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A Shameless Pitch for Auction Donations

By baw_admin | Published September 14, 2010

Fall is here. Our days are shorter, there’s a chill in the air in the evening, and it’s time for Washington Bikes’s Annual Auction. This year’s event is slated for October 23.

Whether you ride with your kids to the park, pedal to work or school, or joy ride on your favorite trails–all bicycling is local and all routes need advocates. It takes money to organize–and our annual auction helps fund that effort, increases awareness, and helps us cultivate the seeds of bicycle advocacy statewide.

Help us grow–donate today!

Necklace by Katie Yankula

We need donations big and small to generate spirited bidding and appeal to the whole wide world of bicycle supporters. We would welcome gift cards to restaurants, coffee shops, and your favorite retail outlets. Are you crafty? Handcrafted items like knitted socks and scarves, quilts, pottery, jewelry, and woodwork gifts are popular. Themed gift baskets are also great auction donations. Are you a season ticket holder? Tickets to the theatre, opera, symphony, professional sporting events, and amusements are needed.

Are you (or someone you know) a nail artist, hair stylist, massage therapist, physical therapist, yoga instructor, dance instructor, personal trainer, dog walker, house/pet sitter, landscaper, or ……? These kinds of services sell at the auction.

Cyclists are active folks. Lift tickets to your local ski hill, a round of golf at your local golf course, a guided birdwatching hike, and catered bike rides make good auction donations. Did I say bike rides? Entries to event rides, bike tours and triathlons are a must. New and gently used outdoor gear can also be in demand.

Do you (or someone you know) have vacation property or a second home? Getaways–posh to rustic–to the mountains, the ocean, lakeside or desert are in demand. Urban destinations can also be popular. Auction attendees wave their bid cards for unique experiences: lunch with a celebrity, private tours, catered activities, gourmet meals, and exclusive adventures.

We’ve made it easy for you to submit a donation with an online auction donation form. Please contact me, Louise McGrody, if you have any questions. You can also call me at 206.224.9252 x303. To ensure that your donation makes the catalogue, please submit your donation info by September 30, 2010.

Posted in Auction, Events | 1 Comment

Streets for all? It’s up to you.

By baw_admin | Published September 13, 2010

The Seattle City Council is considering its 2011 budget priorities; make sure they know that you want them to fund complete streets

Avid readers of the blog—and we know that your numbers are legion—may recall an earlier post about Seattle’s woefully-underfunded bicycle and pedestrian master plans, and the citizen-initiated movement to make them those plans a reality and fund transit service in the City. Called “Streets for All,” that movement has been endorsed by the Bicycle Alliance and numerous other organizations.

Now’s the time for Seattle cyclists, and anyone who cares about walking and transit in the City, to join the Streets for All effort and let your voices be heard at City Hall.

The City’s annual budget process is grinding slowly but inexorably forward. The city council is in the midst of considering next year’s spending proposals and priorities, and budget hearings are set for the evenings of Sept. 29, Oct. 13 and Oct. 29. The lobbying from various interest groups has already begun, and the council needs to hear from you.

There are two ways that you can help:

Send an email

Send an email to council members telling them that you support the goals of the Streets for All effort, and want to see adequate funding for the Bicycle Master Plan, the Pedestrian Master Plan, and public transit operations. You can do so by going to the Streets for All home page and clicking on “Tell city council your stories.”

Attend a public hearing

Show your support by going to one of the three public hearings and speaking. Remember, attending an important public hearing is like going to the dentist: it’s not how you’d rather be spending your time, but it’s well worth the effort in the long run.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

China’s Epic Traffic Jam: Welcome to the First World!

By baw_admin | Published September 9, 2010

Did you hear the news about the epic traffic jam on China’s Beijing-Tibet Expressway? It was 60 miles long and lasted for 11 days in August. According to a Wall Street Journal report:

Though triggered by construction, the root cause for the congestion is chronic overcrowding on key national arteries. Automobile sales in China whizzed past the U.S. for the first time last year, as Chinese bought 13.6 million vehicles, compared with 9.4 million vehicles in 2008. China is racing to build new roads to ease the congestion, but that very construction is making traffic problems worse—at least temporarily.

Welcome to the First World, China! You’ve abdicated your title as the “bicycle kingdom” in favor of car culture. Now you’re faced with First World transportation woes and its related problems.

Posted in Infrastructure, Sustainable Living, Transportation | 1 Comment

Pedal with Politicians: Show your elected officials their city from a bike seat

By Mary Anderson | Published September 8, 2010

Spokane Valley Pedal with Politicians.

Washington Bikes teamed up with Spokane Valley cyclist-turned-advocate Mark Mims to host a Pedal with Politicians on August 18. This followed on the heels of a recent victory to save the Broadway Avenue Safety Project. Fifty riders (cyclists and politicians) turned out for this event and, by all accounts, it was a success.

Why you ask? In light of the recent victory not to suspend the Broadway Safety Project, local advocates wanted to let elected officials and agency staff know the benefits, challenges, and joys of bicycling. There is no better way than to take them on a bike ride! Marc will post more about their successful ride.

