Comments

1
Count Roosevelt in.

In the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association's document, Livable, Sustainable Roosevelt, we suggest turning a street near Roosevelt High School into such a greenway. This street is right by the light rail station and so would be a good street to use to bike to the station and for families to bike down to Green Lake from adjoining neighborhoods.
2
Cienna, it's 44th STREET and 47th STREET, not AVENUE.

Why do Stranger writers have such a hard time understanding this system, or doing basic proofreading and fact checking?
3
@2, fixed, thanks.
4
What does this mean exactly? I think moving bikes off arterials and to redesigned side streets is a great idea but I'm just wondering how this would work for someone who lives on the street and drives, or needs to get a delivery. I'd assume that can still happen, but I'm unclear on the concept.
5
Obviously 37 percent of the City funding in that neighborhood should go to sidewalks and bike lanes, not car-related stuff like roads which have 99.99 percent of the damage from heavy damage-creating cars, not bikes or pedestrians.
6
I'm not going to just take your word that Sally Clark is a lover of potlucks. Did you even ask her?
I thought not.
7
@4 in civilized countries they have car-free roads that are used for outdoor cafes but allow delivery trucks in from say 5-7 am and 10-12 pm - the rest of the time only emergency vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians can use them.

And electric scooters - not gas ones, too noisy.
8
@4: We're having a public event next Thursday with the two key folks behind Portland's Greenways network. You are absolutely invited to come and ask questions like those!

In short, though, the streets aren't closed off from cars any more than today's streets are closed off to bikes. They're just modified to be really easy to bike and walk on, and totally possible for residents to drive on (but not for other people to use as cut-through speedways).

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid…
9
Will CM Bagshaw be stoned as usual at this meeting?
10
I wish 8th from Seneca to James was a Greenway.

I should look into that.

Also, yes, Greenways == good idea.
11
I was just chatting with someone about the greenways today, and share in the excitement of the proponents of this type of program. Looking to Portland (which I hate doing), there are plenty of great examples of greenways being a preferred commuter route, while improving safety and traffic flow.

I totally am empathetic to folks who worry about losing access to their residential streets, but as is pointed out, locals still have 100% access to their streets, it's just discouraged for non-residents to drive along these greenways. Seeing this being led at this point by neighborhoods that want them is another bonus, and I look forward to more areas seeing the benefit, and a solid expansion in Seattle, with less of the vitriol associated with bicycle safety.

Great reporting on this, Ms. Madrid!
12
@4, Portland is kicking our ass on greenways. Go watch this video, it will answer your questions!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNNxwF1BP…

@6, I didn't ask her. Furthermore, I'm told by reliable sources that you should never take my word for anything. Kisses!
13
@8 That makes sense. I'd like to see a network of those about the city. I don't bike, but I do drive and separating bikes and cars as much as possible is good for safety and ease of use.
14
pedestrians > trains > buses > cars > lint > bicycles > toejam > skaters
15
@8: Parenthetically, I recall seeing a video from an SFU lecture where Portland Mayor Sam Adams acknowledges that, even in Portland, the underlying concern that led to the push for Greenways was the need by drivers to "please put bicylists somewhere where I can expect them, because I don't want to kill one of them." (paraphrased)
16
@8 nice meeting you at Moe Bar last nite.

All of Fremont is a Greenway.

Oh, wait ... you mean other green things ... never mind.
17
By the way, won't the Greenways become havens for Pit Bulls lurking to eat cyclists?
18
Can the stranger stop pretending that pedestrians and cyclists are on the same side of this bullshit war you just made up today?
19
I like the idea of greenways.

An additional approach that could make cycling and walking safer on regular streets would be to adopt "20's plenty" -- a default maximum speed limit of 20 mph for residential streets. A bunch of towns (and one whole county) in Great Britain have already done so, and the European Union Transport Commission has recommended that everyone in the EU follow suit (but with a 30 kph limit, which is closer to 18.5 mph). If anyone's interested, the 20's Plenty For Us site is here:

http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/

20
You can also just make your own greenways by avoiding arterial roads when biking. Sometimes geography or the road system will force you to be on a major street (or your destination is on a major street) but it's always worthwhile to take a longer route on quieter streets, whether they're officially greenways or not.

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