Gettin' Around

Water Taxi saves the Commute during Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition

2011-10-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

OK, so maybe the demolition of the Viaduct isn't quite like this (why, oh why can't we import Godzilla to do the job?), but those in Seattle have been feeling the pinch of traffic caused by the closure of the southern section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Since August, King County, the City of Seattle and the State Department of Transportation have been pushing us to look to alternate commute options. Well, since April I've been taking the West Seattle Water Taxi in the mornings, and just added it in the evenings to avoid sitting on a bus on the West Seattle Bridge.

Well, Monday morning, I was joined by 149 other eager riders. The numbers have dropped off somewhat since Monday, likely as people shift commute hours, or find other means, but the numbers are still good. I'm hoping that they stay somewhat high so that the King County Ferry District can add more runs and routes.

Let's face it, taking a boat across the sound is a great way to commute!

Here are the ridership numbers for this week.

Morning commute addendum: After three days of the media crawling all over Seacrest park in the morning, it looks like they've decided we're old news. Not a camera or reporter in sight.

Seattle gets nation's first all-electric Vanpool vehicles

2011-09-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm late in posting this up. You know how life goes. I received this in my e-mail on August 30 and have been meaning to take the, oh, three minutes to actually post it, but have been a slacker.

Nation’s first all-electric-vehicle commuting program kicks off in Seattle
Metro’s electric-vehicle Metropool program debuts at Seattle Children’s Hospital
The nation’s first electric-vehicle vanpools quietly fired up their engines at Seattle Children’s Hospital today, as four Nissan LEAF cars were added to the commute options for Children’s employees as part of King County’s new “Metropool.”
These electric vehicles are joining King County Metro Transit’s vanpool fleet – the largest public vanpool program in the United States.
“Sharing a ride to work is an environmentally healthy way to commute, and Seattle Children’s employees just got greener by signing up for Metro new electric-vehicle vanpools,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “King County is adding alternative fuel vehicles to its fleet, specifically electric vehicles, to cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions.”
Constantine said Metro’s purchase of these cars will enhance what is already one of the cleanest and greenest transit systems in North America. Metro’s Rideshare Operations has committed to purchasing 20 Nissan LEAF vehicles to pilot electric-vehicle technology in a commuter application called “Metropool.” The agency will coordinate the installation of charging stations at major employer sites and multi-modal transportation hubs such as park-and-rides and ferry terminals.
The first phase of the initiative involves Children’s employees using four of the program’s zero-emission cars. ECOtality’s Blink charging stations have been installed on the Children’s campus to support the program.
“Everyday 60 percent of Seattle Children’s staff take alternative commutes to work, many of them in vanpools. Alternative commutes taken by our employees since September of 2009 have kept almost nine million pounds of carbon emissions out of the air,” said Lisa Brandenburg, Chief Administrative Officer at Seattle Children’s. “By adding these zero emission all-electric Nissan LEAF Metropool vehicles to our vanpool program, we will be able to reduce Seattle Children’s carbon footprint even further.”
The LEAF is a 100-percent electric, no gas, no tailpipe, no emissions vehicle with an estimated driving range of 100 miles on a single charge. It seats five people.

Saddle up, Ladies!

2010-09-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Streetfilms has a new video focusing on women who are new to cycling in New York.

Check it out!

Women In Motion: New Lady Riders Reflect on NYC Cycling from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Hat Tip to BikeHugger for this one.

Bike Boxes come to Seattle!

2010-07-27T15:12:00.001-07:00

Do you remember this http://www.streetfilms.org/how-to-use-a-bike-box/? How about this: http://www.streetfilms.org/portland-green-bike-box/?

Well Seattle Cyclists, prepare to move to the front of the queue (well at three intersections) at stop lights in the near future. Seattle will be creating bike boxes at three intersections coming up. One will be in the International district (7th & Dearborn) and two will be on Capitol Hill (E Pine & 12th and where E Madison intersects 12th Ave and Union St).

Hat tip to the Seattle PI Transportation Watch

"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!"

2010-06-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 2000, I took a month-long vacation. On the first day, I stopped off in Eugene, OR to meet up with a gal I met online for lunch at the Saturday Market and a bike ride. She had a sticker on her bike's rear rack with the quote in the title.

Last night, my wife had the video below show up on her Facebook feed:

The video's ending statement got me thinking. When it comes to our environment; the effects of our dependence on oil and our problems with pollution, we focus on cars (or our use of them) as the cause of the problem. Simply stopping driving is not going to solve the problem. It will not magically plug the well that's shooting oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It won't heal or bring back all the marine and avian life destroyed by the spill. It will help lessen the need for the gas and motor oil and tar for roadways that comes from this oil. What of commercial farming that depends so much on petroleum and its by-products for fertilizers (not to mention to fuel tractors for working the farms and trucks to get the goods to market)? What of fishing industries that need to fuel their fleets of boats to bring in their catches? What of our use of plastics and other products made from that same petroleum that we use and dispose without a second thought.

Are we really paying attention?

Are we outraged yet?

More importantly, what are we going to do?

Being aware is good and being moved is better, but without action, they are pretty impotent.

(Word) Portraits of bus riders

2010-04-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

When I get on the bus, I'll often pull out my computer and write while listening to music, or I'll pull out a book and get lost in it. One morning, though, I didn't feel like pulling out my book. I read a few pages in Boneshaker and put it away (I want to stretch it out!). And I wasn't feeling motivated to write (yet). So I sat back and started just observing the ride. I watched the people board, and some caught my eye. Below is a written "portrait" of those who caught my eye in just a glance, or have stood out over time to me.

There's the man across the aisle from me. He's wearing patent leather square toe oxfords with blue jeans (which have the beginning of some holes above one knee). His shirt is white with cuff links securing the french cuffs. He has on a black velvet dinner jacket, trimmed with satin at the collar. The stubble of his light hair is just slightly longer than the two or three day-old beard on his face. He sits and taps away at his iPhone.

There's the woman who boards at the same stop as me. She frequently wears denim jacket with scarf wrapped multiple times about her neck. She always seems to be wearing a skirt, often with funky stockings and a pair of Mary Janes or flat soled boots. Her hair is moderately long and dark, streaked with grey. It's pulled back and bound with a purple hair band. She sits with her cup of coffee, pulls out her cell phone and checks something, puts it away and sits and looks ahead for the rest of the ride in.

The woman in all black. She is a periodic rider. What I noticed about her first was her black, knee-high, lace up, lug soled, black leather boots. Not many women even try to pull that off. She wears all black: jeans, shirt, jacket and baseball cap. Today, she has a splash of color (indeterminate dark one) in the form of the scarf she is wearing. She carries a black canvas handbag with a Tim Burton-esque character on the flap. It looks like the face of a character from The Nightmare Before Christmas. She has narrow black rimmed glasses and wears black eye and lip makeup. Her lip liner making her face look to be in a permanent frown. It makes her look old, perhaps older than she really is. She walks to the back of the bus, and disappears among the other riders

A man gets on with dreadlocks and goatee. His ears are pierced and he wears a do-rag holding his dreads back. The temple piece of his glasses has kind of a vertical ribbing on it. He's in dark denim work pants, boots and a dark red fleece jacket. I can see a dark stiped scarf inside of his jacket. He carries a messenger bag and a ballistic plastic case. He'd drinking from a small, insulated plastic Starbucks cup with what looks to be a child's design on it. He sits quietly drinking from his cup, looking ahead across the aisle to the south. Is he impressed with the view of Mt. Rainier today?

There's the woman in the high-heels. Every day she wears high-heeled boots (thin heels at that) with either tight-legged pants or a skirt with some sort of funky stockings. She also always wears a long wool coat over top of everything. She's traded out her large yellow handbag for something smaller and of a color I can't identify. Her facial features and long, straight dark hair remind me of an early '80's woman rocker before big hair became the fashion; Joan Jett maybe...or Pat Benetar? She is often running to catch the bus before it pulls away from the stop. She sits in the front of the bus plugged into her iPod, nodding to the music and staring blankly off into space ahead as the driver drives.

A man who loads his bike half way up the hill. He leaves his panniers and trunk on the bike's rack. He is wearing rain gear, despite the clear skies. His nylon pants swish as he walks down the aisle of the bus to his seat with a bulky backpack and carrying his sporty yellow helmet.

There is the business woman who boards in front of Starbucks. She wears a long, black wool coat. The belt is tied rather than bucked. Her hair is a moderately short, casual style. She's wearing ear muffs today with a loose band that won't press down on her hairdo. She has a large black leather bag, as well as a Nieman Marcus canvas bag. Under her arm she carries a folded up newspaper. Once she sits down, she pulls out her paper and starts to read. She doesn't hold it right up in front of her face like many people do on the bus, hiding from everyone else. No, she holds it at a fair distance, as if she were sitting in an easy chair at home.

There is the gentleman who reminds me of a rumpled professor or an attorney who is not in it for the money. He's probably in his late 40's to early 50's. He's a little on the heavy side. He wears cotton casual pants with worn leather shoes. Usually a green fleece jacket. He carries a fairly well worn old Eddie Bauer briefcase. His hair is thinning slightly and he has a mottled gray and brown beard. A couple of months ago, he was writing a comedy act in preparation for some event he was going to. He will often sit and jot things in a notebook, or talk with another passenger during the ride.

Bikes for Books!

2010-03-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Saw this post yesterday on Publicola. The Fremont branch of the Seattle Public Library (sponsored by the Fremont Doric Masonic Lodge #2) is running a contest to get kids to read more. For every three books a child (grades 1 - 3) reads, his or her name is entered in a drawing for a free bike, lock and helmet. The drawing will be held on June 5, with one boy and one girl winning.

I think that this is an awesome encouragement to get kids reading, and what better way to start off the summer than with a new bike!

A girl. A bike. A love.

2010-03-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

It started out with tears. When I stepped over my red and silver Jamis Aurora the other day and realized that where there used to be over an inch of space between my tender girl parts and the top tube there was now some negative space - enough to hurt. WTF!? Legs don't shrink. Bikes don't grow. Again - WTF?! The next moment I felt like a traitor as the thought of possibly having to get a different bike rushed through my head. I looked at my trusty little fire engine of a bike (she thinks she's a fire engine- really) and out poured the tears. And I'm not a crier. Not usually anyway - but this whole new bike thing - it's doing me in. I get attached to my bikes. Especially the good ones - the ones who have taken me places I didn't know I could go and let me sing my crazy up hill songs to them as we crawled along at a snails pace - never judging me along the way. The Aurora has been that kind of bike. A good bike. But...

I got sick, had some crazy life shit flung at me and in the process gained 35 pounds that have stuck to me like glue no matter what I do and I am limited in what I can do - that illness again. All this happened since I bought the Aurora. And my feet grew. That's where the shrinkage came about, come to find out. My feet flattened out a size to a size and a half worth and down I went to where my bike's top tube no longer plays nice. Add to that that I still can't go longer than about 20 miles without my wrists screaming in protest. The fit just isn't there anymore. I looked at my bike that fateful day last weekend and cried. Mark came out of the store to see me crying when just before I was all "happy go lucky we're running errands by bike happy". I told him about the top tube and my girl parts having a meeting when they shouldn't have. All those plans I had been dreaming up to try and get the handle bars further back towards me and higher to help the wrists - they seemed pointless now. I covered the outside of the handlebars of my bike as if covering a child's ears and mouthed to Mark, "I might have to look for a different bike." Then I cried some more.

What started out as a simple errand run in our own neighborhood turned out to be a day of riding to one bike shop after another around Seattle. This has continued into the week as well. It took me all day and then some to stop waffling and trying to convince myself I could make the Aurora work. And I had tears stinging my eyes more than not throughout the day.

I experienced a wide range of service too. There was the not listening to me at all type service while rattling off lots of terms that might have been meant to impress me with their lofty knowledge, but didn't. My husband is a bike geek. I can handle all the bike terminology and if it goes to far I start threatening to rattle off all the plants animals and minerals in Latin. I'm a nature geek. I can play ball. I'm also not afraid to call someone on this sort of thing and I can be very blunt while doing so. I whipped that particular salesperson into shape rather quickly when I started asking him to explain terms in detail - and he couldn't, so he shut up and did what I asked and stopped arguing with me.

Then there was the incredible service from a couple shops that deserve mention. Our first stop along the rout last weekend was at Elliot Bay Bicycles - home of the Davidson Hand Built Bicycles and a good stock of various other bikes. Bill Davidson was the one to help me and help me he did. I was still in emotional turmoil and rolling back and forth between trying to make the Aurora work and getting a different bike. The first thing he did after I told him my troubles was look at me and ask me, "Where are your gloves?", and in an almost scolding fatherly voice, at that. I looked at him and told him I wasn't cold, in fact I was sweating! He looked at me a moment doing a damn good job at not shaking his head, rolling his eyes or snorting at me. Then he made me follow him and pointed out the gloves he can't live with out. The kind of gloves that help with wrist pain - the kind of gloves I had up to this point ignored because of my tiny little hands and how uncomfortable they are. Not the kind of gloves meant to keep your hands warm, by the way, but Spenco Ironman gloves that actually were comfortable even two sizes too big.

Bill proceeded to give me my options. He wrote down everything I could do with my current bike to make it better in the mean time and even fixed a couple things right then and there to make the rest of that days ride a little easier. He showed me what to look for in a bike for a better fit and had me test a sporty little Bianchi Brava to get a feel for a shorter top tube length and different handlebars and brakes - and oh those brakes - I was in brake heaven! He put my more comfortable seat on the Bianchi for my test ride too. He did all this without belittling me in any way. Take note, bike shop peoples, THAT is service. If ever I have the funds to pour into a custom bike build - Bill Davidson is my guy.

