by Brittany Schooley
Feature

Seattle Takes Its First Step Towards Platinum

Members of Seattle City Council unanimously voted on November 5, 2007 to pass the city’s Bicycle Master Plan (BMP), a 10-year, $240 million effort to “make Seattle the best community for bicycling in the United States,” according to the document’s Executive Summary. The plan focuses primarily on two goals, the first of which is to increase the use of cycling in Seattle for all trip purposes. This would entail tripling the amount of cycling trips made between 2007 and 2017. The second objective is to improve the safety of bicyclists throughout the city, which would mean reducing the rate of bicycle crashes by one-third during that period.

The Bike Master Plan comes at a crucial time for Seattle. In February 2005 Mayor Greg Nickels promised in a newsletter, “We’re going to meet the Kyoto Protocol, despite the failure of the federal government to act on the important issue of climate disruption.” The Kyoto Protocol aims to reduce global warming pollution levels by seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012. 160 countries had ratified it as of February 2006; the United States has not. In a letter released in March 2001, President George W. Bush stated, “I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it...would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy.”

On February 16, 2005, Nickels launched the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement “to advance the goals of the Kyoto Protocol through leadership and action.” The participating cities of the Agreement aim to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets within their own communities. A progress report issued by the Green Ribbon Commission on Climate Protection stated that between 1990 and 2005, Seattle’s progress was within this goal. However, Alex Fryer of the Office of Sustainability and Environment does not see this lasting. He stated, “In the future, as we continue to grow and have more people, our transportation emissions are expected to rise. Per capita emissions have been going down, but our transportation emissions are expected to rise...The future doesn’t look quite as rosy. If trends continue, we will not meet this goal.” He believes a key element to reaching the 2012 goal is providing alternatives to single occupancy vehicles, and making sure Seattle residents feel safe while cycling. As for noticing negative effects on Seattle’s economy since adopting the Agreement, Fryer states, “No, we have not. And I think what we’re seeing is opportunities for companies to come up and meet the needs and interests of the public...on the contrary, we’re finding that it presents a lot of opportunities for jobs and the economy.”

In November 2006 Seattle voters were asked to approve Proposition 1: Bridging the Gap, which aims to improve streets, bridges and bicycle and pedestrian programs, among others. The nine-year, $365 million property tax levy was almost twice as big as any in the city’s history, which prompted some to question whether it was too exorbitant. The Municipal League of King County released a statement that asserted, “A nine year levy is too long. Government accountability will be impaired because the effectiveness of the tax will not be revisited for such a long period of time.” They also claimed maintenance of bridges and roads is a top priority, and allowing the government to use special property tax levies for imperative services “creates a dangerous precedent.”

A business-funded group, the Washington Policy Center, released a report on the levy that called into question a practice where “low priority services are funded through the regular budget while high priority services are left unfunded...If voters are told they will lose the core service if they do not approve a levy, people have a strong incentive to renew the levy again and again. Many voters feel they simply have no other choice.”

The levy’s support, which was referred to as “slow out of the chute,” by Darryl Smith in an October 2006 Seattle Times article, was partly attributed by some to be so because the City Council, along with Mayor Nickels, withdrew their initial 20-year, $1.6 billion plan, and didn’t submit a shorter one until September 2006. That support picked up, however, with backing from Cascade Bicycle Club (CBC), Feet First, the Sierra Club, and the Bicycle Alliance of Washington (BAW), among others. The levy was passed on November 6, 2006, securing $27 million for bike projects.

In addition to Bridging the Gap, Seattle City Council passed a Complete Streets ordinance on April 30, 2007, establishing new guidelines for street design. Complete Streets is a legal commitment to take into account everyone’s roadway needs, not just drivers of motorized vehicles. Principles of the ordinance include pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements, public transit facilities accommodations, street trees and more. Seattle City council member Jan Drago said, “With a Complete Streets policy firmly in place, the city will be able to balance the needs of all users of our streets and truly offer options for getting around the city without a car.”