But for now, let’s talk about why Pedaling with Politicians is a great event and how the Bicycle Alliance can help make that happen. We have worked on such events in Seattle, Spokane, Bellingham, SE Washington, and Walla Walla. People are always trying to connect with politicians at town hall meetings, coffees, and in their offices. But going on a bike ride and getting them out of their usual environment in a fun setting is hard to beat. They get to experience the issues first hand and understand the benefits and challenges of bicycling from the “drivers seat.” It is clearly a win-win. The politicians get to hear the big picture from Bicycle Alliance staff, but also their constituents can brief them on the local issues. When you are advocating with these politicians for more bicycle friendly legislation, it feels great to say, “Hey, remember what we showed you and discussed on that bike ride you enjoyed so much?”

And remember, take pictures of them with bikes and smiling advocates. And send them along with a thank you note.

If you are interested in organizing such a ride, contact our ED Barbara Culp at 206.224.9252 Ext. 325, or Barbc@wabikes.org

Posted in Advocacy, Events, Politics | Comments Off

“IT’S ALL ABOUT ME!”

By baw_admin | Published September 7, 2010

Urban mobility is not a zero-sum game. When you design streets for bicycles and pedestrians, everybody wins.

When it comes to designing American streets, it’s usually all about the car.

Look at almost any street in our country. The priorities appear to be, in this order: (1) maximizing the rapid flow of motor vehicles; (2) providing as much curbside parking as possible without interfering with Priority (1); and (3) everything else.

Many American critics of so-called “alternative” transportation seem to believe that it has to be this way. They apparently see urban planning as a black-and-white, zero-sum game in which there’s only one legitimate winner. If bicycles and pedestrians “win,” they believe, then cars “lose.” And if cars lose, then industry, business, mobility and “real people” lose as well.

Look at the debate over Seattle’s very modest efforts to provide more space on its streets for bicycles. The City is slowly placing some of its arterials on a “road diet” and adding bike lanes. But the negative reaction has been fierce, with opponents claiming that this “war on cars” will clog the streets and drive the City’s industrial base elsewhere.

And in questioning whether the City should make spending for bike and pedestrian facilities a priority, a Seattle Times columnist recently posed the issue as a stark, either/or proposition, saying: “ Seattle voters have to decide what kind of city they want: one with affordable taxes and reasonable accommodation for business and jobs, or a bike and pedestrian haven backed by plenty of public spending.”

I have no doubt that much of this expressed angst arises from genuine concern—genuine, but misplaced and ultimately harmful.

Consider: (1) Seattle is already among the nation’s most congested metropolitan areas. We’ve ranked as high as Number 2 during the past ten years. The average Seattle-area driver spends about 45 hours a year stuck in traffic. (2) Seattle, like other Washington cities, has committed itself to greater density. That means more people in the same space—and unless there is another way to get around, more cars. (3) No large City has ever eliminated congestion by road-building alone. The Los Angeles metropolitan area, which probably has the world’s most extensive freeway system, routinely ranks as America’s most congested. (4) Cities that turn themselves entirely over to the car are among the most polluted and least livable. Think L.A. and Houston; would you move to either of those places for quality of life alone?

Perhaps more importantly, consider the experience of cities that have taken a different path. Their experience shows that everyone’s mobility is increased when commuters are given a variety of options. Their experience also shows that giving street space to bicycles and pedestrians helps create a far more pleasant and humane urban environment. In other words, everybody wins.

Exhibit A is Copenhagen, Denmark.

Visitors can be forgiven for thinking that Copenhagen has always been bicycle and pedestrian nirvana; that the bicycle tracks, pedestrian streets and sidewalk cafes that one sees today are a natural outgrowth of Danish culture. Not so. They are the result of conscious policy choices that have taken almost 50 years to implement.

Two videos illustrate Copenhagen’s transformation and the results; both are well worth watching. One is a clip from the film “Contested Streets.” The other is a short video from Street Films called “Copenhagen’s Car-Free Streets and Slow-Speed Zones.” In them, Danish architect and urban planner Jan Gehl and others recount how cars began proliferating in the city during the 1950s. Cyclists were pushed aside, and Copenhagen’s lovely squares were turned into parking lots.

The transformation to a different model began in the early 1960s, when one kilometer of the City’s main shopping street was turned into a pedestrian mall. And in the 1980s, the City began to build an extensive system of separated “cycle tracks” on major arterials, often taking general-purpose car lanes to do so. As here, business owners often howled. Danes aren’t Italians, they said—they don’t just walk around for the hell of it. The weather’s too bad—no one will frequent the pedestrian zones. Business will be ruined.

But the City went ahead, and proved the critics wrong.

In the process, they created an urban setting that is commonly held up as a world-class model of livability and sustainability. And “real people,” the kind that critics of Seattle’s modest steps claim will be driven away, got back on their bikes. Today, more than a third of the commuters in Copenhagen get to work or school on their bicycles. So it turned out that the cycle tracks weren’t just for a few selfish Lycra-clad eco-lunatics. They were for everybody.