We were off for an organic lunch at the Fremont PCC before I had my second awesome service experience of the day at Free Range Cycles. I've always liked this bike shop and most often when I have gone in to get something or to look at options or just peruse the latest bikes and gear I've been greeted by some rockin' ladies who know their bike stuff. Those ladies must have stuck the guys on bike shop duty that day and were off riding in the glorious weather, no doubt. But the guys were great too. At this shop I tried out a newer and smaller framed version of the Aurora and then for something completely different, I tried a Soma Buena Vista mixte. This is where the service went from good to great. The Soma had a very long stem on it and the guy helping me went and put a shorter one on it for me so I could get a better feel for the fit of the bike. See? Awesome service. The Soma was a fun ride and it helped me finally rule out the kind of handlebars that I was hoping might make the Aurora more comfortable. I knew I wouldn't want to do longer rides with those handle bars it felt all whacked out in my shoulders. They would be great for the sub 15 miler errand and farmers market runs - but not for the long rolling hill countryside rides that I long for more of. Not for me anyway.

I left Free Range with time to hit one more shop and test a couple more bikes before places were closing up for the day and it was time to make our way back home to West Seattle. One evening this last week I picked up Mark from work and headed to yet another shop where I tested a couple more bikes bringing my total test rides to 7 so far. The best fit up to this point was with a Marin Portofino. I'm keeping it in mind but after a lot of soul searching I'm going to spend some time this weekend looking for a more classic style frame that I could customize just the way I want it and give an old bike new life.

As I finish up this post I am still waiting to hear back about a 80's Peugeot mixtie on Craigslist that caught my fancy. Oh the things I've dreamed up for that bike and I don't even know if it is still available or if it will be a good fit. But somewhere out there the universe has the perfect bike waiting for me and a good home for my trusty fire engine "Bike-Bike" Jamis Aurora.

Bicyclists: Leading our "dance" with traffic

2010-03-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

Following up yesterday's post on commuting by bike, I thought I'd put this up for you all. Keri at Commute Orlando has put together this great 5 minute video on cycling in traffic. It's a great, positive spin on the topic.

Enjoy!

Bicycling in traffic is a dance you lead from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Seattle Likes Bikes for this one!

Bicycle commuting: Getting Started Riding

2010-03-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

Last year, I wrote two posts about getting started commuting by bicycle. The first post looked at it purely from the equipment end of things -- your bike and accessories. The second post looked at the issue more in terms of logistics and practicality. Since then, I've not re-visited the topic of bicycle commuting. With spring around the corner, gas prices creeping past the $3 per gallon mark in Seattle, and the bicycle commuter challenge in Seattle coming up in just a couple of months, it is high time I did.

This post will move from the major planning considerations into actually riding that commute.

First, a note about safety. Reading blogs and news stories (and their comments) online, one common theme is that people feel unsafe riding in traffic. It is true that we mix it up out there with masses of steel weighing many times more than we do on our bikes, but that does not mean it is unsafe. Safe, predictable riding behavior, as well as intelligent route selection helps to reduce the risk a cyclist faces when riding amongst motorists. In 2007, the most recent year in which I could find data, there were 7 cyclist fatalities (reference) in Washington state, as opposed to 567 general traffic deaths, which includes both those in car as well as those not traveling in cars (reference).

Get educated. Find a group that will teach you the ins and outs of riding in traffic. Learn how traffic laws apply to cyclists (take a good deal of time on this, few people, police included, really know this stuff). In Seattle, for instance, the Cascade Bicycle Club offers commuting classes during leading up to and during bike month as a way to help people make the shift to bike commuting. Also in Seattle, Spokespeople meets once a month for a leisurely ride on routes linking various neighborhoods in the city. The goal of these rides is to help riders learn how to move through our streets safely and in a way that allows you to coexist safely with motorists. Look up a local cycling club and see what they offer in the way of training or pointers. Very often clubs will have rides geared for new cyclists which will focus on riding the roads, mixed in with the car traffic.

Use smart route planning. Chances are, the route you take to get to work, whether you drive or bus, is not the best route to bike. In fact, in some places, it may be illegal.

Look to resources that are available through your city or county transportation departments. They often provide cycling route maps.
Use online resources such as MapMyRide or discussion forums from local bike groups to find routes that others have scouted that take you to work. Google has just added a bike layer to their popular Google Maps service. This latest addition, announced yesterday, has the bike blogging community abuzz with excitement (seriously, I've seen no less than a dozen different posts about it in my news reader since Tuesday night!).
Look for bike paths, multi-use paths or bike lanes that take you where you need to go.
Look for parallel side streets along your usual route that provide lower speed or traffic-calmed roadways. In many areas, just one or two blocks off of high-traffic arterial streets there are streets with lower speed limits and lower traffic counts. These streets can be much more of a joy to ride than the arterials. In fact, some communities are creating "Bike Boulevards" out of these roadways to encourage safer cycling and walking.

Find a riding partner with whom you can commute. An experienced bicycle commuter can provide valuable insight on traffic in your area, and the practicalities of getting around by bike.

Now, pick an enjoyable route, dust off your bike, and take a ride. When you're ready, tackle that ride to work!

Community Transit cuts service, raises fares

2010-03-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

So, if we wanted to take the bus to see, say my sister and her family on a sunny summer Sunday this year, we'd be out of luck.

Community Transit, the transit system that serves Snohomish County, is implementing service changes that will cut routes and services beginning in June. Some key points of the plan:

Increase fares 25 cents across the board
Suspend Sunday and holiday service on all routes
Reduce frequency of many routes, including reducing some routes to two round-trips daily!
Start and end many routes at park & ride lots, rather than on city streets
Cut routes, including many that have alternative transit options, or duplicate existing service
Provide $50,000 to local agencies to provide transportation assistance to those in need.

According to the information that Community Transit has provided (linked above), this is in response to a budgetary shortfall, a pretty common problem across all transit systems these days. They also state that they have been trying to avoid service cuts such as these for over two years.

To me, the cuts will not help the overall health of the transit system. It will impact many who can least afford the impact. There are people out there who use the bus to get to work on the weekends. In fact, many in service jobs (which are traditionally are not very high paying jobs) work on weekends. Not all of these people have a car or can afford one.

They are also forcing more cars onto the roads at a time when our roadways are becoming more and more choked with traffic. An early morning run to Boeing is being cut. What are the workers who ride that bus going to do? They'll have to either form vanpools (not always an easy thing to coordinate) or drive themselves.

A quote from another news item about these changes:

“In my 18 years as an elected official, this is the hardest vote I’ve ever had to take,” said board member and Lynnwood City Council President Ted Hikel. “I don’t know anyone on this board or this staff who likes this, but there are realities out there – there just isn’t any money.”

As much as I dislike this news, and think it will only serve to hurt lower-income users of the system, as well as force more people back into their cars, the Frequently Asked Questions make it clear that the board looked hard at alternatives before settling on this as a means to reduce their operating losses. With much of the funding for transit coming out of taxes, the options available are limited without legislative action, and in the current economic climate, anything to eek out more funding through taxes and fees is a hard sell.

ACTION NEEDED - Vulnerable User-friendly language in bill before the Senate

2010-03-04T13:39:00.001-08:00

I received this from Dave Hiller at the Cascade Bicycle Club today:

Dear Mark,

Two weeks ago, we watched as the Vulnerable Roadway User Bill died on the Senate calendar. Today, however, hope is alive. SB 5838 may be officially dead, but the law's language is being kept alive as an amendment to HB 3001.

Lawmakers from every corner of the state need to know you care about this issue.

Tomorrow at 5pm is the final cutoff in Olympia in this year's short legislative session. It's our last chance to pass HB 3001. Developed by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, the bill expands bike and pedestrian safety education in traffic schools for bad drivers. It also includes our Vulnerable User Bill in an amendment.

Please call 1-800-562-6000 today. Ask your senator to vote for House Bill 3001. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the house - let's not let it die, too.

It's too late for an email. Please take a minute to call the legislative hotline and leave this message: "Senator, please support House Bill 3001 and the leadership amendment."

Cascade Bicycle Club is in Olympia, working hard to build support for the HB 3001. We need your help today to get it passed.

Thank you,

Please call the legislative hotline at the number above and encourage your legislators to support the bill AND amendment. It is important to encourage both the Senate and the House to support this bill. If the bill passes in an amended state, it will go back to the House for approval, and the House members need to know how you feel.

The Ups and Downs of Alternative Errand Running

2010-03-01T23:09:00.000-08:00

While on foot one lovely day this weekend, Mark and I had pleasant walk up the hill to run errands. We stopped and smelled (and photographed) the flowers.

Admired the garden sculptures.

Said hello to a crow or two.

And had an other wise happy time.

We went to the library, grocery store and pet store. Very productive with heavy packs to show for it. On the way down we enjoyed the view of Puget Sound and The Olympic Mountains and took a short cut. A quieter little side street, that was significantly steeper. With wet washed aggregate sidewalks. This is where the "Downs" came into play and literally at that. One minute I was looking around with a smile on my face listening the happy chirps of birds and watching plum blossoms float through the air and the next I was attempting the half splits with a loaded backpack. All of my weight and that I was carrying came down on one knee. All the while my other leg tried to continue its impatient journey down the hill. The results?

I was not very happy. Wasn't I too old for scraped knees and severely bruised (thank goodness it wasn't shattered) knee caps?! I sat a while to contemplate this and to get a more even breath back.

Then came the fun part of making my way the rest of the way down the hill - in the road where there was no washed aggregate. (WHO thought this slippery material would be a good choice for steep sloped sidewalks in the very wet pacific northwest?!)

My gaping wounds and pouring blood got me plenty of attention. One young child and his toddler little sister were standing next to the sidewalk a little further along waiting for their dad to finish getting things out of the car. When the little boy saw me coming, maybe 20 feet away or a little more, his face went pale, eyes got big and he yelled out "WHY?" very loudly - he was mortified! The father was trying to get there attention and hadn't seen me yet, as I walked up along side them I mentioned that the boy was a bit preoccupied by my scraped knee. When the dad saw it, he smiled. "Oh, yeah, he just got one of those, himself, recently." Poor kid. The sight of my knee brought the whole experience tearing back into his mind. Maybe a first lesson in empathy? A little further along some other neighbors looked over the fence and offered me band aides. But we were close to home now and I was looking so forward to getting gravel out of my knee and pouring witch hazel over it. Oh, yeah.

Car-free weekend out and about

2010-02-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Maurie and I had our first car-free weekend since before we moved to West Seattle that involved more than just staying home and knocking about our neighborhood all weekend.

This being the first ever Seattle Tweed Ride, and the weather was looking promising, we decided that we'd join in the fun on Sunday. After exploding our closet all over the bedroom, and several plastic storage bins as well, we discovered we had little appropriate for the event. Time to visit some thrift & second hand stores. We'd decided that we really didn't want to get in the car this weekend at all, so we caught a bus into town. We spent Saturday busing and walkning through town, hitting thrift shops, and a second hand shop on Capitol Hill (ironically, a couple blocks away from where we'd meet for the ride on Sunday).

After a fairly exhausting day "off the island", as we tend to view our trips into downtown, we returned home and more or less crashed. Shortening my pants to knickers length will have to wait until morning, as will pulling together food and making the rest of the preparations for the ride.

Sunday morning, we dragged ourselves out of bed shortly before the alarm and began preparations for the ride. I brought the bikes out of the basement, got the picknick blanket and basket. We prepared food and Maurie shortened my pants. We got into costume and wheeled our bikes to the bus stop, arriving with less than five minutes to spare before the bus arrived. We had a good transfer downtown (less than five minutes to wait) and arrived at Cal Anderson Park for the ride half an hour early. People finally started to arrive right around noon, and continued to gather, drinking tea (and other libations), eating snacks and playing games. Among those who showed up were Julian from Totcycle, Tim & Anne from CarFree Days, and Eric from Tubulocity.

Me, "tweeded-up" testing my stability with that huge picnic basket on my rear rack

My dapper bride, posing with her bike

Shortly after 1 when we headed out for the ride itself. North up the length of Capitol Hill and across the University Bridge, then on to Gasworks park where we took a break.

We left the ride here, opting out of the pub stop, to make our way home, via the Seattle waterfront. We made a quick stop at the Fremont PCC to refill water and get some iced tea. While waiting outside, I was noticed by two gals who I worked with in at the state legislature. I must have been quite the sight!

We made our way by bike along Lake Union, and then up through Belltown to the Olympic Sculpture Park, where we rested for a bit looking out across the Puget Sound at the boats and the Olympic Mountains beyond. A deisre for coffee finally rousted us from our chairs and we made our way down the crowded waterfront to a Starbucks. So we didn't have to undo the half mile (hey, it seemed like that) of rope securing the picknick basket to my rear rack, we went in singly to get our drinks. The barista (technically, in this case since we're talking about a make here, shouldn't it be baristo?) had been at the ride until he had to go to work.

We made our way to the bus stop, only to discover that we had a 40 minute wait until the next bus home (really, one hour headways on Sundays for a route that goes to Alki, Metro? What's up with that!). Since it was getting chilly out, we decided to ride home. It was a pleasant ride home, mostly on milti-use path. As we rode along the Elliott Bay shoreline, we really were reminded why we love living here in Seattle so much. The Seattle skyline, the sunset over the Olympics with the ferries crossing the sound in the foreground, the smell of beach fires.

Seattle evening skyline from West Seattle

Seven and a half hours, and a nineteen mile bike ride later, we were home...and ready to crash!

You can read Maurie's writeup on the Tweed Ride here.

