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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6E1V9)
(EDIT: I changed the headline because some readers thought the change was permanent. Bikes, along with all vehicles using the car deck, will only be disallowed during this construction period.) Construction work to build a new elevated walkway at the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal will completely close off access to the ferry car decks. The good [...]
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Seattle Bike Blog
| Link | https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/ |
| Feed | http://seattlebikeblog.com/feed/ |
| Updated | 2025-08-21 16:19 |
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DZBR)
The short but important trail connection between the Rainier Valley Neighborhood Greenway and the I-90 Trail is open, and Hanoch at Best Side Cycling took it for a test ride. As we noted in July, this short little trail at the end of 28th Ave S has been a long time coming. It never should [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DX89)
It's time for the Bike News Roundup! Here's a look at some of the stuff going around the web that caught my eye. First up, Answer in Progress took on public transit, and it's pretty good: Pacific Northwest News Bike Bellevue" Program Launches to Improve Mobility Options | Downtown Bellevue Network Bend lawmaker considers e-bike [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DWBD)
Folks, support your local bike shops. These are rough times for a lot of them, and competition from online direct-to-customer companies is not slowing down. Sure, you might be able to save some bucks buying online, but that website won't be there to help you fix it on your way to work or wherever. Supporting [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DVBC)
Scooter share company Bird has quietly launched new shared e-bikes in Seattle in addition to their fleet of scooters, so of course I had to hunt one down and take it for a ride. The company's pedal-assist e-bikes are the first direct competitor to Lime since Lime took over JUMP in 2020. Veo also has [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DR0T)
I unfortunately missed this story before the 60-day comment period ended in late July, but as a parent of a brand new bike rider I gotta post my thoughts anyway. There is an old Consumer Product and Safety Commission regulation that requires kids bikes to be sold with a coaster brake, and it is frankly [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DNSZ)
Despite reaching a settlement with a group of eight people who sued the City of Seattle in 2022 after they crashed and were injured while biking through the Ballard Missing Link, the city still has not made the treacherous railroad crossing under the Ballard Bridge reasonably safe for ordinary travel," according to a new set [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DMPN)
Nearly eight years after the Ride the Ducks tragedy on the Aurora Bridge, YouTube channel Brick Immortar recently released a detailed walkthrough of the event, including the history of the vehicles and details from the NTSB investigation's report. It is tough to revisit the tragedy, but it's important that we understand as a society how [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DJJ0)
Most of the University Bridge is in decent condition, but the northernmost section between NE 40th and NE Pacific Streets needs major rehab or replacement, according to SDOT. The 1930s concrete structure is at the end of its life, and that may be for the best because it no longer fits into the U District [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DGFB)
I finally got the chance to hold an advance copy of my book Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from behind the Handlebars, and it was a bit surreal. As soon as I got word that advance copies had arrived, I walked over to the press office inside UW Tower to get [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DF8H)
The Ballard Ave Cafe Street project has been an iterative series of changes since 2020 designed to expand outdoor space for businesses, including lots of outdoor seating for restaurants and bars. To make it happen, SDOT made the street one-way for cars and limited parking. Now the city is preparing the next phase of changes, [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DE7M)
Well, I hope you enjoyed that new section of the I-90 Trail in Factoria, because a section of it will be detoured to the other side of SE 36th Street until Spring 2024. As part of work on the really cool I-90 Sunset Creek Fish Passage project, crews will be detouring the I-90 Trail between [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DC95)
After a delay finalizing the construction contract, SDOT is planning to begin work on the MLK Jr Way Safety Project in the fall. The project includes protected bike lanes from Mount Baker Station to S Judkins Street and includes significant safety improvements for everyone passing through the monstrous intersection with Rainier Ave S. The project [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6DADX)
SDOT just added some significant safety improvements to the 15th Ave NW paving project before declaring the design 100% complete and ready for construction. No, the changes to not fix the horrible sidewalks across the Ballard Bridge, which is easily the biggest problem with this stretch of the street. However, SDOT will add a median [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6D97K)
I'm traveling home today after a week in St. Louis and Las Vegas visiting family, but I wanted to put out this notice since it is a top priority bike network improvement. The Eastlake Community Council is hosting a meeting at 6 p.m. tonight (July 25) at the Agora Conference Center (1551 Eastlake Ave E) [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6D51K)
Josh Brower, attorney for the appellant group fighting the Ballard Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail in court, put out a lengthy press release claiming victory (see full statement below). Cascade responded, likening the statement to a baseball team quitting before the 9th inning." My main squabble with the Cascade statement is that we are [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6D1RX)
