This isn’t the crack that led to the fall in Port Orchard. (Wikipedia image licensed for noncommercial reuse.)
The ruling made headlines across the state as once again it was announced that bikes are traffic.
Cities have a responsibility to maintain streets for bicycling to the same standards that apply for other traffic, a Washington appeals court held in a recent ruling. Defining bicycling as “ordinary travel,” not a purely recreational activity, the judges wrote in O’Neill v. City of Port Orchard, “Bicycles are an integral part of Washington’s ‘statewide multimodal transportation plan.”
The ruling by the Washington State Appeals Court came in a lawsuit filed by Port Orchard rider Pamela O’Neill. The city argued that the requirement to maintain streets in reasonable condition for ordinary travel did not apply to travel by bicycle. Their ruling sends the case back to the lower court for further disposition of the original suit.
The ruling does not require cities to make streets perfectly smooth for ideal conditions — some irregularities in surface are a given. It does, however, reinforce the standing of bicycles as transportation already established by the Washington State Supreme Court in Camicia v. Howard S. Wright Constr. Co. (2014) and Pudmaroff v. Allen (1999). The latter is the suit in which the Bicycle Alliance of Washington filed an amicus brief arguing that a bicyclist in a crosswalk has the same rights, duties and obligations as a pedestrian. Washington cities have a clear duty to maintain roadways that are safe for bicycle travel.
The court noted in its ruling, “Falling is an inherent and necessary risk of the activity of cycling, and O’Neill assumed the general risk that she would fall off her bicycle and injure herself. She did not, however, assume the enhanced risks associated with the city’s failure to repair an alleged defective roadway of which the city allegedly had constructive notice” (“constructive notice” means that the city, in the ordinary course of maintaining the street, had plenty of prior opportunity to observe and correct the fault even if it hadn’t been formally reported. In fact, they had applied some patching but that had occurred years ago, with no formal record.)
The ruling received extensive coverage across the state. A Walla Walla Union-Bulletin editorial noted, “Cities across Washington state should view the roads they maintain with bicycle riders in mind. In addition, they should expect growing bicycle traffic on their roads and should plan for maintenance accordingly. Bikes are an increasingly popular mode of local transportation — for work, errands and recreation. In doing so, it will make roadways safer for all. (Cities have responsibility to maintain roads for bikes; An appeals court ruling this week in Washington state rightly sends that message, July 1, 2016).
The Kitsap Sun article provides more information on the suit: Lawsuit from bicyclist against Port Orchard can go forward (June 29, 2016).
Report Hazardous Street Conditions
The Port Orchard public works director stated in his deposition that the city fixes roadways on a “complaint-based system” and the city had not received complaints about that stretch of road. Let’s make sure street conditions reports are on record in your town.
We’re compiling a resource page with our partners at Cascade Bicycle Club with information on how you can contact your town’s street or public works department to report hazardous conditions. Email us with a link to the page with your town’s reporting process or app and we’ll add it to the list. This selection of towns gives you an idea of the different systems you may encounter–everything from downloading an app and using it to emailing the public works director directly. This is in no way a comprehensive list. When we have the resource page established we’ll replace the list here with a link to that page.
Bainbridge Island: See Click Fix
Bellevue: MyBellevue app or issue reporting page
Clark County: Report road condition
Kent: 253-856-5600 or via email at publicworksoperations@kentwa.gov or service request form
King County: See Click Fix
Olympia: 360.753.8333 or send email to publicworks@ci.olympia.wa.us
Pacific: Email the Public Works Directonecity.org/r listed on this page
Seattle: Use the Find It Fix It app or submit a service request
Spokane: At https://my.spokaaccount/report/ (must create login)
Tacoma: Submit request (have to create log-in if you want to track progress of the request)
Tukwila: See Click Fix
Vancouver: Public Works service request, MyVancouver app
Walla Walla: According to the pothole page, email pwinfo@wallawallawa.gov or call 509-527-4363.
Yakima: Click on “New Report” on the Yak-Back web page
Chahim serves as Government Affairs Director for Forterra, where she is in charge of developing and advancing state and federal proposals aimed at creating livable, affordable communities and conserving working farms, forests and natural lands across the state. She serves on the boards of the Washington Association of Land Trusts and the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. She’s also a member of the International Living Future Institute’s inaugural Cascadia Congress and is an appointed member of the Forest Resources Coordinating Committee, a federal advisory committee to the Secretary of Agriculture. Leda holds degrees in Political Science and Conservation Biology from the University of Washington.
Paul Dillon serves as the Public Affairs Manager for Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho. Previously he was the legislative assistant for Senator Andy Billig of the 3rd Legislative District of Spokane and co-founded an environmental news site published by the Spokesman-Review called Down To Earth. He was the board president for Pedals2People, a former community bike nonprofit in Spokane, and serves on the board of the Center For Justice. Dillon holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University.
Hague served on the King County Council 1993-2015. Prior to joining the Council she served as the Manager of Records and Elections for King County, and was an elected member of the Bellevue City Council. She has served on the King County Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors, was elected President of the National Association of Counties, and was one of the founding members of the board for Sound Transit.
Keller is co-founder and co-owner of Peddler Brewing Company in Ballard, which opened its doors in 2013. A graduate of the Cascade Bicycle Club Advocacy Leadership Institute, she is a leader in the Connect Ballard neighborhood advocacy team and continually seeks ways for Peddler Brewing Company to support the bicycle community. Keller received her BS in Mathematics and Master in Teaching from Seattle University and taught math at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.
Founder and CEO of development firm Sher Partners, Sher devotes considerable time and energy to creating community gathering spaces. He owns Third Place Books, with locations in Lake Forest Park, Ravenna, and Seward Park. He redeveloped the Crossroads Shopping Center and developed other retail properties. He holds a PhD in agricultural economics from Washington State University, serves on the 
Daniel Weise is an ex-academic (PhD MIT, Assistant Professor at Stanford University, Microsoft Research group leader) who, for the last decade, has been a community volunteer. He serves on the boards of several nonprofits (including Climate Solutions and the Washington Environmental Council), on various other advisory panels and for-profit boards, and he assists technology start-ups. In his spare time he is a recreational cyclist, gardener of edible plants, and angel investor. His favorite investment, though he will probably never make a nickel from it, is the 
The Federal Highway Administration has once again ignored bicyclists when determining performance measures for our transportation system. 
e need you to come out and be counted in Skagit County. Stand up for your belief in a county where it is safe for residents and visitors to walk and bike on county roads — to advocate for a county that has a transportation plan that considers all users and builds a network based on their plan.