New Seattle love on Streetfilms

2010-02-19T21:57:00.000-08:00

Seattle's gotten a bit more love from Streetfilms lately, adding two more videos to the site.

Take a ride to City Hall with Mayor Mike "Bikes" McGinn:

How the city is addressing a particularly troublesome rail crossing in the "missing link" section of the Burke Gillman Trail:

Vulnerable user bill dies without Senate vote

2010-02-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 16, was the cutoff for bills to be passed out of their house of origin. SB 5838 never made it to a vote of the full Senate. It looks like next year Cascade Bicycle Club, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and concerned roadway users will have to take it up again.

On a better note, SB 6302, a bill that would have violated federal funding for the I-90 floating bridge by prohibiting light or other fixed rail transit across it, died in committee this year.

Thought-provoking picture

2010-02-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

I love photos of cyclists going about every day life by bike. This photo from Kabul shows a different side to the city than we hear about in the media. I look at the picture and wonder about the man on the bike. Is he going to or from work? Is he visiting family or his sweetheart. You'd expect to see a photo like this in a park or country-side setting, not in front of a bombed out capitol building in what is still a war-torn area.

What thoughts does the photo bring to your mind?

(Hat tip to Yakota Fritz @ Cyclelicio.us for posting the pic)

Update on the Vulnerable Users' bill

2010-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we received a response from Senator Joe McDermott, the sponsor of SB 5838, to our letter of support for the bill. It appears that the bill is on the fringe of moving from committee to the Senate floor for action.

I'll let the Senator's words provide an update to the status of the bill:

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a Public Hearing on my bill on Tuesday of last week. Yesterday the committee took a vote on the bill in Executive Session. As I type, it is still one signature short of enough to be passed out of committee. I, along with David Hiller of Cascade Bicycle Club and others, are working hard to secure the necessary signature before tomorrow afternoon’s deadline.

Two key things here:

The bill needs one more signature to move it to the floor for action in the Senate
This signature must be obtained today (today, February 5, is the cutoff for bills to be reported out of committees in the chamber of origin. Those that aren't, with the exception of fiscal bills, are considered dead and will not advance).

While there is no word on who has not committed to a position on the bill yet, you can do something. Contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to encourage them to support this bill. Links to the Senate home pages for the members:

Senator Adam Kline
Senator Debbie Regala
Senator Bob McCaslin
Senator Mike Carrell
Senator Randy Gordon
Senator James Hargrove
Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles
Senator Pam Roach

To Senator McDermott: regardless of the bill's status at the end of the day, thank you for advocating for vulnerable roadway users across the state.

(Senator McDermott's reply is only the second response we received to our letter of support. The other was committee chair Senator Adam Kline)

Pedaling Revolution

2010-02-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading Jeff Mapes’ book Pedaling Revolution. The book is a look at how cities are adapting to accommodate cyclists in urban and street planning by looking at selected cities throughout the United States, as well as a few foreign cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Since I’ve started to pay attention to transportation issues, and how cities are accommodating cycling in particular, I’ve been impressed with the strides Portland has made in becoming a cycling city. Mapes takes a hard look at the changes that have been made in Portland, as well as how far the city has yet to go.

His chapter Bringing Kids Back to Bikes was especially poignant. In the chapter he looks at the Safe Routes to Schools program and efforts in Portland schools to gets kids active and riding bikes. He talks of programs to teach kids to ride bikes safely that culminates with a group bike ride in the community surrounding a school. This uplifting section ends back at the school with children being picked up by lines of waiting SUVs.

This chapter hit me because I really believe that to change our transportation systems to embrace more active means of transportation, we need to reach out to and encourage the children. How can we do that when parents look at the bike as a toy and not a “real” means of transportation? I can understand the desire to protect children. After all, that should be a parent’s number one goal. But at what expense? Increasing rates of obesity due to inactivity? Fostering dependence on cars? Undoing the efforts of community minded folks pushing for livable streets?

I grew up in the suburbs with the nearest school I attended (an elementary school) just over a mile away, at the base of a large hill (we lived about 600-700 feet in elevation above the school). Walking and riding my bike to school was not really feasible for me. It wasn’t until I was in the sixth grade that I was allowed to ride my bike to school a couple of times in the spring. It is something that I would have like to have been able to do more frequently. My middle school was farther from my home, along a very busy road, and cycling to school wasn’t an option any longer. By the middle of my sophomore year in high school, I was enamored with driving, and didn’t consider my bike more than a recreational tool. It took me until I was in my 30s to reconsider my view. What will it take to get parents to reconsider their views on bicycles as transportation as opposed to toys?

Police officer confronts driver harrassing cyclists

2010-01-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is from Florida, so the rule may not apply here in WA, but I love this. Props to Cycleicious for the link.

Who are you honking at? from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

Vulnerable user bill in committee January 26

2010-01-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Legislative session is underway and Senate Bill 5838 (the Vulnerable User's bill) has been reintroduced by resolution and referred to the Senate Judicial Committee. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the committee on Tuesday, January 26. I've not been able to find details from the Legislature's web site the time when they will be meeting on Tuesday. It will be in one of the hearing rooms in the John A. Cherberg building on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.

From Dave Hiller's quote in this Publicola post, it looks like there's a chance at a majority yes vote on this bill this time around.

If you want to see this bill advance and possibly get heard on the floor, contact the members of the committee soon!

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are:
Adam Kline
Debbie Regala
Bob McCaslin
Mike Carrell
Randy Gordon
James Hargrove
Jeanne Kohl-Welles
Pam Roach

The web page for each member liked above has a link with which you can send e-mail to the member, or you can look up their e-mail addresses here and send an e-mail to them directly.

Mark's Wish List for Northwest Transportation

2009-12-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

After a break longer than intended, I'm returning to the blog with my wish list for transportation in the Northwest. In the holiday spirit (and for a little fun), I'm writng this as a "letter to Santa Clause."

Dear Santa Clause,

We've been pretty good here in the Northwest. There seem to be more people riding the bus to work and just get around in general. We finally opened our light rail line in King County this year. Passenger rail has improved with the opening of an Amtrak station in Leavenworth, as well as the addition of another run to Vancouver, BC. We also have passed additional plans for light rail going to the Eastside and at least one more streetcar line in Seattle.

All that said, I want to present you with my wish list for Northwest transit. I realize time is short for this Christmas (and let's be honest, some things take time anyway). But if you can see what you can do to get some of these rolling, I think we'd all appreciate it here.

Expand light rail throughout the region by adding new inter-city lines, as well as intra-city lines
In-fill stations to fill the gaps in the existing Central Link line (one somewhere near the Boeing access road would be really appreciated)
Increase feeder lines to the light rail stations
Implement working, grade separated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) where light rail is not feasible and ridership potential warrants the investment
Consolidate the major metropolitan transit agencies in the Puget Sound into one agency with operations specialists in each former agency's service area to improve efficiencies and coordination between agencies, while still maintaining the existing knowledge of local needs.
Develop infrastructure to support transportation alternatives to the automobile (a network of bike lanes/paths, footpaths and multi-use paths)
Improve and increase the safe bike storage capacity at transit centers and park & rides
More bike parking throughout the region
Frequent, high speed passenger & commuter rail on dedicated right-of-ways
Pass a vulnerable users law in Washington similar to that in Oregon

Thank you, Santa, and have a happy holiday season!

Mark

Help pass a Vulnerable User law in Washington!

2009-10-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Cascade Bicycle Club Traffic Justice Summit – Wednesday, October 14 2009, Seattle City Hall

In 2007, the Oregon State Legislature passed the “Vulnerable User” law. In a nutshell, what this law does is to strengthen the penalties against motor vehicle operators found to be at fault in accidents involving “vulnerable users” (pedestrians and cyclists). As we all know, in accidents involving these parties, physics dictates that the motor vehicle will win, and the penalty is high to the loser. Legal codes in Oregon were, as they currently are in many other states, similarly slanted to the favor of the motor vehicle operator. The Vulnerable User law changed that in Oregon by assessing criminal penalties to the at-fault driver when an accident results in severe injury or the death of a vulnerable roadway user (pedestrian or cyclist).

Last legislative session, Cascade Bicycle Club, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and others tried to bring similar change, legal parity and justice to Washington with Senate Bill 5838. The bill never made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In legislative lingo, it “died in committee.” Fortunately, since our legislature is a biennial legislature, any bill that dies in the first year of the legislature, isn’t really dead. When the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate convene the 2010 legislative session, the bill will be revived.

Now is the time to begin planning and working to get Senate Bill 5838 passed and into law.

What you can do:
· Attend the Traffic Justice Summit on Wednesday, October 14 at Seattle City Hall. If you are unable to attend, I’m told that the summit will be aired on the Seattle Channel and available online.
· Know your legislative delegation
· Know who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee
· Call and write your legislative delegation as well as members of the Judiciary committees and encourage them to support this bill. The Legislative hotline can be reached at: 1-800-562-6000.

New digs and up-coming commute change

2009-09-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

I've grumped a bit about my current commute. Well, it's not going to get much better as far as timing. However, there will the possibility for more variety. Come November, Maurie and I will bid farewell to downtown living and move to West Seattle. We'll be very close to Alki beach, with it's wonderful activity and bike path. I'll still need to get into downtown to catch the shuttle to the office, but I can bike to downtown, take the bus, or get to the water taxi and take that across the bay!

Another nice thing, we'll have the kayaks at home again, and with a set of wheels for the boats, we can just roll them down to the beach and shove off! How nice is that?!

Well, that's all for now!

Bicycle-Friendly Lopez Island

2009-09-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

On Sunday of the long weekend, Maurie and I took a trip up to Lopez Island in the San Juans for the day. I'll admit, we took the car and drove around. Call it scouting for future visits (and there will be future visits). We did take our bikes, but with the wind and our wanting to see more of the island and hike around some, we ended up leaving them on the roof rack.

The roof rack brings me to an important piece of advice. If you're travelling by Washington State Ferry, bring your bikes inside your car, lay them down and lash them to the roof, or use a rear-mounted bike rack. The maximum height for vehicles without additional fee is 7 feet, 6 inches. If you go over that, you pay double. That's right, a $33 fare becomes $66. And yes, bikes will put most cars over that limit. Fortunately for us, the woman at the toll booth informed us and asked if we could get the bikes in the car or do something to lower the height to under the limit.

The ferry issue aside, Lopez was wonderful. The island is definitely a bike-friendly place. First, the roads are nice rolling roads with low speed limits. I think the maximum speed limit on the island is 35, but most drove 25-30. So much to see, and no need to rush around. Drivers all give cyclists room when they pass and there are bike racks everywhere! The racks are not all your run of the mill four or five bike rack, but some ar build to hold 30+ bicycles! Lopez Kayak and Bicycle (I think I got that correct) has build several wooden racks and placed them at parks and throughout the island at places one would be inclined to stop for a bit. We also discovered a map of the island put out by the Bicycle Alliance of Lopez. The front side is a map with some popular stops, the back has the parks and stops listed with a short write-up on them. It was very helpful to us in deciding where to visit.

We'll be back to Lopez sometime soon. There were lots of bays and coves in which to paddle our kayaks, and lovely terrain for cycling. Maybe come April, I'll ride the Tour de Lopez!

My new job...an adventure in transit

2009-09-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

I started a new job yesterday. I'm now working the help desk for a health care organization. When I was called to come in for an interview, I was excited. I mean, the organization has the naming rights to a velodrome, they sponsor a women's cycling team for women on staff, and they have been sponsors of Bike to Work day here in Seattle. What better place for a cycling nut?

For all that, cycling access to the administrative campus is pretty lacking. Sure, there's the Green River Trail, which lets out onto Interurban Ave about a mile away. But that mile from the trail to the office, is along a narrow, winding road, that just happens to lose any sidewalks for about half a mile, and all shoulder for about 200-300 yards...around a curve. I watched several tractor-trailer combos rubmle down this road yesterday. So, that's out...

So, if I don't want to drive myself, that leaves transit or carpool/vanpool. Metro has an agreement with my employer to allow use of buses bound for South Base as a shuttle. These run quite frequently, until just before 8 am. My shift starts at 9, so taking a shuttle puts me there 30-45 minutes early! That's the most reasonable transit option, timing wise. Since my shift ends at 6, coming home looks to be worse. The last shuttle to Seattle leaves at 5:30. I can walk 1.3 miles to a Park & Ride and catch the 150 to downtown. I did that yesterday and got home at 7:15 (after leaving the office at 6:02). Or, I could wait 25+ minutes for a bus to the Rainier Beach Link station, and take the train. This will get me home, oh, about 7:15.

What's aggrivating to me, is when the Link was put in, it was routed along the south end of Boeing Field, and then south to Tukwila International Blvd., along an industrial corridor with scattered office complexes. From Rainier Beach to Tukwilia International, there are no stops. None to service Boeing (I mean come on, one of the region's major employers, and Sound Transit couldn't have put a station in for them?); not further down East Marginal Way for other businesses!

So, now I'm left with adventures in transit to get home

Slow posting

2009-08-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

Once again, I've fallen behind in my updates. I'm back into job hunt mode after my contract ended at the end of July. Lots to write about, and I'll try to get back to updating more frequently.

Bikeshare demo in Seattle

2009-08-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

Last week, we walked down to the South Lake Union Discovery Center to check out the Bikeshare demo being put on by Metro.

I'm really very excited about the prospect of a bikeshare in Seattle. I've seen a lot about the City Bike program in Copenhagen and Vélib in Paris. In the past couple of years, we've started to see these programs start up in the US.

At today's demo were three systems (I guess that's what you'd call them): B-Cycle, Bixi, and the Bikeshare Program. Each of the systems has an "open cockpit design" bike which can be checked out for point-to-point, or round-trip travel. Fare structure would be set by the "owner" of the program. In the case of Seattle by Metro and the city.

