Seattle Bike Blog

Few bike improvements in the city could have a bigger impact than a safe, comfortable and fully connected bike route from the Pike Place Market to Broadway. And due to the grade of First and Capitol Hills as well as … Continue reading →

Seattle’s Cranksgiving 2018 hit a new record Saturday, with 150 riders donating an astounding 1,713 pounds of food to Rainier Valley Food Bank. For the ninth year, Seattle Bike Blog hosted this food drive scavenger hunt by bike on RVFB’s … Continue reading →

After months of delays getting the new bike share permit in place and through environmental review, Uber’s JUMP launched in Seattle this morning. They join Lime, which has had a temporary monopoly on bike share in town since early summer … Continue reading →

There may be no bike project north of downtown Seattle more important than Eastlake Ave. Connecting to the University Bridge today and the 520 Trail in the future, Eastlake is an already well-used bike route with huge promise for growth. … Continue reading →

Every year, about 20 people die in traffic collisions in Seattle. Another 150 people are seriously injured, often resulting in life-changing health issues. And for every one of these victims and survivors, there is a community of loved ones whose … Continue reading →

Attention folks who bike across the lower West Seattle Bridge: SDOT just announced a closure from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight (Tuesday). As with the previous closure, there will be a shuttle to help folks walking and biking get across, … Continue reading →

A huge fire destroyed lumber warehouses owned by Gascoigne Lumber Company and Northwest Millworks Saturday night, but luckily there are no reports of injuries at this time. We hope it stays that way. Regular users of the Ship Canal Trail should … Continue reading →

In an attempt to balance the City Council’s 2019-20 budget, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw has eyed nearly $2.7 million in red light camera funds that currently go to the School Safety Traffic and Pedestrian Improvement Fund (see the budget green sheet … Continue reading →

Buried in the election results this week was a somewhat disappointing result over on Bainbridge Island. The city’s modest SAFE Mobility Levy lost, with the ongoing result sitting at 45–55 as of Thursday morning. The levy would have raised $15 … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a look at some stuff going around lately that caught our eye. First up, it may not be a carbon tax, but Seattle’s Jen Strongin was recently featured in a Lime promo video … Continue reading →

A food drive scavenger hunt by bike, Cranksgiving riders bike to a secret list of unique food sellers around Seattle buying food to donate to Rainier Valley Food Bank. For the ninth year, Seattle’s Cranksgiving is hosted by Seattle Bike … Continue reading →

Sunset is at 4:45 today. 4:45! That means the typical evening commute will happen in the dark and twilight hours for the next several months. So lets talk about bike lights. Longtime readers may remember previous posts about bike lights … Continue reading →

Barring a court order, construction on the Ballard Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail is scheduled to begin this winter. So while an appeal is still working its way through the courts, the city is moving forward with a construction … Continue reading →

As you may have noticed, Seattle Bike Blog does not have a voter’s guide this year. This is partly due to the limited number of local races and partly due to having a baby at home who occupies a lot … Continue reading →

“… but Seattle isn’t Amsterdam.” You’ve probably heard this argument at some point as an excuse for why your town shouldn’t even try to build quality bike infrastructure. But half a century ago, death in traffic was rampant in the … Continue reading →

Bellevue wants to know what you think of their demonstration bike lanes on 108th Ave NE, so take their online survey and let them know. The city opened the new bike lanes this summer as a practical test of the … Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: Seattle Bike Blog reported yesterday on newly-released 2017 American Communities Survey data that estimates that the number of people biking to work is declining in Seattle. In response, the folks at Seattle Neighborhood Greenways wrote this guest post looking … Continue reading →

The latest Census survey does not look great for bike commuting, at least as the primary mode that people use to get to work on an everyday basis. The data is especially harsh for women biking to work, a count … Continue reading →

Streets are not just for transportation, they are also places where city life happens. But Mayor Jenny Durkan’s proposed budget apparently doesn’t see them that way, because it eliminates the city’s modest open streets and pavement-to-parks budgets. But the budget … Continue reading →

Dr. Adonia Lugo is returning to Seattle Saturday to talk about her book Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance. Lugo lived in Seattle for a spell a few years back while working on her anthropology dissertation on bicycle culture. Before that, … Continue reading →

Park(ing) Day is one of my favorite holidays. For one day, people imagine better ways we could use just a tiny percentage of all the precious city space typically reserved for storing cars. The idea started in 2005 in San … Continue reading →

SDOT and Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Office (UPDATE 9/20: and Councilmember Rob Johnson’s Office) has convened a confidential mediation session between a handful of people who support and oppose bike lanes at part of the city’s under-construction 35th Ave NE repaving … Continue reading →

I thought we had already established this a few years ago during public outreach for Roosevelt RapidRide, but SDOT has tried again to find an alternative to building bike lanes on Eastlake Ave. And, just like before, the results are … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a look at some stuff floating around the web that caught my eye. First up, one of the only ways to get me to post a promotional video is to include lots … Continue reading →

An 18-year-old who was hospitalized this week after a crash near the University Bridge may be the first victim of a bike share vandal who cut the brake lines on his Lime e-bike. The teen is in stable condition, reports … Continue reading →

Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan identifies 474 miles of new or upgraded bike routes to be constructed by 2034. But Cascade Bicycle Club launched a campaign this week called Connect Seattle to encourage the city to follow through on a handful … Continue reading →

King County will celebrate the opening of the newest section of the Eastside Rail Trail in Renton Saturday. The four-mile segment connects Gene Coulon Park to Newcastle Beach Park. Details from King County: Dear Friend of the ERC, Join King … Continue reading →

The UW Police Department is trialing the idea of a free bike valet service at UW Station this week in an attempt to help fight bike theft and get more bikes registered on the free bicycle database Bike Index. You … Continue reading →

So you’re biking on the Interurban North bike route that connects Seattle to Everett and many communities in between, and you get to 40th Ave W. You’re about halfway between downtown Seattle and downtown Everett. You could probably use a … Continue reading →

Tia Coleman lost her husband, their three kids and five more family members July 19th when a Ride the Ducks tour boat sank in a Branson, Missouri, storm. In all, 17 people on the Duck have died. The scale of … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup, a list of some stuff floating around the web lately that caught our attention. First up, Grist dives into the anarchist roots and capitalist evolution of bike share: Pacific Northwest News Executive Constantine … Continue reading →

Just 12 days after someone driving struck and seriously injured two kids crossing the street at Rainier Ave and Henderson St, SDOT crews were out making significant temporary safety improvements to the wide intersection. The sense of urgency follows a … Continue reading →

The good news is that some of the busiest and bumpiest sections of the Burke-Gilman and Ship Canal Trails in the Fremont/Queen Anne area are getting repaved this week. The planned detours could be interesting, though. For example, what neighborhood … Continue reading →

Though it’s been scaling back its efforts for a while now, Spin has officially announced an end to its bike share service in Seattle. Citing an increase in fees and the decision not to include scooters in the city’s updated … Continue reading →

Seattle Police have released a surveillance video of a person in Sodo seen snipping bike share brake cables on more than one occasion, and they’re asking for the public’s help identifying the suspect. For months, brake cables on bike share … Continue reading →

Details from Rainier Valley Greenways: We have had enough of kids and people of all ages being injured at the intersection of Rainier Ave S and S Henderson St. Just this year, three children have been hit at this intersection. … Continue reading →

Ian MacKay is on a 7 MPH bike tour across Washington State for the second time. As of press time, he and his riding partners are a day’s journey beyond the Grand Coulee Dam heading west on their trip from … Continue reading →

Wilson Ave S is a true rarity in the hilly neighborhood above Seward Park: It is relatively flat and direct. Well, OK, the whole street isn’t flat. But the 0.8 miles of the street that the Seattle Department of Transportation … Continue reading →

A nickel. In 2018, there is essentially nothing that costs a nickel. But that’s all it costs for qualifying low-income users to unlock a Lime pedal bike under the company’s newly-expanded Lime Access program ($5 for 100 rides). And qualifying … Continue reading →

SDOT has been planning an extension of the Sodo Trail to reach Spokane St under the West Seattle Bridge for a while now, but that work could take a major turn if Sound Transit chooses a West Seattle light rail … Continue reading →

SDOT has grouped a bunch of Green Lake and Wallingford area paving projects together, designing and planning construction of them all at the same time. Because paving projects essentially wipe the street design clear, they are our best opportunities to … Continue reading →

Connecting the 2nd Ave bike lane to the International District and the Southeast Seattle bike routes beyond is proving to be very difficult. This connection is the single most important missing piece of the downtown bike network, and the City … Continue reading →

I just had by far the least stressful bike ride through downtown Bellevue in my life. The newly opened 108th Ave NE bike lanes span the Eastside city’s downtown from NE 12th Street in the north to Main Street in … Continue reading →

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday calling on SDOT to complete a connected bike network downtown by the end of 2019. As we reported previously, the network includes sections of 8th Ave, 9th Ave N, Pike and/or Pine … Continue reading →

The Seattle City Council unanimously passed a budget action Monday for new city rules on bike share companies that will expand the number of bikes in operation, increase the fees for bike share operators and put in place new regulations … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup, a look at some of the bike stuff going around the web lately. This is an open thread. First up, I was on Fox News recently, failing to apologize for Seattle’s “jihad” on … Continue reading →

The third annual edition of Seattle Bike Bingo begins July 31, and participating businesses are all stocked up on the $4 cards. A summer tradition organized by Bicycle Benefits, Bike Bingo is a pretty simple game. Buy a card, then … Continue reading →

WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar delivered a keynote speech to the nation’s highway and transportation officials that directly challenged the central focus of transportation investments in nearly every state: Building and expanding freeways. “We like to talk about traffic congestion as … Continue reading →

Work on a neighborhood greenway connecting Crown Hill to North Seattle College is underway, according to SDOT. The construction will last six months and includes new traffic signals crossing Holman Rd at NW 92nd Street and Greenwood Ave at N … Continue reading →

Kathleen Emry is calling it quits. After 21 years of owning and operating the quaint FreeRange Cycles bike shop in Fremont, she has handed over the keys to Shawna Williams. Emry had been talking about a potential retirement for a … Continue reading →