, you should probably check this map to see if they are ever coming: SDOT also has an interactive map that will be updated to let you know which streets … Continue reading →

With voter approval of I-976 hanging over the 2020 state legislative session, there’s no doubt that funding will be the top priority for Washington Bikes this year. Even if courts strike down the law, which is very possible, there is … Continue reading →

Biking is getting gradually safer in Seattle with the rate of collisions involving people on bikes per bike commuter dropping to a new low point in 2018, according to the annual Seattle Department of Transportation Traffic Report. The report, released … Continue reading →

People sometimes argue that Vision Zero is unrealistic. That getting to zero deaths and serious injuries due to traffic collisions will never happen. Tell that to Oslo. The Norwegian capital (population: 680,000) had just one person die in traffic in … Continue reading →

Sound Transit’s downtown light rail service restriction started this week, and people with bikes must exit trains at International District/Chinatown Station northbound and University Street Station southbound. The good news is that SDOT completed the south downtown bike connection in … Continue reading →

UPDATE: I have updated some of the data in this post with official numbers from SDOT. An earlier version of this post had data from data.seattle.gov that for some reason didn’t match with SDOT’s official numbers. As of this update, … Continue reading →

It’s time for the final Bike News Roundup of news from the 2010s! First up, if you didn’t catch Angie Schmitt’s recent talk about America’s pedestrian safety crisis, Rooted In Rights was there to record and stream it: Pacific Northwest … Continue reading →

2019 was a red letter year for biking in Seattle. The number of trips people are taking by bike broke through some kind of barrier in the past year, and bike counters across town are clobbering previous records (we’ll have … Continue reading →

Lime announced today that they will be pulling their e-bikes from Seattle streets December 31. This follows a week and a half of rumors that the company was shutting down, rumors the company denied to both Seattle Bike Blog and … Continue reading →

Some of the most significant changes to Washington State’s rules of the road in recent history will take effect January 1, when SB 5723 becomes law. Perhaps the biggest and most exciting change is that people driving will now have … Continue reading →

UW Researcher Julie McCleery says she has found that King County kids are not getting the hour of exercise per day that the CDC recommends. She also found that girls are less likely to get their exercise than boys, and … Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: This post introduces a new type of post on Seattle Bike Blog I am calling a “shortcut.” Shortcuts could be many things, but they will all be short. They could be a quick link to a survey or … Continue reading →

When (or if) Seattle launches its scooter share pilot in early 2020 as planned, users of the shared scooters will not be allowed to ...

As part of the transportation plan for the new arena in Seattle Center, developers and the City of Seattle are currently planning to delete the north end of the 2nd Ave protected bike lane and steal crossing time from people … Continue reading →

The city’s quarterly audit of bike share parking (PDF) found a massive 57% drop in the percentage of Jump and Lime bikes parked incorrectly. Of 756 bikes audited (approximately half Lime and half Jump), staff found only one (0.1%) that … Continue reading →

Here’s some great news for southend bike riders: SDOT has decided to complete the westbound S Columbian Way bike lane at Beacon Ave after all. As we reported in June, neighbors of the major Columbian Way repaving project were surprised … Continue reading →

Mayor Jenny Durkan made her boldest safe streets stand yet when she unveiled a 25 mph speed limit sign on Rainier Ave S, the first of several thousand sign changes coming in the next year and a half. But that’s … Continue reading →

The contract is signed, so it’s official: I’m writing a book about Seattle bike culture and politics for University of Washington Press. Tentatively titled “Biking Uphill In the Rain” and code-named (by me) “Seattle Bike Book,” the book will take … Continue reading →

I have some pretty exciting personal news to announce, but I’m holding it until Monday. OMG, that’s so mean. Why would I do that? I’m building hype. It’s part of a very loud whisper campaign. Am I doing this right? … Continue reading →

Sure, it’s December and the winter solstice is just around the corner, but don’t let anyone tell you to put your bike in the garage until spring. Seattle is a year-round biking town, and there’s still so much biking to … Continue reading →

