Vol. 2, No. 4  Apr. 2011

Spotlight on: Travel choices and your quality of life

Options: Getting to Mariners and Sounders games, Water Taxi summer schedule

Tools: Carbon calculator, find all your bus options

Inspiration: 103-year-old bicyclist, prize drawing winner

Upcoming: Bike to Work Month, bike commuting workshop, Kids Bike Swap, Summer Streets

Why do people choose to travel by foot, car, bike or bus?  We usually hear that people decide based on measurable factors such as the cost of the trip and how long it takes.  We hear less about an intangible and perhaps more powerful motivation: many of us walk, bike and ride because...we enjoy it!  If you think about it, enjoyment trumps time and cost for many decisions we make, such as eating in a great restaurant, watching pro sports in person or spending the weekend camping.

When you walk, bike or ride the bus, you often have a richer experience.  Who do you meet at your neighborhood bus stop?  Your neighbors, of course.  Riding your bike as a kid was fun, and it still is.  "Busing means bonding," according to parent and blogger Bus Chick.  "You get to ride face to face" with your child instead of strapping them into the back seat.

These reports from real people describe how their life is better from walking, biking and riding.  Carpooling gives them more quality time with family and friends.  Walking and biking slows them down to experience their neighborhood close up.  Riding the bus means time to relax and finally read that book that's been sitting on the nightstand.

The next time you're deciding how to get somewhere, you might factor in travel time and cost, but consider the quality of your experience as well.  

Chief Sealth Trail Extended

SDOT recently extended this popular trail westward from Beacon Way S to 15th Ave S in Beacon Hill.  This makes it easier to bike or walk between western Beacon Hill and communities and light rail stations in southeast Seattle.  Click here for more information on this project.

Three projects make walking easier in West Seattle

This month SDOT is completing projects in Morgan Junction where California Ave SW crosses SW Othello St, SW Frontenac St and SW Findlay St.  The projects make it easier to cross California  Ave SW and enhance the walking route to Gatewood Elementary School.  Improvements include curb bulbs, new curb ramps, overhead crosswalk signs and flashing beacons, depending on the location.  All three projects were requested by the Morgan Junction Association and will be completed by April 22.  Click here for background information on these projects.

West Seattle Water Taxi expands service for summer

As of April 8, the West Seattle Water Taxi operates on weekends and later on weekday evenings, meaning more options to travel between downtown and West Seattle.  Hours for the bus shuttles that serve the water taxi are extended to match many of the additional water taxi trips.

Options to Mariners and Sounders games

Avoid the construction, traffic and rising parking costs on game days. 

·         Take Sound Transit's Sounder Commuter Rail, LINK Light Rail or ST Express buses to Mariners and Sounders games.  Sounder Commuter Rail serves sixteen Mariners games and six Sounders matches.

·         King County Metro buses can drop you off downtown so you can either hop on light rail to the Stadium Station or just walk to the stadiums.

·         West Seattle Water Taxi has special service on weekday game days between April 8 and October 30.

Seattle's Carbon Calculator quickly determines your carbon footprint

See how much you can cut your carbon emissions for Earth Month by converting some car trips to walking, biking and riding.

Find all bus routes that connect point A to point B

There is often more than one bus route that connects your starting point and your destination.  Use point to point schedules to know all the bus routes at your bus stop that can take you where you're going.

Harold K. wins $100 in the Way to Go! "Thank You" drawing

Congratulations to Harold, our winner for the first quarter of 2011. This drawing is our way of saying thanks to all of you who already walk, bike and ride.  Other Way to Go! programs provide incentives when you convert car trips to walk, bike and transit trips.

May is Bike Month, spring is here and opportunities abound to get active.

Join a team in the Group Health Commute Challenge

See how much you can commute by bike in May and compete against other teams in this Cascade Bike Club event.

Intro to Bike Commuting workshop May 4

Cascade Bike Club covers rules of the road, planning your bike route, riding safely and comfortably, grooming and gear from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at Seattle City Hall.  More details are here.

Kids Bike Swap by Bike Works May 7

Kids can trade in their older, smaller bike for a larger one from  10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Genesee Playfield (43rd Ave S and S Genesee St).

Bikes and Bagels @ McGraw Square May 13

Commute Seattle provides free coffee, bagels, snacks and prizes to bike commuters.  Mayor McGinn chats with fellow bike commuters and announces the completion of Commute Seattle's inventory of bike parking, showers, and lockers in Center City.  Stop by from 7:00 to 9:30 a.m. at McGraw Square Park (the new park at the southern end of the South Lake Union Streetcar line).

 
Cascade's F5 Bike to Work Day May 20

Bike to work and stop at one of over 40 bike commute stations along major bike routes.  Commute stations offer free water bottles, maps, prize drawings, bike mechanics, snacks, coffee, juice and more.

Summer Streets in Ballard May 20 and Alki Beach May 22

Summer Streets are a great time to ride your bike on streets free of cars.  

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