The elimination of a long-planned bike lane along Stone Way North
between North 34th and 40th Streets [Erica C. Barnett, “Changing Lanes,” The Stranger (July 18, 2007)] has prompted plans
for a protest by biking advocates who say the city is abandoning its
commitment to its adopted Bicycle Master Plan. The lane would have gone the stretch of Stone Way that links the Burke-Gilman Trail to Fremont and Wallingford. Suzie Burke, a longtime
Fremont developer with extensive property holdings in the area, opposed
the bike lane, which would have eliminated one car lane in each
direction, because, she said, it would make it hard for the
“industrial” businesses in the area to maneuver their trucks. However,
bike proponents point out that the only industrial businesses on Stone
Way are those that sell products, like lumber, electrical supplies, and
paint, to industrial customers; meanwhile, many of the other businesses
on Stone Way, including the Pacific Inn Pub and the Speedy Reedy
bike-supply store, cater largely to a bike-bound clientele.
Mayor Greg Nickels has said repeatedly that he wants to make Seattle
the “best biking city in the country.” But by caving in to pressure
from Burke, Nickels has made that goal less likely. Nickels’s
turnaround also goes against the intent of the city’s recently approved
Bicycle Master Plan, its pro-bike Complete Streets planning policy, and
the citywide comprehensive plan. And it flies in the face of the trend
toward bike commuting in Seattle: According to Cascade Bicycle Club
advocacy director David Hiller, the proportion of commuters who get to
work by bike will increase from 2.3 percent to 5 percent in the next
decade.
Nova Clawson—a bike, bus, and pedestrian commuter who has never
owned a car—says that if Nickels and the council “are as committed to a
greener Seattle as they say they are, they can prove it by following
the recommendations of the Bicycle Master Plan they helped commission.
We are not just alternatives to traffic—we are traffic.”
Fremont bikers—already incensed at Nickels for agreeing to keep a
segment of the Burke-Gilman Trail through Fremont closed at Burke’s
behest (her company, Fremont Dock Co., is developing an office building
along the trail)—are organizing a protest ride for next week along the
two disputed routes. The point, according to a message board about the
ride, will be “to clog up lower Fremont at rush hour” by taking the
city’s bicycling advice literally—riding along 34th Avenue where it
parallels the Burke-Gilman Trail, and riding in the traffic lane along
Stone Way. Creating a (legal) critical mass of bikers will illustrate
the point that giving bikers nowhere to ride (except in car lanes)
isn’t good for anyone—bikers, cars, or Burke’s mythical
18-wheelers.
Clawson says that protest organizers want the city to reopen the
Burke-Gilman Trail or come up with a safer solution than the current
bike lane on 34th Street, which is frequently occupied by cars;
penalize developers who close sidewalks and trails such as the
Burke-Gilman; and add bike lanes on Stone Way between 34th and 40th
Streets.
According to statistics maintained by the Seattle Department of
Transportation, between one and three bike/vehicle accidents on Stone
Way are reported to police every year. The actual number, however, may
be higher, because it’s likely that not every accident is reported to
police. The number of accidents is higher south of 40th Street, along
the segment of Stone Way where the bike lane was killed.
Hiller, whose organization is not affiliated with ride organizers,
says the city’s proposed solution—replacing the planned dedicated bike
lane with a “sharrow,” with lane markings to indicate that bikes can
travel in the lane along with cars—will likely lead to worse traffic
and more accidents. “When I’ve got a truck behind me and I’m going
uphill at 12 miles an hour and he wants to go 25, you’re looking for
conflict.” Riding next to the line of parked cars, meanwhile, puts
cyclists in the “door zone”—an area that extends about three feet from
cars in which doors can hit cyclists.
Details about the protest ride can be found online at www.point83.com. 