2 wheels, 1 plan

As the Times notes this morning, the city has now rolled out draft maps for its “bicycle master plan,” including how it would affect our side of the bay. You can take a closer look by opening this map (and hitting “zoom” about a dozen times to get up close and personal with WS streets). The dark-blue dotted lines mark streets where bike lanes would be set aside. The Times story singles out one of those routes, 35th south of High Point, as “controversial,” without elaborating. Most of Fauntleroy also is marked as potential bike-lane turf, though the Morgan Junction intersection with Cali Ave is black-lined, which means “needs further study.” The city’s still taking comments on all this, including a meeting tomorrow night in South Seattle, so if something about the draft map worries you or thrills you, you’ve got time to pipe up before the official plan is out next year.

Eric December 6, 2006 (10:52 am)

Bicycles are great. I used to be an avid rider. I am, however, having a hard time understanding 1) how the city plans to put bike lanes on Fanuntleroy Way, and 2) what the investment of such would be versus the return. I just don’t see this as a priority when are streets are in shambles, our schools are losing money and our criminals run free.

Matt D. December 8, 2006 (11:13 am)

Bicyclist won a battle, not the war.
Bicyclists in West Seattle often fail to persuade the non-bicycling public to the importance bicycle accessibility. Among the failings are lack of consideration towards traffic tie ups behind a slow moving bicyclist, riding two abreast or not using dedicated bike lanes made available at the public’s expense. The bike lane at Alki is often ignored by bicyclists, as they weave through the narrows of Alki Avenue, this upsets traffic flow and increases life safety hazards.
Bicyclists, rightfully, argue they have a right to the street, as do cars, but this flies in the face of logic when they neglect their desired bike lane and choose to continue to occupy the accompanying street.
I am a bicyclist, having conditioned for triathlons, and I have trained rigorously on the bike path at Alki. The path provides a safe, mostly uninterrupted, trail for bicyclists to travel. For those moments of interruption the training becomes a brief interval episode.
Bicyclists, this is a time to step up the efforts for better bicycle accessability in Seattle; be professional and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Wear a helmet; it’s the law and our children are watching.

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