If you’re a regular commuter/biker/walker/general patron of downtown Seattle, you may have seen the green and white banners on the sides of buses encouraging you to “be predictable” in order to safely share the road. The ads, which have been running on the sides of 30 buses running throughout the central business district since May, are part of a larger Share the Road campaign created by a new Bicycle/Bus Education & Safety Team and sponsored by King County Metro, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Washington Bikes.
The goal is obvious: to enhance road safety and to depict bikers and Metro drivers as equal inhabitants of the same city streets. Through a Share the Road philosophy, King County Metro hopes to encourage patience, cooperation, and safe sharing of the roadway – and looking out for each other as a matter of course.
The campaign also features updated videos and web content on the Metro website, quarterly safety events at the bus bases, and increased instructional bus bike rack displays throughout King County – including an instructional bike rack at our office in Pioneer Square.
The Bicycle/Bus Education and Safety Team members include Eileen Kadesh and Ref Lindmark of Metro Market Development, Chief of Central Base Margo Minnix, Transit Safety Officer Dan Nuner, Dan Porter of Metro Training, John Mauro from Cascade Bicycle Club, and our very own Barbara Culp. They are hoping to start another round of ads next spring, possibly featuring a revamped message.
Thanks to Scott Chilberg for submitting this post.
2 Comments
I try and be a predictable rider, but what about the buses? What are the policies and training of the bus drivers regarding bikes?
I've slowed when I bus signaled to let off a passenger, but then the bus stopped in the lane (expecting me to blow by on the right? no way I want to be squished by a many ton bus.) A stand off ensued. A better sign on the bus would be one that informed riders what bus behavior to expect.
Hard to see how this is going to work, unless the police start issuing tickets for traffic law breakers.