Seattle Bike Blog

Ballard’s new 17th Ave NW neighborhood greenway officially marks an important step in the city’s all ages and abilities bike network: Two neighborhood greenways have finally crossed each other. It’s hard to believe it took until 2016, but at least … Continue reading →

If you live or work within an easy bike ride of Beacon Hill Station, you no longer need to lock your beloved ride outside all day or night exposed to theft, vandalism and weather. Sound Transit has opened a new … Continue reading →

Hop on a bike, and your city opens in front of you. No stop-and-go crawl down the highway, no watching your hard-earned money tick away a dollar-per-second at the gas pump, no stressing about the time left on your paid … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a look at some of the bikey stuff floating around the web recently. First up! This 1975 archive report from KOMO about mass transit in Seattle is worth all 25 minutes of … Continue reading →

Police are searching for the person who struck and injured a man biking in Issaquah Wednesday morning and fled the scene. Though he was hauled off to the hospital on a stretcher, Dave Anderson escaped the collision with minor injuries. … Continue reading →

The Beacon Hill Neighborhood Greenway was one of the city’s first attempts at creating a great community-led neighborhood greenway, and it just got a lot better. This route was already one of my favorite neighborhood greenways in the city, connecting … Continue reading →

The bicycle giant Specialized apologized today after G&O Family Cyclery tweeted photos of a street advertising campaign pasted on the wreckage of their former Greenwood shop that says, “BETTER BIKES COME FROM BETTER BIKE SHOPS.” G&O was severely damaged in … Continue reading →

After lengthy negotiations with the Port of Seattle, Snohomish County purchased a key stretch of rail corridor that could someday link the region’s trail network from Seattle to Skagit County. The purchase process was going strong back in 2013, but … Continue reading →

For a few short hours just after sunrise Sunday, two major Seattle freeways were beautiful places filled with smiling people. There were no honking horns and no road rage even as a rush hour’s worth of people traveled some of … Continue reading →

Great news from G&O Family Cyclery today: They found a new temporary home just a block north from their old spot that was severely damaged in the Greenwood gas explosion last month. Not sure if they were going to be … Continue reading →

Cascade Bicycle Club’s first ever Emerald City Bike Ride takes to area freeways Sunday. The ride sold out all 7,000 spots, and I’m not surprised. People have wanted to bike across the 520 Bridge since it opened half a century … Continue reading →

Building on the success of the NE 75th Street safety project, the city is heading west to improve safety on more of NE 75th Street and Banner Way NE. The 2013 safety project on NE 75th cut speeding 60 percent … Continue reading →

When the 2nd Ave protected bike lane opened in October 2014, it was created using mostly paint and movable plastic posts because the city considered it a “pilot” project. Well, it’s been about a year and a half, and now … Continue reading →

The Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board (AKA the “Bike Board”) is a volunteer crew of advocacy group representatives and everyday residents who serve as a sounding board and watchdog group for efforts in the city that affect bicycling. I’ve been going … Continue reading →

Construction is set to begin Monday on a new trail along the western side of the Arboretum, providing a safe space for walking and biking next to Lake Washington Blvd and improving access to more of the Arboretum grounds. Kicking … Continue reading →

Beacon Hill is a growing walkable and bikeable community, but there’s one big safe streets challenge: Beacon Ave. (OK, fine, there are a couple more, too.) Beacon Ave cuts a diagonal across the neighborhood grid, creating many awkward or extra-long … Continue reading →

Was it an improper conflict of interest when SDOT Director Scott Kubly started negotiations for the city to buy Pronto from the non-profit Puget Sound Bike Share? Did SDOT staff mislead the public and City Council by overstating annual member … Continue reading →

Someone driving an unknown vehicle struck a woman biking in Bellevue this morning, critically injuring her. The suspect left the woman in critical condition on the side of the road and fled the scene without even calling for help. The … Continue reading →

University of Washington Station opened Saturday and immediately assumed its role as the bikiest light rail station in the region. The bike parking was overflowing during Saturday’s opening celebration. Even the additional free valet bike parking space provided for the … Continue reading →

King County has completed major repair work the closed a key section of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail between Duvall and Carnation. Originally scheduled for closure June through October 31, the trail is just now reopening. King County blames a “record … Continue reading →

There is so much happening this weekend! And of course, your bike is the best way to experience it all. So let’s get to it… Sound Transit opens magic transporter – Saturday Sound Transit is finally ready to open a … Continue reading →

Bellevue is developing a bold plan to build 57 miles of bike routes in the next five years, including 23 miles of protected bike lanes, 13 miles of painted bike lanes and two miles of off-street trail. If this plan … Continue reading →

You may have noticed crews out painting what appears to be the first extension of the 2nd Ave protected bike lane since it opened in October 2014. Your eyes have not deceived you. Don’t get too excited, though, because it’s … Continue reading →

Now that the city owns Pronto (or will very soon, anyway), the people of Seattle need to understand why they bought it. Well, Saturday, big crowds are expected to turn out at Capitol Hill and UW Stations for the long-awaited … Continue reading →

The Eastside Trail is poised to revolutionize non-motorized travel on the Eastside, so why wait? Let’s get an interim trail constructed and usable as soon as possible. We already reported on King County’s draft Trail Master Plan, which is now … Continue reading →