Looking at the bikes, I was most impressed with the B-Cycle bikes, followed closely by the Bixi bikes (I preferred B-Cycle's closed basket, and liked the handlebars better than Bixi's). The Bike Share Group's system has a more protected storage mechanism than the others. It shows that they are the local guys, knowing how bikes need a little more protection from the elements in our damp Northwest weather. This means that their bikes have more points of adjustment to get the bike ready to ride. This is both a benefit and a drawback. It's a benefit in that you can adjust the bike to better suit your size (by adjusting both seat and handlebar height), whereas the others only allow for the seat adjustment. The drawback lies in that there's more to do to get the bike ready to ride. All bikes are equipped with fenders and lights that are powered by a dynamo hub. Bixi and B-Cycle have spoke guards that allow riders to wear long coats or skirts without worrying about them getting caught up in spokes.

I can see a bike share being a wonderful addition to our growing list of transportation options. It would be great to see bikes stationed near transit stations as well as downtown. Even though I will often bike places, I can see using such a system when I've started out by foot or transit, but decide I'd like to ride somewhere a bit out of the way of the transit line I'm using.

With the hills in Seattle, a key to making this really work will be to ensure that bikes don't end up all at the bottom of the hills. Paris has a crew that is constantly redistributing bikes to ensure that there's sufficient availability. Seattle will have to mimic this sort of arrangement. Another thing that will need to happen is a repeal of the mandatory helmet law in Seattle. The target market for bike shares (tourists, casual riders, and those who wouldn't ordinarily ride) are not likely to have a bike helmet with them, and the idea of sharing a helmet from a communal pool is not too sanitary. Mandatory helmet laws are said to be a barrier to people cycling, and it certainly would be a barrier in the community embracing a bike share in Seattle.

First ride on the Link

2009-07-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

**No pictures yet. I'll add some once I've uploaded them from the camera**

Saturday brought a surprise for Maurie and me. Our first ride on the new Central Link light rail line. We'd gone down to Pike Place to look for something, but after being in the crowds for a bit, we didn't really want to go back into a hot apartment with all the noise from the Seafair Torchlight Parade going on that evening.

We ended up going down into the transit tunnel (feels weird not calling the bus tunnel any more!) I was hoping to get a look at a Link train. But none were at the platform. Maurie says I was a bit crestfallen at that. While we were on the mezzanine, one did pull in. We looked down on it, and Maurie suggested taking the train for a ride. So, off to figure out how to do the payment and ride.

One of the Sount Transit folks told us I could just tap my ORCA card to the reader, and Maurie just needed to show her Puget Pass if asked. So, we boarded and headed south to Tukwila station.

The ride was very nice. Quite quick to get down through Seattle. We left Westlake station at about 6, I think, and the southbound train was full. No vacant seats, and a lot of people standing. As we went south, nuturally, it thinned out some. But by the time we reached Tukwila station, there were still plenty of riders.

We de-boarded at Tukwila, thinking we'd have to move over to the other track for the northbound train. There was no indication that the train we just arrived on would just reverse direction from its place in the station. So, after looking for a bathroom (and finding one open porta-potty that badly needed service), we got on what we thought was the next northbound train.

We rode back north to Columbia City where we got off the train to see a movie. The first thing we noticed when we got off the train was that in the small park next to the station was a sign listing what was nearby...restaurants, cinema, shops, a market, etc. Maurie had been commenting on the ride north that something like this would be very helpful for riders.

As we walked through Columbia City, we noticed that the business district was still fairly lively. Several folks walking the street, a few businesses still open, lots of restaurants and bars open. In nearly every window was a poster welcoming Link riders. Most every business had a special for people who show their ride ticket or ORCA card. For example, the Columbia City Cinema offers $2 off adult tickets in the evening (I can't remember what they were for matinee showings).

We dropped into the Columbia City Alehouse for an appetizer and beer and then walked the neighborhood until our 9:40 movie.

After the movie, we caught a 12:30 train back to Westlake. This train had a handful of other riders. The south-bound trains out of Seattle were more full with people leaving the city.

We really enjoyed the ride. It will make it so much easier to get to points south of downtown. A couple of observations:

Bathrooms at the stations need to be better maintained (only porta-potties at one? what's with that?)
Fare/payment system is confusing. Require every rider to obtain a ticket from the ticket vending machine. And fit them to read Puget Passes!
The art work at the stops is awesome! It really makes the stops more inviting.

All in all, I'm glad we had the unplanned evening out on the train, especially since I turn in my ORCA pass on Friday at the end of my current contract.

Successful Link Opening Weekend

2009-07-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I've still not ridden the new Link light rail in Seattle, so I don't have much I can say about it. However, on Sunday as we headed to the coast for day relaxing on the beach, we did see a couple of trains running along I5 (one north-bound, one south-bound) and both looked packed to standing room only. It may have been a weekend of free rides, but it looked promising. Reports are 92,000 riders over the weekend. I've still not seen ridership reports for Monday, but I'm confident that while reports are that they were low, that they'll grow as we get used to having light rail, and development happens around the lines, we'll see those numbers go up.

Seattle Tranit Blog has been all over opening weekend, and is following the latest on it.

Ecotopia

2009-07-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

I first read Callenbach's book Ecotopia for my Basic Inquiry class at Lewis & Clark College my freshman year. At the time, I was 18 and fresh out of the suburbs. I was ideallistic, when it was convenient (which wasn't too often). Not much of the book stuck out to me, except that most of us (all freshman from predominantly suburban backgrounds) thought it was a cool idea, but wholly unworkable. I read it again in 2001, only to find myself seeing a little more "hey, that's cool" in it, but it didn't strike me as much.

Now, nearly 20 years after reading it for the first time, I just finished reading it for the third time. Having spent the last year really thinking sustainability, a lot more stood out to me.

The transporation system put forth by Callenbach in Ecotopia really stands out. In the book, the country has virually banned internal combustion engines and private car ownership. Intercity tranportation is facilitated by a widespread Mag-Lev rail network. Small city groupings spring up around major rail hubs, branching out like spokes on a wheel (or so I envision it). Tanporation within cities is predominantly foot, bike, and public tranport via electric minibuses.

I think the first two times I read the book, I was still in a car-centric frame of mind. When I read the chapter on trasportation, I realized that this is close to a reality I'd really love to see. I'm not in favor of outright banning cars. They are useful, and even necessary for some people. However, I'd like to see more options and infrastructure to make not taking a care a whole lot more convenient and accessible.

What can you do on your commute?

2009-07-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

Just looking up from the computer as the bus wisks me to work this morning, I noticed the following happening:

Woman across the aisle from me knitting
Several people reading books & magazines
Friends holding conversations
One or two people taking a nap
People working on their laptops (doing stuff for work? Blogging? Reading web comics?)
People reading books & magazines
Some just staring out the window at the traffic, water, birds, mountians, etc

What do you do on your commute? Today I'm blogging and listening to music.

Opening Weekend for Link

2009-07-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

In case you've missed it (and if you live in or around Seattle, I'm not sure how you could have), The Link light rail line from downtown to the airport will open on Saturday. Sound Transit has details on the opening here. The folks over at Seattle Transit Blog have been counting the days to this, and I have to say that Ben and company really seem ready to party as a result of the long-awaited opening.

There will be free rides all weekend. Be prepared for long lines and crowded platforms and trains all weekend. Also, there are no round-trip rides. To give everyone a chance to ride, once you get to one end, you have to get off the train and get back in line. There will also be shuttles running the route if you don't want to wait in line again.

Personally, I think I'll be waiting to take my ride on Link until after the festivities

Why can't it be like this?

2009-07-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

I found this video on YouTube the other day, and it makes me long for days I never even knew!

It does bring back memories of my cycle tour in Europe in '86. In particular it reminds me a bit of the first day of cycling. We were riding Nantes to Angers (in France). We had a headwind and none of us had been on our bikes for a couple of weeks. Only two of the students on the tour made it all by bike, the rest of us ended up on a train for part of the way. It was great. The French train system accepted our bikes with no additional charge and we didn't have to stow them in a baggage car. Once on, we were able to have a glass of wine as the countryside whipped by on the way to Angers.

I wish that we still had an extensive rail system in the United States, and that it was convenient and inexpeinsive to take our bikes on the train to a destination.

Ah, well, I'll just watch the video again and dream...

King County Water Taxi ridership record

2009-07-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the shuttle to the Overlake Transit Center, I heard that the King County Water Taxi set a new ridership record for June. Total passengers transported by the service in June were 33,865. This is up 12% from the 30,046 passengers carried in June 2008.

The newsbit on the radio attributed the increase to people coming from West Seattle for Mariner's games. OK, so I can understand wanting to avoid the traffic and parking near Safeco Field, but is that really the reason? How about it's a great way to get to and from West Seattle from Downtown (or is it the other way around?)

So far, the service has carried 85,784 passengers. Not bad for three month's worth of service.

Next year, the Water Taxi will begin running year-round.

Click for Schedules for the Water Taxi.

You can take your bike on the Water Taxi for no additional charge.

There are also free Shuttles from the West Seattle dock to Alki, the West Seattle Park & Ride, and West Seattle Junction (among other stops).

Cycling Friendly Cities

2009-07-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

I came across this video today. The resolution on the YouTube version is poor. If you'd like to see a higher resolution version, you can find the video podcast (for iTunes users and those with m4v players) here.

What I appreciate about this is the effort that cities have put to make their cores livable areas; taking the emphasis away from motorized mobility, and putting it on human-powered mobility.

Veer -- the review

2009-07-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday (June 2), Maurie and I went to see Veer. As mentioned below, the showing was a benefit for the Major Taylor Project, which is a project of the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation.

We arrived at the Columbia City Cinema shortly before 8:30 for the panel discussion. The panelists for the discussion were David Hiller (Advocacy Director at Cascade Bicycle Club), Willie Weir (bicycle touring travel author and columnist for Adventure Cyclist magazine), Davey Oil (BikeWorks and The Bikery), Erica Barnett (Publicola.net and formerly The Stranger), and Greg Fredette (the filmmaker). The discussion covered topics from legislation to the demographics of cycling, to the overall cycling culture. Much of what they discussed related directly to the film. Those of us who were there for the 9:30 showing were at a bit of a disadvantage as far as knowing what they were talking about.

One observation about the panel discussion; although the theater in which we were viewing the film and holding the discussion, it was difficult to hear. Some sort of PA would have made it easier to hear the discussion. Also, and this is a hazard of wooden floors and an abundance of cyclists, it was impossible to for many to walk through the theater quietly. It wasn’t the fault of the individuals; it was their cycling cleats on the wood floor!

The movie is fantastic. The trailer barely touches on how good it is. The film maker did not simply follow five individuals who are active in Portland’s bicycling culture, but he showed how the facets of the bicycling community, no matter how different, all contribute in a real positive way to the health and vitality of the culture as a whole. We followed Scott Bricker of the Bicycle Transportation Association as he lobbied for Oregon House Bill 3314 in 2007, seeing it to passage and signed by the governor; one of Portland’s famous (infamous?, notorious?) “Zoo Bombers”; Scott, founder of Exchange Cycle Tours as his organization packs up to move out of one location, and the search for a new location and finally the grand opening in a new location which has been underserved in terms of cycling accessibility; A staff member and cycling educator from the Community Cycling Center as he runs an after-school bike club for elementary students; and finally one of the founding members of the Sprokettes “mini-bike synchronized dance team.”

I walked out of the theater with a real strong sense of how closely tied all these aspects of the cycling community are, and how they fed and fuel others. Rather than rant and rage about what the others are, or are not, doing, those profiled seemed to really see the positive in what the others were doing; the Sprockettes and Zoo Bombers bring an aspect of pure, unadulterated fun (and possibly insane adrenaline) to cycling, the BTA really focuses on the policy aspect and the ECT and CCC at getting others into cycling.

Another thing I really appreciated is that the film showed interactions with the police, for the most part, in a positive light. No aggressive confrontations, no bashing—just an acknowledgement of the job the police have to do.

There were also some poignant moments of the film: the final field trip and graduation for the bike camp kids; the aftermath of a break-in at the Community Cycling Center and the Portland Ride of Silence.

The film was truly outstanding. I don’t know how the filmmaker plans to distribute it, whether in DVD only, if he plans to continue to tour it for viewings in various cities, or what. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend making the effort to do so. If there’s no city near you that is listed in their screenings, contact them from the form on the website, and see what you need to do to arrange one.

Cascade Farmer's Market Ride

2009-06-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

It was a 1.25 mile bike ride from our apartment in Belltown to the new Cascade Farmer's Market over in South Lake Union . Along the way I rode some on side walk, some with traffic and some in actual bike lanes. The more I ride in this area the more I realize the need for more bike lanes - on Denny for instance. I arrived at the north entrance of the Market and walked my bike through to the south entrance, where after not having seen a bike rack yet, I asked the volunteers where the nearest bike rack was. They didn't know. They thought there must be one someplace near the Cascade P-patch or around the park. I walked through the area, then through the back of the p-patch to the road on the other side and still hadn't found one. I made my way south and east again along the sidewalk back towards the volunteers. It was from this approach that I spied a bike rack on the south side of the intersection they had been at. I locked up and headed back into the farmer's market. (You can read more about the market experience itself soon at This Northwest Life.)

After browsing and purchasing a few things I finished up by taking pictures and stopping to talk with someone at the Farmer's Market Booth. I asked them, too, if they knew where more bike racks were and they didn't , but guessed there would be some near REI. I pointed out that this was something cyclists visiting the market might want to know and he agreed it would be good to have that information.