And no, they didn’t outlaw the car. The Copenhagen area has a surprisingly-extensive freeway system. And Copenhagen’s streets are less congested than Seattle’s. In fact, according to Gehl, Copenhagen is the least-congested City of its size in the Western world.

And that’s no zero-sum game.

Posted in Attitudes, Bike Culture, Bike to Work, Complete Streets, Funding/Policy, Infrastructure, Sustainable Living | Comments Off

Eat Your Handlebars!

By baw_admin | Published September 6, 2010

Eat your Handlebars!

Many Bicycle Alliance members are acquainted with Andy Goulding, husband to our Executive Director Barb Culp. Andy is a man of many talents and, several years ago he focused his creative energies on creating an energy bar for hungry cyclists–Handlebars! He has graciously agreed to share his Handlebar recipe with us. Thank you, Andy!

Handlebar Recipe
(It’s not cooked!)

1 very huge spoonful of organic peanutbutter
1 very huge spoonful of organic honey
1 very huge spoonful of organic flax meal
1 cup of organic raisins
1 cup of organic granola

Smash in non-stick organic pan.
Refrigerate,then eat your Handlebars!

Posted in Fuel | Comments Off

PROS to Benefit the Bicycle Alliance

By baw_admin | Published September 2, 2010

Sketch by Andy Goulding.

If you’re hanging out around Seattle this holiday weekend and you’re looking for a bike ride on Labor Day, consider PROS.

PROS: Perimeter Ride of Seattle was founded by Gary Strauss and Dan Wakefield of Cyclists of Greater Seattle (COGS) in 2005 and is modeled on other perimeter rides, like El Tour de Tuscon. You will see the City of Seattle from all sides on this 80-mile ride and get incredible views of Puget Sound, Lake Washington, the mountains and cityscapes. A PROS Lite (56 miles) is also offered. The ride is organized by COGS and this year, they will collect donations for Washington Bikes to support our advocacy and education efforts.

Posted in Bike Clubs, Events, Seattle | Comments Off

Bicyclists Appreciate the ADA – Thanks to the Bushes!

By baw_admin | Published September 1, 2010

Navigating a curb midblock in Pioneer Square.

I’m a bike advocate, temporarily disabled. I usually find myself talking to elected officials or policy makers about complete streets where everyone has access to our roads and sidewalks. But in a moment of weird coincidence, on the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I fell off my bike and fractured my pelvis. (See previous blog post for that story.)

My life was changed in a matter of seconds. I went from biking everywhere to using a walker and now crutches. The bus stop closest to my house remains out of reach, up two steep blocks. I went from car-free to being driven to work.

Now thanks to George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush (I never thought I’d thank them for anything), the ADA defines a physical impairment as something that limits a major life activity — walking for instance.

While the ADA has significantly improved walking downtown and on neighborhood streets, a missing curb cut can literally stop a physically or visually impaired person as effectively as a wall. And while my physical impairment is relatively short term, Seattle’s streets remain a maze of streets without curb cuts and crosswalks with fast turning traffic.

My work neighborhood in Pioneer Square (see photo) demonstrates how critically important the ADA is to the livability of our cities and how much work remains to be done to provide universal access for all users of the transportation system, including sidewalks and intersections.

As we cyclists advocate for sharing the roads, with full access, we can learn from the disabled advocates who wrote the ADA legislation 20 years ago.

Posted in Accessibility, Advocacy, Complete Streets | 1 Comment

Cloud Creep

By baw_admin | Published August 31, 2010

I took these pictures on my morning commute in the order I present them below. Notice the clouds slowly creeping in.

Juanita Bay Park, Kirkland, about 6:45 am.

David E. Brink Park, Kirkland, about 7:00 am.

Mercer Island, about 7:40 am.

Seattle end of the I-90 bridge, about 8:00 am.

OK, this last one would have been awesome — the Cascades off to the left, Mt. Rainier dead ahead, possibly some sailboats out there — except that by the time I got across the bridge, dark ominous clouds had rolled right in and hidden all those pretty views. Instead, I saw an increasing number of bicyclists in neon yellow rain jackets, always a good predictor of rain.

Fortunately, rain doesn’t deter Seattle bike commuters. We may come out in droves for the gorgeous, sunny weather that has blessed the region lately, but precipitation and cloudy conditions won’t stop us. We just turn on those blinking lights, slap some more reflective tape everywhere, and don our bright-colored waterproof jackets. Autumn, come on — make our day. We’re ready.

Note: The above post was written August 26. The commute on August 31 threw down the gauntlet, presaging the weather to come.

Posted in Commuting | 1 Comment

Bikes and Buses, Part 2: Bike Parking

By baw_admin | Published August 30, 2010

Kristin Kinnamon of Community Transit is a bike commuter, bike advocate, and sits on Washington Bikes’s Board of Directors. She wrote this article for the Community Transit blog and we would like to share it with you:

Bikes and Buses, Part 2: Bike Parking

Posted in Bike Parking, Commuting, Transit | Comments Off