banner

Vol. 2, No. 11  November 2011

In this issue: 
Spotlight on: Race and Social Justice
Options: Cycling News from Sound Transit
Tools: Weather Preparedness
Inspiration: Fall in Love on Link Lite Rail
UpcomingHoliday Pedestrian Safety Campaign

Spotlight of the Month:  Race and Social Justice 

"I'm proud that Seattle is working to end race-based disparities in City government. We envision a city where all members of the community have access to city services and are not limited by the way our city is built and is operated. This includes a transportation system which allows everyone to get where they need to go regardless of their income. Providing options that allow people to get around without the expense of a private car is part of that vision." --  Seattle Mayor, Mike McGinn

 

Spotlight on Social Justice-It's a Matter of Choice  By providing travel options, tools and up-to-date information, the City of Seattle and its partners give real people real choices. If driving is not an option for you, you are not stuck. The City is prioritizing pedestrian and transit service improvements in areas that have been underserved, have a shortage of facilities like sidewalks and curb ramps, or have more people who depend upon public transportation and walking to reach their destinations. The improvements found in Seattle's Transportation and Pedestrian Master Plans help people get to work, facilitate mobility for seniors, the disabled and disadvantaged, get kids to school and connect families to goods, services and entertainment. To see how the City has prioritized improvements, see the Equity Map 

OptionsHeaderOptions to Get Around

King County Water Taxi now accepts U-PASS. U-PASS provides University of Washington staff and students with low-cost transportation options, like the Water-Taxi

 

Cycling News from Sound Transit (ST) ST Bicycles 

  • Bicycles and transit are a good fit and an affordable, healthy way for kids and families to travel. Bikes are welcome on all ST Express buses as well as on Sounder, Central Link and Tacoma Link train, and updated information is now available 
  • Sound Transit has new secure lockers at the Columbia City light rail station. Lockers are also available at the Othello and Rainier Beach stations.
  • For a limited time Sound Transit is offering a special Bicycle Commuter Welcome Kit to new Rainier Valley locker renters that includes an ORCA card loaded with $10 to help get you started. For more information on bike locker availability, visit the web site or call 1-888-889-6368.

ToolsTools to Help You Walk, Bike and Ride

Weather Preparedness It's snowing; are you ready? Are you prepared to get around in Seattle? Do you know the transit snow routes and re-routes to use? Have you subscribed to transit agency alert and local and regional emergency alert notifications? Do you know your employer's policies about coming to work during inclement weather? If you rely on transit to get where you need to go, everything you can find everything you need to be prepared at Take Winter by Storm 

 

Telework!! Work from home half time and save an average of $362 on gas per year. Tele-working is one way to reduce the costs of commuting. Results of a Tele-work Savings Model have been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Harvard Business Review. Read about it at Calculate My Telework Savings to learn how tele-working makes cents!  Information also is available at King County    

 

Roosevelt bike lane

Transportation Choices Coalition
has a new website: Introducing TCC 2.0! Try their  commute calculator  to see how much money you could save (or are already saving) by leaving your car at home. 

 

 

Apartment Search for the "Car-Lite" Lifestyle The good folks over at Walk Score have built an apartment search smart bomb. Their new free service filters online ads to find apartments in your price range that give you an easy commute to work! Read more at Apartment Search .  

InspirationInspiration to Walk, Bike and Ride

They found each other on a Link train.   

Roosevelt bike lane

She noticed the man with a green bicycle reading a James Rollins novel. He saw a tall, slender woman with short red hair. That was how it started; the rest is history. Read their

love story.

  

 

 

One Bus Away Saved!  

 Roosevelt bike laneThe popular application was on the budget chopping block for lack of funds when Brian Ferris who. as a UW grad student developed One Bus Away, came to the rescue, updating the system free of charge all the way from Zurich, Switzerland, where he now works for Google. The UW's College of Engineering will continue to run the system while the school and regional transit agencies hash out a plan to make it a permanent feature

 

UpcomingUpcoming


 

Slow Your Sleigh; Yield the Right of Way: Holiday Pedestrian Safety Campaign kicks off Thanksgiving Weekend. Roosevelt bike lane 

 

SDOT's Holiday Pedestrian Safety Campaign encourages pedestrians and motorists to take it slow and follow a few easy steps to make sure they arrive at their destinations safely.