I unlocked my bike and did a ride around several different blocks to find that the next nearest bike racks were across the street from REI. There are three along that road, all able to hold two bikes each. They were half full at around 4 pm. I figure they will fill up more in the evening when people are coming to eat at the local restaurants. With the market running till 7 pm I hope there will be enough bike spaces for everyone - once the market gets better known I wonder if there will be. Many of the restaurants in the area don't have any bike racks nearby at all.

I have to admit I was surprised to not find bike racks at the Cascade play area. Maybe they were hidden somewhere?

For Mark and I, cycling would be the main way we would get to the South Lake Union neighborhood, possibly combining bikes and the street car. At this point we won't find many places to safely lock our bikes while we are there. There is a serious need for more bike racks in the area, especially with a new Farmer's Market to come to and an increasing number of interesting restaurants.

The Tour comes to Seattle!

2009-06-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

No, not the Tour de France! The Tour de Fat!

The folks at our favorite national sustainable brewery, New Belgium Brewing, who love cycling so much they named a beer for it, is bringing Tour de Fat to Seattle on Saturday, August 8.

The event will be held at Gasworks Park and will include a bicycle parade, beer garden, a general celebration of all things cycling and the presentation of a brand new bicycle to one lucky person who agrees to give up his car in favor of a bike for a full year!

New Belgium Brewing donates everything for the event, and it's free two attend, with two exceptions: there's an entry fee for the parade and you have to buy your own beer. All proceeds, however, go to the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and Bikeworks.

The Bicycle Alliance is looking for volunteers to help with the event. You can even enter to be the lucky winner of the new bicycle!

Hope to see everyone there to celebrate cycling. Oh, if you go, be sure to click the link to the Tour de Fat site, and read the "10 Commandments of Tour de Fat"!

Veer, the movie Thursday, June 25 @ Columbia City Cinema

2009-06-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about this! The evening of Thursday, June 25 Cascade Bicycle Club is hosting two viewings of Veer, the movie. Showings are at 6:30 and 9:00 PM. In between showings (at 8:30) is a talk with the film maker (Greg Fredette), David Hiller (Advocacy Director at Cascade Bicycle Club) and others.

The viewing is a fundraiser for Cascade's Major Taylor Project.

Here's the trailer for the movie:

More details on the Calendar at Cascade Bicycle Club's website.

There is a bike check next door to the cinema for $3. Ride your bike or take the bus (Metro's #7 goes there from downtown).

Something to get you excited for Link!

2009-06-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

I found the video below on Streetfilms last week. It adds to my excitement for the opening of the new Link line running from downtown to the airport.

The Seattle Transit Blog also covered the opening of this line in January and February.

I've been excited for Link to come to Seattle for some time. Tacoma's had their line up and running for a few years now, but the community that could really use a ton of help with transit options, has been without a large-scale light rail option. Now, in less than a month, it will be a reality here. Don't get me wrong I like both the monorail and the South Lake Union Street Car, but their service is really limited in scope.

A couple of things stood out to me about the Phoenix system:

From its beginning it links three cities (including two university campuses)
Ridership exceeded expectations from the beginning
The line has become a magnet for urban development

I'm hoping that Seattle will embrace Link the way that Phoenix has. I've been in the Puget Sound area for 30 years now. In that time, I've seen our traffic get worse, and relief slow in coming. The creation of Sound Transit helped start us on the way to fixing that. Now I look forward to expansion of Sound Transit's service through light rail to really help change the way we look at our mobility and our cars.

I'm confident that once Link goes to the U-district and finally to the Eastside we will see a real transformation of the way we travel through our region.

Thank you for not driving!

2009-06-20T21:49:00.001-07:00

We saw this sign in the window at Free Range Cycles in Fremont today while we were visiting the Fremont Fair and Solstice Parade. I wanted to shout out "Your Welcome!" when I saw it.

The Fremont Fair always makes trying to drive through Fremont even more of a mess than usual. To help people get to and from the fair, not only did Metro have the usual bus routes running through Fremont (well, at least they did when the parade wasn't going), but they added a shuttle service (PDF link) to the event today. Cascade Bicycle Club even got on the "don't drive to the Fair" bandwagon and had two rides going to the see the parade.

We caught a shuttle this morning at Dexter & Denney. It was the second shuttle to depart the stop after we arrived. The one we didn't get on, as well as the one we did, were filled to standing room only. It reminded me of playing "sardines" in middle school!

We were dropped off at the south side of the Fremont bridge and walked across into Fremont. We'd opted not to ride our bikes becuase we knew that it would be wall-to-wall bikes, with them locked to anything and everything reasonably solid. We were right. It seemed like every railing, street sign and fence had a number of bikes locked to them (sorry no picture, when we thought of taking one, we weren't near a good spot, and when we were, well, I forgot). Unfortunately for most of the cyclists, I believe Hal Ruzal would have given them pretty poor marks on thier bicycle locking (see here, here, and here to see why).

The highlight of the day was definitely the community-organized, human powered Solstice Parade, complete with its contingent of cyclists. Hmm...I wonder if any of them joined the Cascade ride to the parade...

Preparing to commute by bicycle

2009-06-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I discussed preparing to commute by bicycle from a purely equipment-oriented point of view. While having the right gear for commuting is important, especially when your commute gets longer, there are other factors to consider when deciding, ultimately, to start your cycling commute.

How long is your commute?

This will be critically important in your decision of whether or not to ride to work. Logically, the longer you have to ride, the less realistic it might be for you to actually do so. This could be due to the sheer distance you’d need to ride each way, or perhaps due to time constraints before or after work.

Will you mix your ride with other modes of transportation?

This goes hand-in-hand with the consideration of how long your commute really is. A very long commute can easily be done by a combination of cycling and transit use. In fact, many cyclists do just that.

Is there a secure place to lock your bike?

You probably lock your car when you park it, wouldn’t it make just as much sense, if not more, to lock up your new, ultralight, easily carried-off vehicle? Does your place of business have good bike racks or another means of storing your bike securely? Do you work in an environment in which you can bring your bike into your office?

Are there showers or locker rooms?

Most businesses would probably frown upon you going through the day in your cycling gear. Does your place of business provide a place for you to clean up and change into your work clothes? Is there a place you can hang up wet clothing to dry after riding in wet weather?

I’ve cycled to work off and on since 2001. Each place I’ve worked has provided facilities for me to change, there’s been secure storage for my bike and even a place to hang up wet gear. Unfortunately, not every place of business will be able to make such accommodations available. If your place of business doesn’t, don’t give up. Look around for alternatives. There are facilities for cycle commuters popping up in cities all over. Seattle has Bikestation downtown. For a modest membership fee, you have access to secure bike storage and a locker room. There’s even a bike shop to perform repairs on your bike while you’re at work. Chicago has a similar facility as do other cities.

What do I need to start bike commuting?

2009-05-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is something I've wanted to post for quite some time, and with May being Bike to Work Month, what better time.

What makes a good bike for commuting? What equipment do you absolutely need?

Really, some of this is purely subjective and personal opinion. There are a few things that are absolute necessities, and the rest really are up to you.

The necessities

A bike - OK, OK. I know you're sitting there thinking "Tell me something I don't know, Mark." Yes, I am telling you that you need a bike. But here's the good part: It doesn't matter what kind of bike you have! You want to ride a titanium frame racers? Great! A dual-suspension downhill mountain bike? Good for you. A 1950's beach cruiser? Cool! As long as you are comfortable riding the bike, ride what you want, even if it's a Radio Flyer tricycle (go for it, I dare you!). Make sure the bike fits you well, is comfortable and in good working order. I recommend caution with department store bikes. Some brands you will find at department stores use lower level components which are not easily exchanged or upgraded. Other brands, however, can be upgraded with new parts. If in doubt, take a cyclist friend with you.

A helmet - In my mind, this is a non-negotiable item. You have insurance for your car, consider this your very inexpensive insurance policy against head injuries. A helmet is not the magic force field that will keep you from sustaining any injuries, but it can protect you from potentially serious injury that will ruin your day, commute, and possibly much more. You can get a decent helmet for the price of a tank of gas for the average car these days. It's well worth it.

Lights - Unless you are able to commute both directions in daylight (and when it's not dark and stormy), this is probably a non-issue. But for most of us, we're not that lucky. Lights are a must in twilight hours, not to mention in the flat out dark. You should have a good bright white light for the front, and at least one red light in the back (preferably one that can be set to flash or trace to be better noticed). A recommendation I've seen is to have two lights up front; one bright fixed beam and one flashing LED. The flashing lights are supposed to draw a driver's attention to the fact that you exist. Remember, many cities/counties/states will require lights between dawn and dusk, or longer.

Basic repair tools - Patch kit, allen keys, spare tube tire irons and an air pump (make sure it's appropriate for the valves on your tubes). Having these things with you, and knowing how to use them, will allow you to get yourself going again quickly after a breakdown. Forget them, and you may find yourself hoofing it to the nearest bus stop, or the intersection to call a taxi.

Something to carry your stuff - Backpack, messenger bag, rack and panniers, basket on the front or back of the bike, trailer. Really, it doesn't matter. There are many, many options out there. Look for what you like and go for it. Many backpacks, panniers and messenger bags are now made to be truly waterproof, not just coated nylon; definitely consider these if you ride in wet regions and need to buy something new. If you already have something you'd like to use, you can always pack your books, clothing, laptop, whatever, in plastic sacks inside of your existing carrier to keep it dry. Be aware that whatever you choose to carry your stuff may affect your balance and the over all ride. If you can test options out with your typical load it will help you decide how to carry your stuff.

Lock - Unless you have a place that provides secure storage for your bike, you'll want a good lock. Invest in a heavy-duty (and heavy) U-lock such as those made by Kryptonite. Cable locks and light chains are easily cut, but the hardened steel on the U-locks is much more difficult to cut, and is also quite resistant to prying/jimmying.

Knowledge of traffic laws applicable to cycling - Most are the same as the rules that apply to motorists, but there are some differences. Know them and follow them. You CAN be given a ticket for breaking them.

Optional
Special clothing - You can ride in your work clothes. In fact, if it's a short ride, it may be preferable. If you have a longer ride, you might want to set aside clothing dedicated for your rides. You don't have to buy the fancy spandex stuff, a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and sweatshirt work fine in most cases.

Rain Gear - Well, here in Seattle, this may need to be in the necessities section, but if you're a fair-weather commuter, you may be able to get away without it. Again, you don't need anything fancy, just something to keep you dry from the outside, and preferably something that vents well to keep you dry on the inside as well.

Fenders - These are great to keep the road muck off your clothing in the rain and wet. If you choose to commute in your "street clothes" these may move more into the necessity range (you may not want to go into that business meeting with the skunk-stripe of mud and road muck up your back), but if you have separate riding clothes and you change at work, you may not want these.

Water bottle or "hydration system" - A ride of just a few blocks probably won't require this, but it's always good to have something to satisfy your thirst as you ride. For longer commutes, it will become more of a necessity.

Really, in the end you don't need a whole lot to get going. Many of the requirements can be found at very reasonable cost. And while new gear is shiny and looks good, it quickly starts to look like the used stuff. Consider picking up used gear where ever possible. You'll save a bit of money and help reduce waste by filling out the useful life of something someone no longer wishes to use. A well maintained bicycle can have a very long useful life!

Now, size up what you have and determine what else you need and start riding!

Coming events - Week of May 18, 2009

2009-05-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of events are happening this week that you may be interested in.

Intro to Bike Commuting: It's how we roll
This is a free class offered by the Cascade Bicycle Club to help you get ready to begin commuting by bicycle. Covers traffic laws, basic equipment and strategies for commuting.
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 from Noon to 1 PM
Location: King County Chinook Building, 401 5th Ave, Seattle 98104, Rm 123
Website: http://www.cbcef.org/bike-commuting-resources.html

Ride of Silence
Free lesiurely ride in honor/memoriam of those injured or killed cycling. This is a slow-paced ride in which riders are to keep together. Black or red arm bands are encouraged, as is spreading the word through facebook, twitter and other social media.
Seattle ride info:
Date/Time: Wednesday May 20, 2009 from 6:30 to 8:00 PM
Location: Gasworks Park
Cascade Bicycle Club link & ride info: http://cascade.org/EandR/Activities_Calendar_Detail.cfm?eventID=12267
Main Ride of Silence Website (contains information for national rides): http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php

Opening day for the Water Taxi

2009-04-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Travelling to West Seattle from the waterfront is about to get easier again. The Water Taxi will start its season on Sunday, April 5.

All day on Sunday, you can ride for free between downtown and West Seattle. There will be music and events at Seacrest Park from noon until 2:00 pm, give aways, a drawing for an Argosy cruise, and an opportunity to meet the King County Ferry District board (as well as neighbors and local business owners).

The service is being re-branded as the King County Water Taxi, instead of keeping the Elliot Bay Water Taxi name.

More information can be found at: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/water-taxi/kcwt.html.

Don't miss the boat on Sunday!

Surfin' while I'm ridin'

2009-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday morning as I boarded the 545 to go to work I noticed a logo next to the door. Apparently, my bus had WiFi access.

In five trips since I noticed the logo, only once has there not been WiFi access (twice the bus hasn't had the logo, once it did have wireless, once it didn't.

Sound Transit has started a pilot project to provide WiFi on select express routes and on the Sounder. According to the web page about the pilot, the most common routes to find WiFi are the 545, 522, and 577.

I've got to say, it's a nice addition to the commute. I'm sure many of my fellow riders appreciate it too, given the number of laptops I often see open each ride!

