READER REPORT: Safety hazard on bike route to/from downtown

| Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

10:53 AM: The report and photo are from Ian:

FYI for riders: Someone scattered a bunch of screws along the bike path/sidewalk between T-18 and Marginal. I kicked as many as I could aside but just kept finding more and more…

Ian reported this to the city via Find It Fix It. We also advised contacting SDOT directly by phone – 206-684-ROAD – as it’s an immediate safety hazard.

5:07 PM: Just after noon, Grant Slatton tweeted this photo and update (and has given us permission to repost):

I am down here now dragging around a giant magnet. Also found some on the low bridge bike path.

Bike Commuter October 28, 2022 (12:56 pm)

There aren’t a lot of decks being built on that bike route. I wonder how they got there.

Patrick Hunter October 28, 2022 (3:50 pm)

Pardon my pedantry, but “there’s not a lot of Sheetrock being hung on that bike route” would be a more appropriate commentary.
- Also John October 28, 2022 (4:28 pm)
  
  I had to look up the meaning of ‘pedantry’. I never use that word. Good call on the sheet rock screws.
  - Jethro Marx October 28, 2022 (7:10 pm)
    
    If we’re getting pedantic up in here, ‘Sheetrock’ is a brand name of drywall/gypsum board. Classic Kleenex situation.
    
    P.S. Good work, magnet-dragger!

skeeter October 28, 2022 (12:57 pm)

Thank you for reporting this immediate safety hazard. With all the crazy car drivers it’s hard enough to get around on a bicycle without also worrying about hitting debris that could cause a wreck or flat tire. And to the person who spread screws all over the bike path with the intention to harm cyclists – please get therapy. We’ll all be better off.

Chrissy D October 28, 2022 (11:36 pm)

It’s a good time to be a therapist.

ConcernedCyclist October 28, 2022 (2:57 pm)

Need a magnetic floor sweeper out there. https://www.harborfreight.com/hardware/magnets/floor-sweepers/30-inch-magnetic-sweeper-with-wheels-93245.html

LEP October 28, 2022 (6:35 pm)

Also available at the WS Tool Library.

flimflam October 28, 2022 (3:51 pm)

Jeez. What would possess someone to do this?

bill October 28, 2022 (3:58 pm)

Ugh. Thanks, good work Ian. I stop and toss rocks, car and truck parts, and broken plastic wands off the paths all the time. For some reason bikes don’t drop debris everywhere they go. The current problem on that part of the trail along the Duwamish fishing pier is cars parking on the trail. There is even an SUV that drives down the trail to park illegally on the east end. I called parking enforcement on it today. Hopefully the driver will get nailed. Now that the posts that kept cars out have been removed, enforcement is the only option to preserve that space for pedestrians and cyclists. (Removing the posts was the right thing to do because they are a real safety hazard for cyclists. Municipalities are getting sued over dangerous posts in trails.)

sbre October 28, 2022 (4:39 pm)

I remember reading a newspaper article from a east coast state a few years ago about a person who used this tactic to rob cyclists who had stopped due to a flat tire.Hopefully that’s not what’s happening here!!

Mike October 28, 2022 (4:51 pm)

Where’s the sdot bike lane sweeper?

Patrick October 28, 2022 (6:38 pm)

Thank you Ian and Grant! It’s caring citizens like yourself that make a positive difference in our community.

Mj October 28, 2022 (6:40 pm)

Also John – I too had to look up pedantry: excessive concern with minor details and rules.

mansplaining pedagogue October 29, 2022 (6:22 am)

Rightly or not, I have been called a pedant, charged with pedantry.
“Pedantry” has largely abandoned its pronoun association of old, a (male) schoolmaster.
I lament the loss of our language’s original, elegant Greek and Latin roots, replaced with the post-millennium pop-culture coined “mansplaining.”
But, is an insult an insult, when you don’t its meaning?
- Ice October 30, 2022 (3:02 am)
  
  English is a Germanic language and most of the words we use in our day to day life are Germanic. There is a notable amount of Latin vocab , but English’s roots are certainly not Latin and especially not Greek.

Mike October 28, 2022 (6:45 pm)

If anyone is injured as a result, this should be treated as criminal.

momosmom October 29, 2022 (6:59 am)

They also could had been unknowingly-accidentally dropped from another bicyclist carrying them in their basket/backpack, must we always assume the worst? But either way “thanks for the heads-up Ian and to Grant for the magnet”!

YES2WS October 29, 2022 (9:50 am)

@momo… Between T-18 & Marginal AND the low bridge bike path. Why assume it may have been intentional? Well, that’s quite a spill to go unnoticed, not once but twice. Plus, the roadway where cars travel between the two areas actually had an INTENTIONAL car vs bicycle fatality recently. And the slurs hollered out when numerous cyclists in the community gathered with the cyclist’s widow to honor her deceased husband when we were well out of the roadway… the hostility and aggression displayed toward cyclists who are simply cycling along is astounding and scary as heck.

Sorry, comment time is over.