Tonight, you can drink beer, win prizes and save a Seattle family bike shop all the at the same time. How? Join Peddler Brewing, Seattle Bike Blog and Familybike Seattle from 5–10 p.m. at Peddler Brewing Company for a fundraiser … Continue reading →

The Seattle City Council will decide the fate of Pronto Cycle Share during their 2 p.m. today (Monday). Seattle Bike Blog will be there with live coverage, so be sure to check back or follow along on Twitter: @SeaBikeBlog. You … Continue reading →

When you go to check out a Pronto Cycle Share bike, you probably only see the bikes and docks. You beep a bike with your key fob or swipe your credit card at a kiosk and a bike unlocks. You … Continue reading →

NOTE: G&O Family Cyclery is not only a Seattle Bike Blog advertiser, but co-owner Davey Oil is a close friend. He even officiated my wedding (and was amazing). I note this for disclosure, but also to emphasize that this shop … Continue reading →

Seattle’s unofficial motto could easily be “The City of the Sharrow.” Keegan Hamilton at the Seattle Weekly once suggested the Seattle Sharrows as a name for a D-League basketball team. And sure, why not? Take one glance at major streets … Continue reading →

Major work to repave Roosevelt Way and rebuild it with transit, biking and walking improvements starts March 14, SDOT says. The major repaving project is expected to take at least until September before the whole length from NE 65th Street … Continue reading →

The movement to save and improve the state-spanning John Wayne Pioneer Trail (AKA the Iron Horse Trail) has turned out so strongly across Washington that rather than trying to give trail land away, Senate leaders are hoping to invest $100,000 … Continue reading →

The north end of the Broadway Bikeway just became infinitely more useful as construction crews finally reopened Denny Way between Broadway, 10th Ave and Cal Anderson Park. Closed for years to build Capitol Hill Station, this section of Denny Way … Continue reading →

It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Here’s a glance at some of the bikeish stuff floating around the web. First up! Lots of people in the world’s most populous city bike despite few bike lanes: The Gaman Spirit: Why … Continue reading →

After nearly a year and a half as a pilot project, the 2nd Ave bike lane is getting some significant — and hopefully more comfortable and attractive — upgrades. Among the improvements are new planter boxes to help separate the … Continue reading →

At the end of the City Council Sustainability & Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday, the Pronto ordinance appeared to end in a 3-3 tie with Councilmembers Tim Burgess, Lisa Herbold and Debora Juarez voting NO and Rob Johnson, Kshama Sawant and … Continue reading →

Despite building few bicycle lanes, Seattle still stands out in a new national report as a walking and biking leader. In fact, we’re featured on the cover. Both walking and biking to work has increased faster in Seattle than most … Continue reading →

Our society wastes an astounding amount of food. Meanwhile, people in our own communities struggle with food insecurity or could use some help making tight budgets work. That’s where Seattle Food Rescue comes in. Founder Tim Jenkins told Josh Kelety … Continue reading →

The Eastside Trail made a big step closer to reality this week when King County released its draft Master Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. These plans now head into public outreach, setting the trail up for a summer preferred alignment … Continue reading →

Sustainability, access to healthy transportation choices, economic development, congestion reduction, innovation. Public bikes grow and support so many of Seattle’s goals and values as a city that it’s hard to believe we are even thinking about cutting modest losses and … Continue reading →

Nap time happens when nap time happens. For families who get around town on larger kid-hauling bikes, transit can be a lifeline. Get trapped across town when the clouds open up? Nap time arrives with miles left to bike? Kids … Continue reading →

Bike share is beautiful. Bicycles owned by the public, available to the public at any time for just a couple bucks. It’s a public bicycle transit system operating on a relatively shoestring budget. It’s not a system designed with hardcore … Continue reading →

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will recognize Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Director Cathy Tuttle with a Lifesavers Public Service Award. Yep, the Feds have noticed the work of this humble grassroots safe streets organization, organizing neighborhood-by-neighborhood to develop bike … Continue reading →

The City of Seattle already cut checks in December and early 2016 totaling $305,000 to keep Pronto Cycle Share operational, Josh Feit at Publicola reports. This revelation will certainly be a topic of conversation during tomorrow’s 2 p.m. Transportation Committee … Continue reading →

Twenty people died in Seattle traffic last year, up from 2014’s total of 17 and above the trend the city needs to achieve zero traffic deaths by 2030, one of the city’s Vision Zero goals. Mayor Ed Murray did not mention … Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: Every year, we write about newly-released Census data on commute modes in Seattle and communities across the country. In this guest post, Brock Howell dives even deeper, analyzing just Seattle’s new commutes. What he finds has lessons for … Continue reading →

Seattle Channel’s excellent City Inside/Out show took on the Pronto Cycle Share situation Friday, including an interview with yours truly and a panel with SDOT Active Transportation Chief Nicole Freedman, Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Rainier Valley Greenways and Rainier Riders leader … Continue reading →

After a couple quiet months, the Seattle bike events are starting to ramp up again. Cascade Bicycle Club has opened registrations for most of it’s major events in 2016, which you can flip through in their latest email blast. Chilly … Continue reading →

Every year, Allstate releases its “America’s Best Drivers Report,” which claims to rank our cities from best to worst. Seattle placed a dismal 184 out of 200 this year, our worst score yet. And every year, news sources in those … Continue reading →