Comments

1

""He has been openly hostile to projects which promote shared street uses,"

Music to Seattleites ears.

3

Thanks for the reporting, Natalie. I live and vote in District 4 and I worry about Pedersenā€™s transportation record, too.

4

Pedersen also opposes protected bike lanes on 15th Ave NE (adjacent to Roosevelt High School) and on Eastlake Ave. And he opposes a Rapid Ride bus line on Eastlake, saying "we need to save our beloved 70," which is a bus route that no one loves because it's always late and caught in traffic.

He will fight for on-street parking over bus lanes and bike lanes. It's disgusting that he now heads the Transportation committee at a time when advocating for alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles has never been more important.

5

Maybe he wonā€™t just listen to the less than 3%, and decreasing number of people who commute every day in Seattle by bicycle?

6

@5
"Bike ridership hits record highs" https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/bike-ridership-grew-last-year-on-seattles-popular-bike-paths-on-the-fremont-bridge-second-avenue/

7

Iā€™m excited. Pedersen promised and guaranteed a fast foot ferry from Matthews Beach and Magnuson to Lake Inion with stops are the UW. This is going to unclog Montlake

8

Thatā€™s Shaun Scottā€™s seat.

This asshole is merely occupying it.

9

@6 Fremont Bridge is a single data point, otherwise known as an ā€˜anecdoteā€™. Last citywide report in 2018 showed a drop in cycling trips.

10

Hereā€™s actual data, not your white tech bros crossing Fremont Bridge:

ā€œ Seattle Department of Transportation released its annual traffic report Tuesday, most significantly noting a 20 percent decrease in bicycle ridership. SDOT's 2018 traffic report notes a drop in bicyclists from 3.5 percent in 2016, down to 2.8 percent in 2017 (as a share of overall commuters in the city).ā€

And this AFTER ten of millions spent on bike lanes.

11

Progressives sure love catering to white tech bros on bikes.

12

Incompetent troll compares 2017 city wide data to 2018 Fremont Bridge data. 2017 ridership dropped slightly, probably due to more inclement weather according to SDOT, but city wide bicycle ridership increased by 12% in 2018. Between 2014 and 2018 bicycle ridership increased by ~17%.

https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2019/04/01/making-the-most-of-the-move-seattle-levy-resources-to-implement-the-bicycle-master-plan/
https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2019/04/02/sdot-and-mayor-durkan-release-more-transparent-less-visionary-bike-plan/

Conservative trolls sure like to spread disinformation and make asses of themselves.

13

@12 correction: Incompetent troll compares 2017 city wide data to 2019 Fremont Bridge data.

14

Mr. Pedersen listened to concerns that the East Fremont lane changes would prove counter-productive for pedestrians at that spot, for residents in that identifying part of the urban village, and for the 62 bus route at the intersection in question.

15

should read "densifying part"

16

Is he representing the majority of his constituents, or a minority special interest group? What do we think is the job of an elected official?

@anon1256 - what, really, is the difference between a 20% of 3% (.6) drop and a 17% of 3.6% (.61) increase? We're still talking about rounding errors here. I think the original point, which is that it's silly (and wasteful) to spend the amount of money the city does on a transportation solution for such a small percentage of the overall population. How's the weather this year? :P

17

SJWs: "All those countless stories we hear from citizens about vagrants shooting up in public, pooping on sidewalks, assaulting people, and shoplifting are just anecdotes."

Also SJWs: "Bike ridership is up on the Fremont bridge!"

18

"Maybe he wonā€™t just listen to the less than 3%, and decreasing number of people who commute every day in Seattle by bicycle?"

That is simply not true. As of the last census report, biking as a mode for commuting went up about a percent, to 3.8%. This is commuting, mind you -- most trips within a city are not commuting. People routinely take a bike for relatively small trips, as long as it safe. It is that way all over the world -- maybe if you stepped out of your little provincial cocoon, you would see that.

18

Gee, cyclists are worried because a Councilmember with fiscal experience is now responsible for coordinating transportation projects? CM Petersen will also likely be far more responsive to his constituents, unlike his predecessor Johnson and Johnson's buddy, Kubly. Give the guy a chance (not a fan of the "why are "people" worried..." Trumpist hearsay innuendo yellow journalism by The Stranger reporter, BTW).

I gave Johnson a chance before finally tumbling to the fact that he was pretty much in the pocket of developer special interests and apparently the above noted "worried" people, and Johnson was willing to misrepresent facts and resort to name-calling of his constituents if you did not agree with his personal ideology. The man was a horror-show of a "representative".

I do not believe that Petersen will behave in such a manner. The man struck me as experienced in fiscal matters and housing, interested in what constituents think, and balanced in his approach. I can think of no reason why it is a bad thing to try to bring fiscal responsibility to Transportation issues and to talk with his constituents as projects are reviewed.

19

"I think the original point, which is that it's silly (and wasteful) to spend the amount of money the city does on a transportation solution for such a small percentage of the overall population."

Right, except that the person then suggested that the numbers were going down, despite the city spending money on bike infrastructure. That is simply not true. Where there is good bike infrastructure, the numbers are going up. Ridership over the Fremont Bridge is up, because people can ride safely on Westlake. Ridership on Second Avenue is up, because it is relatively safe there. Where it is safe, there are riders. The problem, only a tiny part of the city has safe biking.

The amount of money spent on biking is tiny. The 35th street project would have been essentially free. The road was being repaired anyway, and needed to be re-striped.

20

You wrote, "For Kyle, Pedersen's leadership could mean the "watering down" of transportation projects or contributing to "the forces of eternal delay" by questioning each line item on proposed projects. That means making proposed transportation projects lower quality to account for costs and to appease other groups."

OR, perhaps reviewing the overpromised projects in Move Seattle would likely call for reprioritization and more honest cost estimates by SDOT.

Does the Stranger really believe SDOT is doing a good job of project management, considering the 1st Avenue streetcar debacle? Or ordering mismatched streetcars? Or calling 35th Avenue NE a "repaving project"? Or ignoring the needs of pedestrians forced to walk in the mud or in the street?

21

(which most cyclists consider imperfect and inconvenient)

Horrors. Imperfect and inconvenient? As opposed to say the perfect and convenient rights of way for motorized vehicles?

If he manages to kill the colossal waste of money on a silly $200 million First Avenue Street car, I will move to his district just to vote for him. If he could reverse and remove the bike lane on Second Avenue (that made Second Avenue a little worse than "imperfect" and inconvenient" for the vast majority of Seattle residents that use it) he should gain sainthood.


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