Construction work to connect the existing light rail tracks to the new East Link tracks will require a very tough couple months in January, February and March 2020. Dubbed “Connect 2020,” train frequency will be dramatically reduced, and every passenger … Continue reading →

After Washington won the top spot in the League of American Bicyclists’ bike friendly state list for a decade straight from 2008-17, the League took a different tactic in 2018, providing each state with a report card to show how … Continue reading →

2,223 pounds. That’s 1.1 tons or 1 metric tonne. All by bike. All donated to the community. I already wrote about how amazing the 2019 Seattle Cranksgiving was over the weekend, but this number is so big that I felt … Continue reading →

When news broke this morning that the court had granted an injunction delaying the effects of I-976 pending a final ruling on the initiative, there was a clear sense of relief among transportation advocates. Without an injunction, transportation agencies across … Continue reading →

The City Council passed the 2020-21 budget Monday, including some vital investments in transportation safety and equity. The wins are big and worth celebrating, though they are also uncertain due to the looming threat of I-976. If the initiative makes … Continue reading →

I thought it was a bit strange that the line for the two sign-up clipboards was so long. I had used the same forms for nine Cranksgivings before, and the line to sign in was never that long before. So … Continue reading →

Sound Transit is moving and replacing some bike racks near UW Station to install new on-demand secure bike lockers starting next week, so be extra careful about which racks you use. Look around for a “Rider Alert” sign before locking … Continue reading →

Puget Sound counties have selected one trail brand to rule them all: Leafline. The new name will describe “a network of over 400 miles of wide paved trails connecting communities throughout Snohomish, Kitsap, King and Pierce Counties,” according to King … Continue reading →

On World Day of Remembrance Sunday, Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted: Traffic violence kills thousands and injures even more Americans every year. On World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Crash Victims, I'm sending my love to the families and friends of … Continue reading →

UPDATE: Be sure to read to the bottom of this post for an update from SDOT. This specific Neighborhood Street Fund project is dead, but the department has not abandoned this intersection, a spokesperson said. Yesterday’s post was supposed to … Continue reading →

When voters approved the 2015 Move Seattle Levy, they created a specific fund dedicated to building projects that came from neighbors. The process to get a project completed can be long and somewhat grueling for those to volunteer their time … Continue reading →

The East Lake Sammamish Trail is likely the second-most litigated stretch of trail around following the Ballard Missing Link. But the final stretch of the trail got one big step closer to construction as the City of Sammamish issued King … Continue reading →

A lot has happened since election night. City Council races that looked close widened into blowouts, Kshama Sawant won as late votes leaned heavily in her favor, and Shaun Scott lost by likely fewer than 1,500 votes. I-976 is still … Continue reading →

That’s right, this will be the tenth (!!!!) Cranksgiving Seattle Bike Blog has organized. I have had to do the math a bunch of times because I find it hard to believe, but it’s true. So this will be the … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Do you need something to read while nervously waiting for the King County ballot drops this afternoon (4 p.m.) and evening (8 p.m.)? Well, Seattle Bike Blog has got you covered. First up! … Continue reading →

I was at the Shaun Scott party last night, and the response to last night’s initial ballot drop summed up how I feel: Extremely uneasy. I-976 looks almost certain to pass, which is devastating. The final result will likely be … Continue reading →

King County Parks crews will repaint crosswalks and removing bollards at a set of Kenmore-area trail entrances starting Thursday and lasting as long as Saturday. The trail will not be completely closed, but expect delays getting through worksites. Details from … Continue reading →

The Eastrail will be closed later this week near the under-construction Sound Transit light rail station in north Bellevue. The detour has folks leaving the trail near the South Kirkland Park and Ride and taking Northrup Way and 120th Ave … Continue reading →

Washington, Oregon and California have all passed laws saying that they are ready to switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time, but we still need to meaninglessly and abruptly plunge the evening commute into darkness next week because Congress has not … Continue reading →

Washington Bikes’ annual Ride In the Rain Challenge starts today. So sign up online today, and invite your friends and co-workers to join you. November is typically the rainiest month of the year in Seattle, which makes in my opinion … Continue reading →