Community Transit in Snohomish county has been offering the service since Autumn 2005 (see the press release here)

Back on the bus again!

2009-03-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm working on a contract for the next few months, it's back to commuting. Today marks day three that I've been riding Sound Transit from downtown Seattle to the Eastside for work. I've got a 10-15 minute (depends on how much energy I have at the time) walk to and from bus stops, but it's a good commute. Yesteday I sat on the bus while we were stopping and going and not having to worry about anything but what I wanted to.

Nice...now if I could just find a cup of coffee before leaving the apartment!

Bicycling: A Sustainable Choice

2009-02-18T23:27:00.000-08:00

Attention all bicycling enthusiasts!

Friday, February 27, 2009 at the Seattle Central Library downtown Cascade Bicycle Club is hosting the next in their presentation series.

The event will be from noon to 1 PM in the Microsoft Auditorium.
The speaker will be Niels Tørsløv--Director, Traffic Department Technical and Environmental Administration for the City of Copenhagen

More details can be found here.

This is one not to miss for a glimpse at what we can do to promote cycling in our city.

Funding new ferries with tourism dollars

2009-02-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

In reading the sound off on an article on the Seattle PI website, I found a reference to this topic. It seems that a handful of state senators have realized that in addition to being a vital piece of the state highway system (let’s be honest, it’s the only road onto some of the islands in the Puget Sound, and considerable time-saver to get back and forth to the Olympic Peninsula from the Central Puget Sound area), it is also a very popular tourist attraction. Based on this realization, they have introduced Senate Bill 6005 this week.

I’ve read the bill, all 7 pages (small as fiscal and transportation bills go) of it. The bill would tap tourist revenue such as stadium and exhibition hall funding to pay for the replacement of ferries in counties with over one million residents. To be honest, a lot of the technicalities went a bit over my head and I don’t fully understand the entire thing. It appears to me, though, that the bill will tap currently unallocated tourist dollars in these counties to fund ferries. In counties like King County, with two stadiums to pay off from these funds, the money won’t be touched until the current obligations are paid, and then the money will be allocated to paying principal and interest on the purchase of new ferries.

I hope that this bill goes before the Senate Transportation committee soon so I can see a bill analysis that explains the details in more layman’s terms.

From what I understand of the bill right now, I do have some concerns:

Will it divert funding from existing tourist attractions such as museums, parks, galleries, and other publicly funded tourist facilities?
There is a potential imbalance in funding the ferry purchase; what if one county has over one million residents and taps that funding, but a county at the other end of a ferry line from it does not, it would seem that the larger county pays the entire bill, and the smaller county reaps the benefit.
Is this a replacement or supplement to Department Of Transportation funding for the replacement of the ferries?

In the end, we’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.

Metro Transit expands bike loading downtown

2009-02-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

Maurie saw this rider alert yesterday while on the bus. Starting February 7 (hey, that's today!), cyclists can load and unload their bikes at any bus stop in the downtown area, during off-peak hours only. Metro is also allowing bike load and unload at any stop in the transit tunnel, whenever it's open. During peak commute hours, however, cyclists will still be limited to loading and unloading their bikes at the first and last stops in the ride free area. I'd love to see this change so we can load and unload anywhere in the downtown area, at any time, but baby steps, you know...

Enhancing cycling in NYC

2009-02-04T16:34:00.001-08:00

Here's an older video I came across on http://www.streetfilms.org/. Watching it and seeing what New York has done on ninth avenue to accomodate cyclists gives me some hope for what other cities can do if they make it a priority. Looks like it's time for me to download and read the bicycling master plan for Seattle. I would love to see how many similar items will be incorporated. I know that there are areas that grade separated routes for bikes are in the plans (the 520 corridor, Alaskan Way).

Anyway, here's the video...enjoy.

Take a moment for the beauty around!

2009-02-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

Since my daily "commute" right now is across the apartment to the den, I am trying to get some exercise first thing in the morning. I'd been grumbling about cold toes when I ride, so we got me some cycling booties this weekend, and I'm back to taking a quick morning ride.

This morning, I got out a little later than normal, and could see the light breaking over the top of the cascades as I looked out the apartment window.

This morning's ride was a quick coast to the waterfront, and then a fairly quick paced ride up the Elliott Bay Bike Trail. I rode to where the path leaves the waterfront, at which point I turned around. Heading back south and towards home, I got to the end of the waterway that comes off the bay to see Mt. Rainier in all her beauty. She was looking like she rose right out of the bay and was shrouded in all sorts of colors. It was absolutely beautiful to see...as if I needed another reminder of why I love where I live!

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so no picture to post. I'll have to just savor it in my memory.

Challenge for today: Slow down and find at least one thing of beauty to admire!

Seattle: A walkable city

2009-01-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

I grew up just outside Seattle. My father worked in downtown Seattle, and we’d make frequent trips in to the city to meet with him for lunch, to go to REI to buy stuff for summer camp, or to otherwise enjoy the city. Many of the trips in to town, we’d pile into the car, and make the drive across the lake into the city. Once here, we’d “do downtown” by foot. We’d often park at my dad’s office building garage, and walk from there. Now, years later, my wife and I are living downtown. We’d selected our location to be close in and able to walk more places we wish to go.

Today, the sun came out early in the day and we had gorgeous blue sky. We set out on foot to enjoy our city. We were joined by many, many people (I’m too lazy to count ‘em all, and not very good at estimating, so we’ll just say lots of people). When you approach Seattle by ferry or from the south on I5, or look across from West Seattle, it seems so far from the Space Needle to downtown, you don’t realize how close it really is. Half an hour tops, and you can walk from the Space Needle through downtown to Pioneer Square and the stadiums. Walking the waterfront is easy (well, it’s a bit slow if it’s crowded) with wide sidewalks and only two crosswalks to worry about (the ferry terminal and the driveway at the Edgewater hotel) on the bay side of Alaskan Way.

Today, the Seattle Sun Worshipers were taking full advantage of the day. People were milling about the waterfront. The Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park was busy with people walking the trails, sitting outside and inside the Paccar Pavillion. We saw many people starting up the Elliott Bay trail from Pier 70.

Seeing the number of people out on foot makes me feel like Seattle is becoming less car-centric people are opting more and more to use other means of getting around. Of course, we could all just be looking to scratch that itch for some sun that comes after periods of grey during our winters.

Viaduct Replacement: Congratulations, It's a TUNNEL!

2009-01-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it hit the papers this morning: we're getting a tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Details are still emerging at this time, and more have since I first read about it this morning, including the mention of transit in the plan.

The decision is not without controversy:

Voters shot down a tunnel in a 2006 advisory vote. The selected tunnel option is a deep-bore, unlike the "excavate and cover" tunnel initially proposed, but that's not likely to appease some people
It's the most expensive option on the table, with current estimates at $4.24 billion
It does not appear to provide entry/exit from the highway from Battery Street Tunnel on the north to the Stadium area at the south end
It does not connect Ballard to the bypass

I've got mixed feelings about this.

I like that we won't have to look at an eyesore elevated roadway along the waterfront. I like that it can be done with very minimal impact on existing businesses and current traffic patterns, which business owners should appreciate during these tough economic times. I like the fact that the plan includes for increased transit capacity, however, that does little to help matters if folks won't use the additional transit capacity. I like the open space planned along the waterfront, and hope it remains open space and is not entirely sold off to development interests.

I'm concerned about the cost during a time when we have a state deficit of over $6 billion. I'm concerned about the idea of a miles long tunnel in an earthquake-prone area (OK, so the Bay area has done just fine with BART, but you never know...). I'm concerned about the tunnel's capacity; the current plan calls for two lanes in each direction, it doesn't sound like it adds any more capacity to the roadway. If we don't get our collective mindset changed about transportation in general, and mass transit in particular, in this region, when the tunnel opens in 2015, it will be insufficient for the needs of traffic in the region.

From what I've seen in the news, there is no mention about what this means for cyclists and users of human powered transport. Perhaps I'll get answers to that tonight at the "Bikes & Bridges" meeting.

Cascade Bicycle Club January Presentation

2009-01-11T13:15:00.001-08:00

Bikes & Bridges
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
7:00 PM
Seattle REI, 222 Yale St.

This is one of the monthly presentations that the Cascade Bicycle Club hosts. This month's presentation is a briefing from the project teams responsible for both the 520 bridge project and the Alaskan Way viaduct project.

This is an opportunity to hear how bicyclists are being taken into consideration for the projects and voice any concerns or ideas that you might have.

Cascade Bicycle Club monthly presentation series: http://www.cascade.org/EandR/Monthly_Presentations.cfm

For more information you can contact David Hiller at the club. His e-mail address is on the link provided above.

A new year

2009-01-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

The turn of the new year always seems to be a time in which we reflect on the past year (what we've accomplished, what we wanted to accomplish and didn't, how the events of the year have changed us, etc) and look towards the coming year with plans and resolutions.

Sitting here, I think back over the past year, especially the period since last June. A lot has happened since Maurie and I started this blog. We managed to leave the car parked quite a lot. We relied upon public or human powered transportation most of the summer. I lost my job. I started my own business. We moved to Seattle. Our updates to the blog slowed down considerably.

Looking forward to the rest of 2009, as it relates to this blog, I have lots of ideas. I want to write more about transportation issues in our new home town. I've never been much for making resolutions. In high school I started joking that my New Year's resolution is to stop making them. I don't know, I guess I see New Year's resolutions as these pie in the sky ideas that we come up with during the reverie of the changing of the year and the desire to begin anew. I rarely hear of a resolution being approached in a manner that bears results. There's little planning, no measurable milestones set to guage progress towards fulfilling the resolution, and consequently little to hold one's feet to the fire for sticking to it.

So, no, there is no resolution coming from me with respect to gettinaround. However, as I look at the coming year and all that I need to do for my business, for my home and family, for my health, and for this blog, I have a goal: REGULAR updates to the blog, throughout the year! I hope to be able to put up at least one post each week dealing with transportation issues. I will even attempt to keep things balanced out a bit and not terribly heavy on bicycling (although, let's be honest, it is great exercise, much faster than walking, and fun to boot!)

There's no shortage of things to write about for the blog. We are supposed to be moving forward with a replacement for the Alaskan Way viaduct, as well as a new 520 floating bridge; Seattle now has a bicycling master plan; Cascade Bicycle Club and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington have all sorts of advocacy programs and events throughout the year; the ZipCar car sharing program is huge in Seattle; there are plans for more streetcars; light rail will start service in King County, with expansion linking downtown to Capitol Hill and the University District. I'm sure there will be even more, and these are just Seattle-area things.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland...In Seattle!

2008-12-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

Well, after a teaser snowfall over the weekend, we got the real deal today. When I got up to go to my dad's office, I looked out and the decision was made, no way would I drive! Yes, I confess, I was going to drive. Trying to get to meetings and drum up clients around town has put me back in the car more than I want to be.

Anyway, one flake of snow and Seattle goes into panic mode, and the drivers, well, let's just say I saw enough today to really confirm I made the right decision! What I saw today:

mid-90's vintage BMW with all four wheels locked up sliding, kind of sideways, kind of straight into an intersection.
SUVs, pickups and all variety of passenger cars sliding around corners
folks driving on icing streets as if they were bone-dry pavement in the middle of summer
many cars with engines near redline and wheels spinning, but not really going anywhere

One other thing I saw, and experienced, that had me scratching my head some was the number of articulated buses that Metro Transit was running in this weather. For those of you who don't know what an articulated bus is, it's kind of like two buses joined together with an accordion-like section. The thing is, the drive wheels are, like in any other bus, the rear wheels, only on the second portion of the bus. In essence, the trailer is pushing the cab!

Now, I know these increase carrying capacity. This is a good thing when people are opting not to drive. However, in the ice, they do tend to jackknife a bit. The one I was to catch to my dad's office did so (before arriving at the stop I was to board it), and my dad also saw several of them jackknife when he was dropping my mom off at work. Perhaps Metro should consider parking the articulated buses in this weather and decreasing the frequency of some routes to spread the buses out to account for the decreased passenger capacity.

Oh, when we really embrace a real mass transit solution regionally that includes something other than buses being run throughout the area, not just a few other options?

Getting Back to "Normal"

2008-11-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

With our recent move I feel I have spent more time in the car in the last few weeks than I did the entire rest of the year all together. We have walked for several little errands as we worked to put our new home together, but with all the trips back and forth between our old place and the new as we attempt to get rid of all the excess stuff we have acquired over the last few years, we just hadn't managed to get back into our usual routine, especially concerning grocery shopping. But today we had a day where we just planned on staying put and relaxing. No moving related work, whatsoever. This gave us the opportunity to slow down just enough to allow for a leisurely walk , instead of drive, to the nearby Whole Foods for the few grocery items we were needing or once seen, seemed to need (unfortunately we were hungry when we shopped!) This was a direction we really hadn't set off in before so there were many discoveries along the way, one of the great benefits of walking places. In a 9 to 10 city block area we discovered a local Italian restaurant that seemed to be doing a Thanksgiving Day feeding program, a creperie with organic ingredients on the menu, an apartment in a courtyard with a bird feeder that was being enjoyed by a wingless "bird" with a grey fluffy tail and a huge flock of Bushtits and Chickadees foraging in a very nicely landscaped area in front of a building. It's only on foot or maybe on a bike that I really get the opportunity to enjoy all the nature that graces a busy city like Seattle.

I look forward to the last couple trips being over with and a full return to "gettin' around" the way we so very much prefer.

We've got press, yes we do!

2008-11-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

We've got press, How 'bout you!

While we've been busy, um, not updating the blog, we've gotten a bit of press.

First off, we were mentioned in the October issue of the newsletter for the Washington State House of Representatives: In the House (see article on page 7).