Your ballot for the August 1 primary election should have arrived in the mail, or should arrive very soon. Eligible voters have until July 24 to register or update your address online. After that date, voters will need to register in person at a voting center. Every Seattle City Council district seat is up for [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CZVQ)
Why do people ride Cascade Bicycle Club's annual Seattle to Portland? There are going to be quite a few people asking themselves this exact question this weekend at some point during their 200-mile ride. But every year, there are people riding for a specific cause, using the feat as a way to draw attention to [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CYSR)
The Rainier Valley Neighborhood Greenway opened in 2017 with a key piece missing: A connection the final block or so to the I-90 Trail in Sam Smith Park. One of the coolest ideas in the plan is the new connection to the I-90 Trail," I wrote in a September 2015 post about the greenway plan. [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CWVR)
People For Bikes, the national advocacy organization, has put out an action alert urging people to support a rule change that would give superintendents of National Parks greater authority to allow the use of e-bikes wherever traditional bicycles are currently allowed." Many National Parks are typically already rather restrictive about bicycle access, so this rule [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CVWW)
My family and I biked the new North Lake Washington Trail Loop Saturday, and it was amazing. It is an instant classic of a bike ride with wide appeal. I suspect it will supplant the always popular Seattle-to-Woodinville-and-back ride since riders can now complete the loop rather than backtrack on the Sammamish River and Burke-Gilman [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CSV6)
The Decade of the Eastrail is coming into view. The buildout of this major regional rail-trail will reach a milestone moment Saturday afternoon when the Totem Lake Connector biking and walking bridge opens. The bridge is almost like the golden spike that, thanks to a number of other recent additions, will finally connect the Eastrail [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CS05)
Biking will be by far the best way to get to the 2023 All-Star Game. Though of course we think that biking is the best way to get just about anywhere in Seattle. But for real, I have left many busy Seattle sporting events, and no other option is even close to as good as [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CRXN)
This is not the first time we've posted a Bill Nye video on this site, and I doubt it will be the last. The prolific entertainer and engineer best known for serving on the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board also had a little-known KCTS science show for children that was widely syndicated and made him a [...]
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by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CQV6)
The city plans to build a continuous bike lane on the waterfront side of Alaskan Way under the latest design, SDOT announced Monday. Rather than permanently detour the bike route across Alaskan Way twice within a couple blocks, the new design includes a detour plan for use only during busy cruise ship loading times in [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CPC4)
Bike-friendly city rankings are a bit silly, but there's usually some interesting things we can learn from them. There are so many variables that make places different and might impact a person's experience riding a bike in them that distilling an entire city's bikeability down to a number is impossible. For example, I'm guessing someone [...]
SDOT begins study of CM Strauss’s Leary Way concept for the Missing Link + Legal update on Shilshole
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CP7M)
At the urging of Councilmember Dan Strauss and with Mayor Bruce Harrell's support, SDOT is beginning early design work on a potential alternative for the Burke-Gilman Trail Missing Link in Ballard. Though the city has a design fully completed and ready for construction along Shilshole Ave NW, the construction permits are held up in court [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CP7N)
Julian Hamilton, 25, pleaded guilty to hitting and killing Michael Colmant in April 2021 and was sentenced to 20 months in prison. Hamilton was driving under the influence after drinking in the park when he crossed to the wrong side of Seward Park Ave S just east of the intersection with Wilson Ave S and [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CJPE)
Newly-announced Federal RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity") grants will help fund several interesting walking and biking projects around the region, including planning work for an ambitious trail from the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal to La Push on the Pacific Coast. The City of Port Angeles led a successful grant application for the [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CJPF)
The good news is that the horrific increase in pedestrian deaths Washington State saw in 2021 did not continue to increase in 2022. But that's the end of the good news in this story. Preliminary counts in a recent report from the Governors Highway Safety Association show that an estimated 130 pedestrians were killed in [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CDYV)
The Nine to Five is a classic, legendary Seattle event that has been making its return in recent years. It is a wonderful counterpoint to the Fremont Solstice Parade bike ride. Rather than celebrate the long day of sun, the Nine to Five celebrates the short night. Riders will hit the streets from sunset to [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CC72)
We are currently in the midst of the biggest social media shakeup in more than a decade, which got me wondering where exactly my readers were spending their scrolling time these days. I also realized that as Twitter interactivity rates declined and I grew increasingly concerned about that platform's overall direction, I needed to diversify [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6CARH)
People in Seattle took 3.7 million trips on shared bikes and scooters in the past year, a massive rebound from the 1.4 million trips per year when pandemic restrictions and many business closures were in place. During the busiest summer months, the daily rides averaged over 15,000 trips per day. Six years into the city's [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C6TM)
