1)Yay on the tickets for blocking an intersection downtown. Just ridicuous for drivers to do this. As New Yorkers say, "don't block the box."
2) As to the City's preschool program. To note, the majority of the preschool spaces are NOT going to be NEW spaces. The City is merely flipping existing preschool spaces to their program. That is the case for the 200 spaces in Seattle Schools; only 45 are new, the rest are flips. The City didn't make that little detail clear when they sold this program.
As well, the deal that the school district (not the School Board) agreed to is so poorly written that I predict we will see a court case. The City has only the briefest mention of how to serve Special Education preschoolers and virtually no mention of student data privacy. I don't think either issue is a by mistake.
Photo caption from the KUOW bus changes article - "... riders will have to transfer to light rail to get downtown, which can't get snarled in traffic."
Is this new light rail actually grade separated or is it like the other light rail we have around here, that tosses bicyclists to the ground like it's designed for that.
I wonder if the intersection blocking crackdown applies to Metro buses (of course it won't). Last week I watched 3 different light cycles pass with no cars travelling through the intersection because articulated buses were blocking the intersection.
Not complaining, just think it's interesting that the mass transit-ers can and do return the favor to the rest of us. Is it acceptable when they do it?
SPD needs to concentrate an issuing tix to non-Seattle suburbanites blocking crosswalks and intersections, since they're free riders who should have taken the bus or train into the city like we taxpayer citizens already do.
Hint: if it's a truck, it's probably a solo suburbanite free riding on roads paid for my home owning Seattleites.
I so hope they crack down on the chuckleheads that constantly block the intersection at Denny and Eastlake. Not downtown per se but especially infuriating because there is almost always one or two open lanes for the offender to move into if they are stuck when the light changes and they never ever do, presumably because that would entail missing the turn to get on 1-5 that they plan on making. If it is going to cost them $136 they might prefer to miss the I-5 ramp and get on elsewhere, or double back.
SPD: Please, please, please, please - include crosswalks in your enforcement. Downtown rush hour, it often seems when the walk sign comes on, the chances of the crosswalk actually being open are ridiculously low. Obviously that varies from street to street, so maybe my route is just particularly impacted... but many times, the cars don't even *consider* stopping at the line, especially when right-on-red-ing - they just mindlessly drone their way through the crosswalk to the edge of the cross street, only then even bothering to look - and of course inevitably finding they won't be able to go for some time due to cross traffic, so they just sit there, camping on the crosswalk. So frustrating.
@Max, when you're in the burbs it's grade-separated, but the tracks are right in the middle of the street in westlake, 3rd avenue, basically anywhere in the city core. Cyclists complain about the tracks frequently.
@14 Sorry, Denny and Stewart. Right at the bottom of the hill. Cars that are turning left to get on I-5 south constantly block that intersection, and even though there is almost always room to get out of the way they just sit there.
Marcy Borders, 9/11 attack victim and survivor, has died. I didn't follow the news much during those days and didn't even know about her. But life spiraled downward and she had no support and Bank of America fired her. She was beautiful. RIP.
I am not a fan of blocking the box, but here's what really gets me: When you have enough space to not block the box, but you are blocking the box because the idiot in the car in front of you stopped a car length (or more) back from the car ahead of them and is either interacting with their phone or just oblivious to the fact that there is indeed traffic around them. If you honk, they don't think it's about them and continue to sit there.
I see this mostly from a pedestrian perspective of course, as I mostly walk to work, but it still just bugs the hell out of me for some reason.
In regards to the Ethiopian crosswalks, at least they aren't black and green (or whatever the ones in the CD were). I think that themed crosswalks are just dandy, as long as they are visible to people. Yellow, red and green sounds like a workable color scheme (but I don't see what it has to do with gentrification)
This is so funny. We are going to fix our traffic problems with $136 tickets. Maybe we should considering getting back the bike lanes and changing the one way streets, Doing an all walk sidewalk. Nope, tickets will do it. Can our city get dumber?
@18: Bank of America didn't fire her. In fact they offered to transfer her because she was so traumatized, but she declined. BofA doesn plenty of bad shit; no need to make shit up.
@17, Yesterday afternoon I saw a red car zip up the bus lane of 99 N right after the West Seattle bridge merge and then passed as it was being pulled over by one of those "stealthed" chargers. Felt good to see a "more important speeder" nabbed (traffic was clumped and heavy, but moving at speeds).
I’m good with any efforts to end the blocking of the box. But only if it’s even handed and targets public transit and the Critical Mass ass-hats as well.
2) As to the City's preschool program. To note, the majority of the preschool spaces are NOT going to be NEW spaces. The City is merely flipping existing preschool spaces to their program. That is the case for the 200 spaces in Seattle Schools; only 45 are new, the rest are flips. The City didn't make that little detail clear when they sold this program.
As well, the deal that the school district (not the School Board) agreed to is so poorly written that I predict we will see a court case. The City has only the briefest mention of how to serve Special Education preschoolers and virtually no mention of student data privacy. I don't think either issue is a by mistake.
Is this new light rail actually grade separated or is it like the other light rail we have around here, that tosses bicyclists to the ground like it's designed for that.
Not complaining, just think it's interesting that the mass transit-ers can and do return the favor to the rest of us. Is it acceptable when they do it?
because war is what OUR government is good at selling to jackasses like you.
Fine by me.
Hint: if it's a truck, it's probably a solo suburbanite free riding on roads paid for my home owning Seattleites.
http://mynorthwest.com/108/2774021/Crash…
Denny and Fairview is the worst. So glad I don't have to drive through there any more.
http://news.yahoo.com/dust-covered-woman…
I see this mostly from a pedestrian perspective of course, as I mostly walk to work, but it still just bugs the hell out of me for some reason.
In regards to the Ethiopian crosswalks, at least they aren't black and green (or whatever the ones in the CD were). I think that themed crosswalks are just dandy, as long as they are visible to people. Yellow, red and green sounds like a workable color scheme (but I don't see what it has to do with gentrification)
It sounds like she was fired to me. Not immediately, but Bank of America could probably have worked out a better way and gotten her some help.
Anyway, nice of you to express your concern for Bank of America there rather than for Ms. Borders.
Yeah, get ride of the bike lanes.
I, for one, would love riding down the middle of the right hand lane of Dexter with 50 other cyclists. Sounds pretty rad.