 

Motorists:

  • Never pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.
  • Put away cell phones.
  • Yield to pedestrians.
  • Make eye contact with pedestrians before entering a crosswalk or intersection.

Pedestrians:

  • Use the sidewalk and marked crosswalks.
  • Wear bright clothing.
  • Turn off headphones.
  • Make eye contact with approaching drivers.

Transit Service Changes  

  • Comment on changes to your bus route. Learn about all potential transit service changes for next year-and comment on them-at Metro's Have A Say web page..   
  • Transit Service Guidelines require King County to take service from low-performing routes and reinvest in more heavily used ones in order to reduce overcrowding, improve on-time performance, or satisfy unmet transit needs.
  • King County will be gathering feedback on transit system improvements for Seattle, Burien, Des Moines, Shoreline, SeaTac and Tukwila. Take the survey

FREE Bike Safety Clinic


Thursday, Dec. 1, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Lights & Reflectors Clinic                
Cascade Bicycle Club Office,
7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle 

   

Bring your reflective gear, lights and blinkies and come play in the dark with us! See how your gear shows up (or not) in the beam of a car's headlights -- and leave with new ideas about how to make sure you're visible on the road this winter. After a brief discussion at Cascade's office, we'll out to the darkest corner of the park to see how we shine.

 

 

FREE Wednesday Bike Maintenance Clinics

 

Wednesdays Basics of Bicycling Maintenance parties   November 23 and 30
December 7, 14 and 21
January 4, 11, 18 and 25

Cascade Bicycle Club Office, 7400 Sand point Way NE, Seattle  

Cascade will provide pizza, drinks, music and all the tools you need to repair the fleet of bikes we use for our Basics of Bicycling program, which gets kids in four school districts riding safety in their P.E. classes. Interested? Contact Elliott at [email protected].

 

Help Fix Bikes  

 

Roll up your sleeves and help fix bikes November 10-December 14

Cascade Bicycle Club is starting up its Major Taylor Earn-a-Bike and Basics of Bicycling programs this school year, and is looking for volunteers to help keep our bikes rolling. Teenagers earn bikes of their own by learning basic bike maintenance skills. We ask volunteers to commit to at least two days over the course of the five-week curriculum. Contact Emma at [email protected] 

 

Major Taylor Earn-a-Bike Program   

Global Connections High School  4424 S 188th St, SeaTac  

Thursdays, 2-5 p.m., Nov. 10 - Dec. 14

  
 

Major Taylor Earn-a-Bike Program

Evergreen High School  830 SW 116th St., Highline, Seattle    

Wednesdays, 2:30-5 p.m., Nov. 16 - Dec. 14

 
 

Road Safety Summits

 

How can we improve safety on our roads and ensure everyone gets where they're going safely?  Mayor Mike McGinn and members of the Seattle City Council have convened a Road Safety Summit. Get involved:

 

Go to Road Safety  by November 23. Answer three key questions and provide ideas and suggestions about how to improve safety on Seattle Streets;

 

Watch the October 24 Road Safety Summit public forum.

 

Attend the public forum:  Monday, November 21, 6 p.m. at the Southwest Community Center

 

Attend the final Road Safety Summit Meeting Monday, December 12th, 6 pm in the Bertha K. Landes room at City Hall.  This final meeting will be an opportunity to hear what the next steps are for Road Safety in Seattle.

 

RSVP for the public forum or final Summit meeting.

 

See Bike Safety Videos   







 

Subscribe, Share Feedback and View Past Newsletters

Subscribe to the Walk Bike Rider, your monthly newsletter with quick tools, information and inspiration to help you walk, bike and ride.  Subscribing is quick and easy, and you may unsubscribe any time.  

We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.  Please keep the comments coming.

 

Current and past newsletters are on our newsletter web page

 

 

Final