A little over a week ago, we were awarded "Site of the Month" on 365 Days of Trash.

Not bad for neglecting the blog, eh?

Update: We've not given up!

2008-11-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I've updated. We've not given up the project, but life's been a bit crazy.

In week 12, I posted that I lost my job, and by week 14, we were looking at housing options in Seattle. Well, since that last post, we have found a place to live and moved. I'm also looking for work. This month plus has seen more use of the car, what with trying to cram in as many housing options to look at as possible into one day, trips to clean out a storage unit, and trips to Goodwill to donate things we didn't bring with us.

We're nearly settled now, so our car use should drop back off.

I've gotten sloppy about keeping track of my statistics lately, so I can't give a good accounting of our car use and non-use for this gap. Sorry for those who are curious about that.

More posts coming soon!

14th Week Statistics

2008-10-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Dates: September 26 – October 2

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $3.68 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 3.26 miles
Bicycle: 14.25 miles
Bus: 261 miles

Total car-free miles: 278.51
Gallons of gas saved: 11.14
Gas expense saved: $41.00
Total transit fares: $30.00
Total miles driven: 97
Gallons of gas used: 3.88
Cost of gas used: $14.28

What a week! We spent a lot of time on the road with two trips to Seattle. Since we were looking for housing on the second trip, we used my mom’s car to get from location to location. Even planning an hour and a half in between viewing appointments had us cutting it close in some cases to be on time.

After three months in which we’ve used the car very little, we found ourselves relieved to be out of the car. Running around in a steel box on wheels just feels alien to us now. It feels good to be walking and cycling around again!

Mark

13th Week Statistics

2008-09-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Dates: September 19 – 25

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $3.76 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 13.64 miles
Bicycle: 9.73 miles
Bus: 5.01 miles

Total car-free miles: 28.38
Gallons of gas saved: 1.14
Gas expense saved: 4.27
Total transit fares: $6.00
Total miles driven: 20.1
Gallons of gas used: 0.804
Cost of gas used: $3.02

Well, when you take out the daily commute, the numbers change a bit. There’s a lot less distance by bike when I cut out the 4-mile daily round trip. Sunday we needed to get out, and headed to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, there is no bus service into the delta (hint, hint, Intercity Transit!), so out came the car.

Mark

A Note from the Chief Errand Runner

2008-09-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

Since this project began I have often had to remind myself of the pictures I've seen of stout little old ladies in neat black widow's dress hauling their daily groceries up the steep alleys and staircases of Italy. It puts things into perspective when you're a 30-something woman with very little hill to traverse. When I found myself starting to mumble about feeling like a pack horse while carrying bags and baskets of groceries to and from my home, those images of strong Italian matrons stopped my complaining and served me a piece of humble pie. I realized how spoiled we really are in this society with everyone having cars that go anywhere and everywhere. Then I think of how many women in this culture would not be able to continue running such daily errands on foot into the latter years of their lives. They may not have remained in good enough condition, partly because of their reliance on those very cars. So I hope to change that pattern, at least in my own life, and perhaps be an inspiration to others. I won't just benefit from the physical exercise but also from the near daily interaction with local business people in my community who perhaps might just need a little inspiration themselves.

12th Week Statistics

2008-09-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

Dates: September 12 – 18

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $3.79 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 8.51 miles
Bicycle: 21.07 miles
Bus: 0.82 miles

Total car-free miles: 30.4
Gallons of gas saved: 1.22
Gas expense saved: $4.61
Total transit fares: $0.00
Total miles driven: 11.03
Gallons of gas used: .44
Cost of gas used: $1.67

What a week! This week included the blow of losing my job, and the car was used to bring my personal things home from the office. We combined that with a trip out to pick produce from a garden we were asked to look after (it turns out we would have had quite a lot to try to bring home by bike) and a trip to get the cats’ food from Mud Bay on the Westside.

Mark

How Green is Cycling?

2008-09-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

I did a Google search on “how green is my commute” and came up with this article on Bicycle Fixation. It is an interesting read and something to think about.

We often here people talk about how green they are. Perhaps they chose a high efficiency vehicle (or a hybrid). Maybe they hypermile. Maybe they compost and recycle and reuse as much as possible. All these are good things, and can help the environment. But is riding a bike green? In and of it self, the author says no. I go both ways on this, but mostly disagree with the author’s assertion.

Hear me out.

In as much as riding a bike replaces a car trip, I don’t think anyone would disagree that it is green. Use the bike for your exercise? Again I’d say it is. What’s your alternative? Drive to the gym for an hour staring at the television while you work out on the stair master? Drive to the pool to swim? Granted, again the bike is reducing car trips, so it meets the “green standard” applied by the author.

Let’s look at something the author addresses that’s close to my heart: bike touring.

I like bike touring. OK, I’ve not done a real tour since high school, but I’d like to get back to it and enjoy some tours in the future. Most of us like to take a tour someplace we’ve not seen, or is just so incredibly wonderful we want to go back at a slower pace. I had the opportunity to pedal through the Loire Valley in France, Bavaria, Czechoslovakia, northern Germany and the Netherlands one summer. Of course, we had to fly from Seattle to Europe and then take trains to the starting points for the various legs of the journey. We know that flying uses huge amounts of fossil fuels, and trains use significant amounts as well. But let’s look at the time spent cycling. Each leg covered several hundred miles, by bicycle. These are sections that would likely have been traveled by car or bus otherwise. So, in that sense each leg we rode, we omitted a car trip.

If my wife and I decide to tour the Oregon coast by bicycle, we could do so one of two ways. We could lengthen the trip significantly by starting and ending from our home (which is the only way the author of the article considers the trip to be green), or we could find transport to our selected starting point, then ride our tour, and get transport back. Maybe not 100% green, but every choice we make that will reduce car trips (and along many routes we may choose to ride, there are lots of cars) is a green choice. It doesn’t matter if the “green portion” is bracketed by less green options. We have to make the choices that make sense to us.

What do you think? Please leave us your comments.

Mark

11th Week Statistics

2008-09-15T06:18:00.001-07:00

Dates: September 5 - 11

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $ 3.84 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 1.74 miles
Bicycle: 41.39 miles
Bus: .65 miles

Total car-free miles: 43.78
Gallons of gas saved: 1.75
Gas expense saved: 6.72
Total transit fares: $0.75
Total miles driven: 0
Gallons of gas used: 0
Cost of gas used: $0.00

Mark

Catching Up

2008-09-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Leave it to preparing for and going on vacation to really get one backed up. Three weeks of statistics, and the August monthly statistics are now posted. Sorry for a bulk innundation of numbers.

Mark

August Statistics

2008-09-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here's how the numbers looked for the second month of the project:

Average cost of gas in Olympia, WA for the month: $4.02 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation:
- Walking: 41.15 miles
- Bicycle: 83.29 miles
- Bus: 192.28 miles
Total car-free miles: 316.22
Gallons of gas saved: 12.65
Gas expense saved: $51.30
Transit fares: $22.00
Total miles driven: 254.5
Gallons of gas used: 10.18
Cost of gas used: $40.20

Well, we now have two months behind us in this project. Gas usage went up this month, entirely due to our vacation out to the Olympic Peninsula. I'm really pleased with how we are doing with this.

Mark

10th Week Statistics

2008-09-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

Dates: August 28 - September

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $3.94 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation:
- Walking: 8.45 miles
- Bicycle: 15.14 miles
- Bus: 20.31 miles
Total car-free miles: 43.9
Gallons of gas saved: 1.76
Gas expense saved: $6.92
Transit fares: $0.00
Total miles driven: 146.8
Gallons of gas used: 5.872
Cost of gas used: $23.14

This week included our return from vacation, so more driving (but not that much)

Mark

9th Week Statistics

2008-09-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Dates: August 22 - 28

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $3.96 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation:
- Walking: 9.93 miles
- Bicycle: 9.97 miles
- Bus: 11.54 miles
Total car-free miles: 31.44
Gallons of gas saved: 1.26
Gas expense saved: $4.98
Transit fares: $3.00
Total miles driven: 107.7
Gallons of gas used: 4.308
Cost of gas used: $17.06

During this week, we headed out on our vacation. Since we were taking bikes and kayaks, we had to drive to our destination.

Mark

8th Week Statistics

2008-09-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Dates: August 15 - 21

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $3.96 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation:
- Walking: 9.72 miles
- Bicycle: 20.66 miles
- Bus: 26.53 miles
Total car-free miles: 56.91
Gallons of gas saved: 2.28
Gas expense saved: $9.01
Transit fares: $4.50
Total miles driven: 0
Gallons of gas used: 0
Cost of gas used: $0.00

Mark

Seventh Week Statistics

2008-08-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

Dates: August 8 - 14

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $4.08 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 14.99 miles
Bicycle: 30.80 miles
Bus: 151.81 miles

Total car-free miles: 197.6
Gallons of gas saved: 7.9
Gas expense saved: 32.25
Total transit fares: $14.50
Total miles driven: 0 miles
Gallons of gas used: 0
Cost of gas used: $0.00

Back to a week without using the car! This week also included a trip to Seattle by bus for Maurie.
Mark

Let's go Hiking!

2008-08-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Being avid outdoors people, a challenge that Maurie and I have found with this project is how to get out and go hiking without taking our car.

We found that we can get from Olympia to Lake Quinault or up to Pt. Angeles by bus. We can hike right out of Quinault, but from Pt. Angeles there's still the issue of how to get to the trailheads in the National Park.

To my joy, we've found some information to help with going hiking via public transit.

Hiking shuttle to Snoqualmie Pass

Hiking the Wonderland without a car This article not only has information on getting to Mt. Rainier National Park by transit, but also has some good information about some special deals Zipcar has for Washington Trails Association members, and a link to a site dedicated to hiking by bus.

Sixth Week Statistics

2008-08-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Dates: August 1-7

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $4.18 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 6.51
Bicycle: 21.86
Bus: 2.4

Total car-free miles: 30.27
Gallons of gas saved: 1.21
Gas expense saved: $5.06
Total transit fares: $0.00
Total miles driven: 0
Gallons of gas used: 0
Cost of gas used: $0.00

Mark

A step backward for understanding between cyclists and motorists

2008-08-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

On July 25^th, Maurie and I witnessed Critical Mass ride down 1^st Ave in Seattle. As we watched, we talked a bit about the rides and how our opinion about them has changed a bit. We used to see them as trying to anger people, but after seeing this group rolling at a decent rate, with riders “corking” intersections to allow the rest of the group to pass safely, I had different feelings about the group. Maybe it was the lack of overtly angry motorists we saw waiting for the riders to pass.

Then I saw this article in the Seattle Times on Tuesday, July 29.

Now, I don’t know all the details about this incident, and it saddens me to see it happen. For several years I’ve commuted by bicycle. I have tried to follow all the rules of the road and be a good representative of the cycling community. Nonetheless, I’ve heard all manner of negative comments about cyclists. Those who know I ride would often add, as an afterthought, something along the lines of “but I know you’re not like that.”

Sadly, when I ride around town and see some other riders, I feel like I’m in the minority. I see so many cyclists who don’t bother to follow traffic laws; riding through stop lights and signs; weaving between cars and riding against traffic. I know that many cyclists around Olympia do follow traffic laws and try to help improve our reputation, but I don’t seem to remember them as easily. I’m afraid that many motorists feel the same way.

I want to encourage those who cycle to pay attention to the rules of the road, no matter where or when you ride. The moment our bicycle tires hit the road, we become traffic and are subject to those rules as well. Show drivers the courtesy we ask of them and try to help them remember the responsible cyclists more than the scofflaws who happen to ride bikes. Remember, a smile and wave goes a long ways to helping ease tensions.

Some Bicycle Commuting Resources

Cascade Bicycle Club Commuter Resources

League of American Bicyclists Tips for Commuters

Bicycle Alliance of Washington Transportation and Commuting

Bicycle Commute Guide

Mark

First Month (plus) Statistics

2008-08-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Dates: June 27 – July 31

Well, it’s been just over a month on this project, and time to look back at how we’ve done. Here are the numbers for the first month (plus):

Average cost of gas in Olympia: $4.39 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 60.23 miles
Bicycle: 106.39 miles
Bus: 234 miles

Total car-free miles: 400.62
Gallons of gas saved: 16.02
Gas expense saved: $70.02
Total transit fares: $36.50
Total miles driven: 146
Gallons of gas used: 5.84
Cost of gas used: $25.74

The total car-free miles really blew me away when I looked at the monthly total. Like everything, you don’t really realize how the “little things” do add up. Our total transportation expense for the month was actually cut by more than half, but what’s truly exciting is that our gas expense was to about one sixth of what we normally budget and spend on it!

Mark

Fifth Week Statistics

2008-08-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

Dates:July 25 – July 31

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $4.30 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 8.42
Bicycle: 16.9
Bus: 144.7

Total car-free miles: 170.9
Gallons of gas saved: 6.8
Gas expense saved: $29.26
Total transit fares: $22.00
Total miles driven: 26
Gallons of gas used: 1.04
Cost of gas used: $4.47

This was a big week. On the 25^th, we took a day trip to Seattle, all by bus and foot. We also decided to join South Sound Area Kayakers for a paddle up McAllister creek, resulting in a 26-Mile round trip drive to the launch site.

Mark

Assumptions and Stereotypes

2008-07-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

“What are you excited about?”

That was it. One line of text typed (yes, typed) on a blank sheet of paper stuck to a utility pole I walked by one morning last week on my way to a meeting. Hanging next to the paper was a pen on a string.

