One of many meetings held late last year – this one was at the U of W.
This past summer, bicycle riders of all ages and abilities were invited to take online surveys and to use the online mapping tool to identify improvements they desired for Seattle’s bicycle facilities. The 17-question survey was translated into seven languages and 3,500+ people, representing all Seattle zip codes and beyond, provided thousands of comments. The findings and themes of the Public Engagement Phase 1 indentified key issues among bicycle riders and potential riders regarding safety, existing facilities and usage, design, maintenance, education and enforcement, non-infrastructure barriers, and the most and least popular streets and trails to ride.
Of note, in the safety findings, respondents stated weather; too many things to carry; unlawful/unsafe motorist behavior; hills; and a general lack of feeling unsafe were key factors preventing bicyclists from riding more. Under the facilities category, the comments showed that sharrows were disliked and bicycle lanes left bike riders feeling at risk of being “doored” or hit by a vehicle. By and large, the key design findings for all ages and abilities pointed out the need to develop more on-street separated riding facilities from vehicle traffic – including cycle tracks, trails and on-street separated bicycle facilities in downtown. Maintenance such as pavement conditions, faded paint, debris and construction hazards were also noted as creating unsafe riding conditions. Educating and enforcing the rules of the road for all users – bicyclists and motorists alike – were also identified as critical to increasing ridership and reducing collisions.
Using these findings, the first draft of the revised map was presented at community meetings in November and last month. However, with the intervening holidays, there was an overwhelming desire on the part of interested bicyclists and would-be bicyclists to have more opportunities for reviewing the updated bike map and speak with city staff. SDOT’s Bicycle Master Planners have happily agreed and will be holding three more meetings – tonight, tomorrow night and two on Wednesday night. You are invited to attend! You can find the meeting locations and times on our website:
If other community/stakeholder groups would like to learn more about the BMP update, please contact bmpupdate@seattle.gov