In honor of Bike-to-Work Day, here are some of the day’s hot bike-related links:

1) The Cascade Bicycle Club just released its Seattle Bicycling Report Card (not up online yet, but I’ll link when it is), which includes information from the city as well as the results of a survey of 600 Seattle residents. Some highlights from the report:

The city got the highest grade (an “A”) for its level of cycling (about 15,000 people, or 4.2 percent of commuters, currently commute by bike every day), the number of new bicycle racks installed (429 new racks in 2007, which is still shy of the city’s goal of 600 a year), and reported bicycle thefts (496 in 2008, down from 702 in 2000). It received lower marks for gender distribution (a “C,” reflecting the fact that just 21 percent of Seattle’s bike riders are women); satisfaction with bicycle routes (a “C,” reflecting survey participants’ concern that the system of bike lanes is disconnected); satisfaction with pavement quality (a “D+,” reflecting the fact that 20 percent of respondents identified poor pavement quality as their main issue with cycling); and satisfaction with bike safety (a “C,” reflecting concern about disconnected bike routes, poor pavement, and bad driver behavior).

2) Seattle Likes Bikes points out that the city gave cyclists little or no advance warning that it would be closing the Burke-Gilman Trail in Fremont for a month; the closure started yesterday, one day before Bike to Work Day: “Sure, regular commuters will be fine, we’ve endured this part of the trail being closed more than it has been open over the last 5 years. What about all of those new cyclists who are riding the first time on Bike to Work day? What about tourists or out of town visitors? Is this really how a world-class bicycle facility is treated?”

3) Two posts from Wired’s Autopia blog. Transpo secretary Ray LaHood says the stimulus package offers “plenty” for cyclists… but that “cycling” money includes landscaping and scenic beautification, construction of welcome centers, archaeological planning and research, and historic preservation. Wired is not impressed. And: What makes a city bike-friendly? Ask Davis, California.

16 replies on “It’s Bike-to-Work Day”

  1. If I EVER hear anything in Seattle being “world-class” I will take a gun and kill the idiot who says that. I mean B-G is nice but “world-class”? Wonder if the large portions that need repaving add to it being “world-class”? And anyone who bikes around UW knows what I am talking about.

  2. Cascade has it right about pavement quality; it’s atrocious here. This isn’t something that comes up a lot in discussion of bike-friendliness, but it’s a big issue; dodging potholes on a bike is uncomfortable, stressful, and dangerous.

    How ’bout a special fund for fixing pavement on streets that are (or could be) useful bike routes? Motorists will benefit too.

  6. I think we are making great progress, in the two years since i’ve moved here i’ve seen quite a bit of changes and i really appreciate them! Great work everyone involved, thanks!

  8. Welcome to bike-to-work day! I got chewed out at 4th and Pike for *daring* to load my bike on the bus’ bicycle carrier by a metro driver. He attempted to drive off with my bike and would have if he didn’t have to stop for a red light. Fercripes sake it’s been legal to load your bike downtown since February! Evidently some drivers were diddling themselves in the back room when it was explained to other drivers.

  10. seattle really needs to connect various routes through the city if they are to become a “world class bike city.” for example, I ride from the U district every day to get to work. I use the Eastlake-Harvard-Roanoke-10th ave route to get there. While I have few problems with it, I imagine most beginning cyclists out there are too timid to ride in traffic, judging by the large number of folks riding on the sidewalk. yet there is no evidence of anything being done to guide cyclists. And this is probably the primary connecting route between these two large neighborhoods!

    these problems are evident everywhere and are exacerbated by seattle’s diverse and difficult topography. but come on — there are few routes that go anywhere for more than a mile or two.

    and i agree with pavement. i was scandalized by it when i moved here –i thought the podunk tiny norcal town i used to ride through was bad, think again! they actually fix things there! amazing!

  12. @Weekilter wow! that’s annoying. I feel like metro should give bike riders a permit sheet of paper that says what we are allowed to do and not so we can give it to the drivers and “school” them on the current policy. I’ve had a couple instances where a driver has lectured me on something only to find when i read the website i was doing something totally legal

  13. Didn’t we just steal the Law School Dean at the UW from Davis?

    Maybe they have an opinion about bike-friendly Seattle …

  16. I lived in Davis for 4 years while studying there (class of 2008) and, except for the occasional 45 minute drive on some weekends to visit the family, did everything on bike. I loved biking and never loved driving. The population in Davis is the same as in my hometown, but even with a cramped downtown and minimal parking, it never felt crowded like it did at home. The strength was in numbers: with so many cyclists, drivers stopped for them AND pedestrians, every shop had bicycle parking in front of it, and even the busy streets felt safe because drivers were paying attention.

    What the article didn’t mention is that Davis also has a very good bus system, so if biking wasn’t feasible, there was good public transport as well. But there is no train or bus to get to my hometown, so I drove.

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