I started to walk on past the sign, but turned back to it. I do have something that I’m excited about. I’m excited that since June 26, Maurie and I have covered more miles by foot, bike and bus that we have in our car. So, taking the pen I wrote “That I have used my car less than I have biked, walked or taken the bus.” And with that, off I went to catch the bus to my meeting.

I passed the sign on my way back to the office from my meeting. From a few feet away, I could see that someone has added something to the sign, but I couldn’t read it. When I got close enough to read it, here’s what I found. Written below my entry, with an arrow pointing up to mine, was the phrase: “Fricken hippie greener”

I had a good laugh over it. I mean, it’s funny. Here someone has taken one sentence, with no context and no knowledge of the author, and ascribed a set of characteristics to said unknown author. I could go back and reply with snarky comments (yes I did have a couple come to mind), but why?

Let me clarify something. I’m not a hippie or a greener. I was born too late to be a hippie, and I am not a student or alumnus of The Evergreen State College. There’s nothing wrong with either label, they just don’t accurately apply to me.

You know, this was a great, light moment for me that day. I’m still excited about what Maurie and I have accomplished. Name calling and such won’t diminish that one bit. I’ll let you in on a secret that this unknown commentator may never know (well, not unless he or she finds this blog): I’m excited that by not driving as much, we are getting more exercise by cycling and walking, we’re spending time together in situations where we can give each other more undivided attention, we’re spending less for gas, we aren’t stuck in traffic, and we know that we’re doing something to lessen our environmental impact.

Whoops, I did it. I mentioned environmental impact. Does that make me “hippie greener” or a “whacko environmentalist?” It doesn’t really matter, in the end, I’m me, you’re you and we are all who we all are.

Mark

Fourth Week Statistics

2008-07-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

Dates: July 18—July 24

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $ 4.40 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 14.36 miles

Bicycle: 22.9 miles

Bus: 9.86 miles

Total car-free miles: 47.12 miles
Gallons of gas saved: 1.88
Gas expense saved: $ 8.29
Total transit fares: $ 2.25
Total miles driven: 0 miles
Gallons of gas used: 0
Cost of gas used: $0.00

Once again, we kept the car parked for a whole week!

Mark

How my commute has changed

2008-07-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

I entered the work world in the spring of ’94, with a round-trip commute of about 81 miles. I started out driving this commute solo, but soon started car-pooling with a co-worker, each of us alternating driving one week at a time. Since the spring of 2001, my commute has predominantly been by foot, bike or public transit.

For a large portion of the time in between these dates, I was a single occupant driver. I’d changed jobs and was working in Olympia (driving from a Tacoma suburb). I was able to rationalize driving as more convenient or that my work for part of the year can have hours too unpredictable and late for transit to be a realistic option (in fact, at most I had a total of two weeks over the following 6 years where I wouldn’t have been able to take a bus home).

I started re-considering how I get to and from work in the fall of 2000. I had just returned from a month road trip to the California Sierras for a backpacking trip. During that time, I paid gas prices of over $2.00 a gallon (I know, we could only wish they were at that level today, but they were high for the time). I no longer enjoyed driving the same long, boring route up I-5 day in and day out.

Washington State has a Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) law which requires employers to provide incentives for employees to use alternate commute methods (RCW 40.01.230; RCW 70394.521-551). The state agency for which I worked was subject to this law as well. As an incentive, my employer would pay for my bus pass from Tacoma to Olympia. So, for a month or two, I made my trips to Olympia mostly by bus. I was still driving to a park and ride to catch my first bus, but it was a step in the right direction.

December of 2000, I changed jobs and started working in Seattle. Now I was commuting into “hostile territory” a.k.a. traffic! My employer provided a bus pass, so I continued the car/bus combination for a while. When the transmission in my truck died, I switched to entirely commuting by bus and foot (or in the summers bus and bicycle). I was spending anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours each way on my commute, with up to three bus rides each. This was not a good way to put quality time into a young marriage.

October of 2002 we pulled up stakes in Tacoma and moved to Seattle. My commute became 30 minutes by foot or 15 minutes by bike each way. I still got a transit pass from my employer, but found it was used more for getting around Seattle in general than for getting to and from work (by the time I made all the necessary transfers, it was just as fast to walk to work, and faster to ride my bike!)

In 2004, I returned to my previous job with the state. After realizing how much I enjoyed walking or riding my bike to work, we factored the ability to do so into the criteria we used in selecting our home. I had to be able to walk to work within 30 minutes. We did it, and now my commute is at most 30 minutes if I’m walking (or taking the bus, because of the delay at the transit center). My bike ride in is still 15 minute or less.

I can honestly say that the effect my commute change has on my day-to-day life has been positive. I have time each direction when I can make the transition from work life to home life more easily. The stress of the day is not compounded with the stress of driving; rather it is blown away in the breeze from a 15-20 MPH cruise along the end of the bay on my bicycle. What a better way to deal with it!

Mark

Third Week Statistics

2008-07-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

Dates: July 11—July 17

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $ 4.41 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 6.2 miles

Bicycle: 21.09 miles

Bus: 8.57 miles

Total car-free miles: 35.86 miles
Gallons of gas saved: 1.43
Gas expense saved: $ 6.33
Total transit fares: $ 3.00
Total miles driven: 0 miles
Gallons of gas used: 0
Cost of gas used: $0.00

Hooray! We were able to keep the car parked the entire week! It feels really good to have gone a week without driving at all. Here’s to more car-free weeks to come!

Mark

Second Week Statistics

2008-07-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

Dates: July 4—July 10

Here are the statistics for the week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $4.43 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 14.25
Bicycle: 26.9
Bus: 64.8

Total car-free miles: 106
Gallons of gas saved: 1.662
Gas expense saved: $7.36
Total transit fares: $7.00
Total miles driven: 25
Gallons of gas used: 1
Cost of gas used: $4.43

This week the car was driven in a “mercy mission” to help get a couple of cyclists we met on the bus get to their destination on the 4^th of July. You can read about it in Maurie’s Reflections from July 4^th.

Mark

First Week Statistics

2008-07-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

Dates: June 27—July 3

Throughout this experiment, I’ll post the statistics for the week. They will be in the form of a simple summary consisting of:

Cost of a gallon of gas for the week in Olympia, WA (from Plum St. Chevron)
What car-free modes of transport we used, and the total distance for each
Total car-free miles
Gallons of gas saved by not using the car
Gas money saved by not using the car
Total transit fares
Total miles driven
Gallons of gas used
Cost of gas used

Here are the statistics for the first week:

Gas in Olympia, WA this week: $4.43 per gallon
Total distance for each mode of car-free transportation

Walking: 17 miles
Bicycle: 18.6 miles
Bus: 5.95 mile

Total car-free miles: 41.55
Gallons of gas saved: 1.662
Gas expense saved: $7.36
Total transit fares: $2.25
Total miles driven: 95
Gallons of gas used: 3.8
Cost of gas used: $16.83

This week, we drove to Tacoma to run some errands. In order to make the most of our trip to Tacoma, we tried to include something enjoyable to do, rather than just driving up and back. On this trip, we took our kayaks and spent some time paddling in Chamber’s Bay.

Mark

Paying Attention

2008-07-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

It was my main day for grocery shopping today. I had a good list of places to stop by, all in the downtown area of Olympia. I set out on foot from home with my market basket, a couple reusable grocery bags and a well recycled coffee bag. My first stop was to Olympia Coffee Roasters where I got a half pound of their wonderful Decaf Peru De Florida. Then I walked on to The Bread Peddler to munch a breakfast pastry and cup of coffee while making out my grocery list. I think having a special treat like this is an added bonus to doing the errands this way; I am out and about long enough that I can easily justify sitting down and enjoying a local goody. After a delicious energy booster it was time to go to Bay View, then the Olympia Seafood Company and finally the Farmers Market. I had several things to take care of while at the market and was beginning to get hungry for lunch, but wanted to have my lunch at home. The combination of being eager to get to my much needed lunch as well as having an extensive list of things to gather at the market ended up being a bad combination today. The low blood sugar made me ditsy and my eager tummy hurried me nearly half way home (over a half mile) before I realized that I was not carrying my bag of peaches and apricots! Of course what I was carrying was fairly heavy (thank goodness Twin Oaks Creamery wasn't there today or I would have been carrying milk and cheeses as well!) so it was with quite a bit of frustration that I turned myself around and headed back to retrieve the fruit I had bought. I decided after that to just head over to the bus station and catch a bus up 4th to knock a bit of extra walking off for my already famished frame.

It is always frustrating when you leave something you have purchased behind somewhere, even with a vehicle to take you back, but add to that a lot of walking, hunger, and a steadily growing sunburn (yep, I skipped the sunscreen today, it was overcast when I left, and yes I know better!) and this can make a far more frustrating situation than usual. I am making a note to myself for the future: check to make sure you have all your purchases before heading home!

Happily sitting with my feet up even if my nose would make Rudolf's look dull,

Maurie

The Value of the Trip

2008-07-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

The value of the trip

Our first car-less adventure has caused me to start re-thinking how I view the value of a trip. When we first started this experiment, I thought of the value of the trip in purely monetary terms:

How much would it cost to drive there and back?
How much will public transit cost for the same trip?
Which means of transportation makes more sense financially for this trip?

I was looking at any method of transportation that way.

Our 4th of July trip made me stop and think about it. As I mentioned in my write-up on the first adventure, I found that I had less stress; I could take a bit of time on the road to sit back and read; I was able to carry on really good conversations with Maurie; we got to meet people we'd not have had a chance to meet otherwise.

Adjusting how I view the trip, I see that there are dimensions of benefit that cannot be measured in terms of dollars and cents that affect the real value of the trip. The decreased stress; the quality time with Maurie; the opportunity to get some reading in; not having to worry about parking at our destination: all these things add much more value to the trip than simply getting there quickly.

While finances will undoubtedly have some influence on our choice of means of transportation, it's not going to be the deciding factor. Even though a trip from Olympia to Portland, OR costs around $72 on Amtrak, or $122 on Greyhound, versus around $60 in our car, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy taking Amtrak to Portland with Maurie.

Mark

Maurie's Reflections from July 4th

2008-07-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

First of all, Mark is one of those people who cannot easily carry on a conversation while driving. Nor, really while being a passenger in a car. In one case he is so focused on the road and traffic and in the other he tends to just fall asleep. I'm not sure what makes the bus different, but it is. He enjoys the opportunity to take his mind off the road and focus it on some good conversation with his wife, something she doesn't mind at all! Or he can spend an uninterrupted 45 minutes reading, something I am sure he really appreciates since his day to day life seems to leave little time for extracurricular reading. With the extra reading time he may just get through that book by presidential candidate Obama BEFORE the election. I enjoy the extra time for reading as well. Where I tend to get car sick reading in a car, this is not the case on a bus, at least not on the freeway. And though I have more reading time than Mark does I also have a much longer book list. A writer must read! I got further through "Three Cups of Tea" on Friday than I had in a quite a while.

We even made some new friends. A couple of cyclists who were making their way south by bike and having quite the adventure of it. They had stopped to catch a bus for the last leg of the day after getting thoroughly lost and we were able to offer some help once we got back to Olympia. It all made a great story and had us laughing for hours afterwards. We never would have met these guys had we been in our car. That was worth the trip by bus all on its own. It's situations like this that create community not to mention give a writer some good fodder for future stories.

What we may have considered as cons to taking the bus for this trip turned out to be pros. We got home at a reasonable hour, met some fun folk, relaxed, and had a great time. I think we're learning the truth in the adage "It's not the destination, but the journey that matters."

Maurie

Our First Car-less Adventure

2008-07-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

On July 4, we went on our first “car-less adventure” as we're referring to activities beyond our regular errands around town. The Tall Ships were in Tacoma for the 4th of July weekend, so we decided to visit them to enjoy the day getting a little piece of history touring the ships.

We made the trip entirely by public transit, leaving the Olympia Transit Center and arriving at Tacoma Dome station, where we transferred to the new Tacoma Link light-rail train to get us closer to the entrance gate for the event.

Traveling by bus definitely takes longer than driving a private car does. However, I think that the quality of the trip is more than a fair trade for the extra time en route. There was much less stress than we would have experienced by driving.

There was one potential source of commute stress. The last bus from the 512 Park & Ride to Olympia left around 8:15 PM, arriving in Olympia at 9:00 PM ( Intercity Transit was operating on Sunday schedule for the holiday). In order to make the bus, we had to leave the festival a little earlier than we would have if we'd driven. Without the need to be back to the 512 Park & Ride as early as we did, we might have taken more time to enjoy the activities along dock street. In hindsight, leaving when we did was better for us. We did not stay too long, trying to do too much that evening.

The trip up and back was definitely more enjoyable than it would have been if we'd used our car. We were able to take some time to read our books on the way up. On the way down, we were able to carry on a really good conversation about the day and our experience with this experiment so far.

All in all, I think that this was a great first car-less adventure for us.

Trip information and statistics for the day:

Transit Routes taken:

Intercity Transit route 620 between Olympia and 512 Park & Ride

Sound Transit route 574 from the 512 Park & Ride to Tacoma Dome Station

Tacoma Link from Tacoma Dome Station down Pacific Avenue

Fares:

Maurie: $2.00 each way (included transfer)

Me: No charge to Tacoma (my employer provides a STAR pass which gives me a free ride on any Intercity Transit route); $1.50 each ride between 512 Park & Ride and the Tacoma Dome Station

No charge for the Tacoma Link

Total of all fares: $7.00

Cost if we'd driven: $9.02, determined from the following factors:

60 miles round trip from our home to the Tacoma Dome parking lot

$4.42 per gallon for regular unleaded in Olympia on that day

25 mpg average mileage for our car

Overall transportation savings: $2.02

Mark