The Fremont Solstice Parade is perhaps Seattle's happiest day of the year, and that's in no small part thanks to the explosion of brave creativity that is the pre-parade bike ride featuring hundreds of people using their bodies as art canvases. The solstice bike ride is still an unofficial part of the Solstice Parade, but [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C6ST)
It's time for the Bike News Roundup! First up, Oregon created a 30-second animation to teach people driving how to safety pass someone on a bike. The fall distance" bit is an interesting way to teach safe passing on a simplified, public information level. It's probably better than saying at least three feet" since people [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C4MV)
Speed cameras can reduce speeding and collisions while simultaneously bringing in funds to make permanent physical safety improvements to streets. And they can do all this without involving an armed police officer, sidestepping the issue of biased policing. Or at least, that's how it is supposed to work. Whose Streets? Our Streets! is a BIPOC-focused [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C47J)
The Port of Seattle's Interbay detour ended up lasting less than one day rather than the originally-announced 5-day closure. And the result is a much smoother trail surface. Tree roots poking up from below had made the stretch of the Elliott Bay Trail through the Interbay rail yard very bumpy and jarring. As we reported [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C47K)
Seattle Bike Blog has been cheering on the Pedaling Relief Project since it first started as a disaster relief" effort to help food banks handle the tumultuous period when the COVID-19 pandemic began. With many people suddenly out of a job and social distancing requirements complicating the usual methods for distribution, food banks had to [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C305)
Transportation is a major challenge for school districts across the country, and Seattle is no exception. Bus driver availability and funding is a major deciding factor setting school walk zones and start times. Organizing student transportation is a huge undertaking, and lacking transportation can be a barrier for school access to some families. House Bill [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C2HP)
One of Seattle's most unique bike routes threads a path through the middle of the Interbay rail yard, at times squeezed just a few feet and a chain link fence away from rail lines. In terms of width, condition and amenities, this section of the Elliott Bay Trail is far from Seattle's best bike route. [...]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6C0SS)
In our car-dominated American society, using a bicycle as transportation is a very positive thing to do both on a society-wide level and especially on a personal level. Obviously, as someone who rides a bike as my primary mode of transportation and writes a daily bike blog, I love bikes and view them as great […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BZ4G)
Vehicle safety ratings in the United States don’t in any way factor in safety for people those vehicles hit. In fact, some of the methods used to score high in these ratings results in vehicle designs that make it harder for drivers to see other road users and avoid collisions from happening in the first […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BXXM)
Do you have 3–6 hours of available time each month for the next two years and want to learn more about how transportation stuff actually gets done (or not) in Seattle? Well then, you should apply for one of the city’s advisory boards. Yes, you. Members do NOT need to have special training or professional […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BX0N)
Josh Feit is a longtime reporter, a co-founder of PubliCola News and now a writer for Sound Transit. But on Thursday, he’ll showcase a different kind of writing: urban design poetry. Head to Good Weather Bicycle & Cafe in Capitol Hill’s Chophouse Row at 7 p.m. Thursday to hear Feit read from his new poetry […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BX0P)
Construction on the first segment of the Beacon Hill bike lane (now called the Beacon Ave S & 15th Ave S Safety Project) is still scheduled to begin a year from now, and the project team has advanced design to the major 30% design milestone. This is the point where major designs elements are established, […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BVJC)
Lucas Salm-Rojo, a junior at Ballard High School, wrote an excellent op-ed for the Seattle Times this week arguing that Seattle Public Schools is making it harder for students to bike to school because not every school has adequate — or any — bike parking. And the problem is particularly apparent at at schools serving […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BVJD)
The other day my kid and I were biking the same route we bike every day on the way to preschool when something amazing happened: Part of the route had brand new bike lanes. We knew bike lanes were coming at some point, but it was still a wonderful surprise the day it happened. For […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BTAM)
In response to the surge of letters they received from people concerned about Seattle’s plan to permanently route the waterfront bike path across Alaskan Way and back again near the Pier 66 cruise terminal, the Port of Seattle said it supports a trail on the west side of Alaskan Way so long as it can […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BTAN)
Bike Everywhere Day is Friday, and people and organizations will be hosting Celebration Stations all over the place to cheer on anyone riding a bike and maybe give out some coffee, snacks or swag. If you work a 9 to 5 job, I highly suggest getting an early start so you can visit some stations […]
by Tom Fucoloro on (#6BTAP)
It’s time for the Bike News Roundup! Or rather, we are long overdue for a Bike News Roundup. I got out of the groove on organizing the interesting bike and transportation related stories I read back in 2021 when, well, reading the news wasn’t very fun. I was working on my book, and the Bike […]