The Bicycle Master Plan was headed by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and a Mayor’s Citizen Advisory Board (which was comprised of community leaders, advocates and citizens). Three community meetings were also held, to gain feedback from Seattle residents. “Seattle’s plan doesn’t reflect any one plan. It has taken cumulative thinking, and we’re familiar with all of the plans out there—Europe, Australia, Chicago—and I think our plan is one of the best, “ says Peter Lagerway of SDOT.

The Toole Design Group, a firm based in the Washington-Baltimore region, was consulted to draft the plan. Jennifer Toole, AICP, ASLA Principal of Toole Design explained the project: “Doing the necessary level of fieldwork to provide a logical solution on a street-by-street basis can be a challenge. It’s not possible to do a traffic analysis of every single street in the city.” However, the Plan’s creators analyzed over 600 miles of roadways, which involved all of Seattle’s arterial streets.

The BMP recommends a 450-mile network of bicycle facilities that, once implemented, will ensure that more than 95 percent of Seattle’s residents are within one-quarter mile of a bicycle facility. This includes 113 miles of new bicycle facilities within the next three years.

The system laid out by the Plan includes a citywide bicycle route system, and the completion of the Urban Trails and Bikeway System. Many of the key projects outlined in the plan are divided into two sub-categories: lower-cost and higher-cost projects. The first group includes: redesign the existing bicycle lanes on Dexter Avenue N; make way finding and spot intersection improvements on the West Seattle Low Level Bridge; install bicycle lanes on Delridge Way SW; create an Interurban bicycle boulevard to Green Lake and Burke-Gilman Trail; install bicycle lanes, shared lane markings, and signs to improve the connections between Capitol Hill and the UW Campus; install shared-lane markings on 2nd and 4th Avenues to provide a north-south connection through Downtown; install bicycle lanes on Alaskan Way in Downtown; provide good bicycle connections to and from work with local transit agencies to provide adequate bicycle parking at all light rail and other major transit hubs; complete the citywide Signed Bicycle Route System; install or upgrade traffic signals to improve bicycle crossings at all intersections identified for signal improvements in the Plan; and provide bicycle access to and from the ferry when the Colman Dock Ferry Terminal is reconstructed.

The higher-cost projects include: provide a bicycle facility connection between Downtown Seattle and the UW Campus via Eastlake Avenue N; complete the Ship Canal Trail, including connections to the Fremont and Ballard bridges; construct a Chief Sealth Trail Crossing of I-5 between S Spokane Street and S Lucile Street; construct the Burke-Gilman Trail section between 11th Ave. NW and 17th Ave. NW; construct a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge across I-5 between Wallingford and the University District; provide a bicycle facility connection between the I-90 Trail and Downtown Seattle; construct multi-purpose trail connections from the SR-520 Bridge to the UW Campus and to Downtown Seattle as part of the bridge reconstruction project; improve the bicycle lanes on Alaskan Way SE, Marginal Way S between S Spokane Street and Downtown, and complete the E-3 Busway Trail between S Spokane Street and Downtown; and either rehabilitate the existing Ballard Bridge or add a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge adjacent to the Ballard Bridge.

Additional components of the Bike Master Plan suggest constructing support facilities to increase the convenience of cycling. These include “integrated bicycle and transit services, adequate bicycle parking, [and] showers at employment centers,” among others.

The Plan also calls for a focus on cycling education, which will be spearheaded by CBC. The organization plans to break the city into six geographical locations, and canvass each with an intense education outreach lasting for about six months. This will consist of going door-to-door, attending meetings and community events, and distributing door hangers. Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of CBC explains that they will do “Everything we can do to educate people about environmental friendliness, [and the] health benefits...[that] cycling is safer than they perceive.” Gordon Black of BAW elaborates that the education aspect will unquestionably be the most difficult aspect of the plan. “People need to know how to ride competently, confidently, and safely,” says Black. “The ‘bad’ cyclists are becoming the minority. We have to create the right conditions and the right ambience for riders,” he adds.

Throughout the next 10 years, the Bike Master Plan will be “monitored on an annual basis.” This will involve regular counts of cyclists in various areas, with before and after counts being conducted when new facilities are built. Automatic counters will eventually be purchased to assess information 24/7 at selected locations in the city. The city will also observe the percentage of estimated 2017 bike parking demands met by lockers and bike racks at Seattle transit stations, and the number of Seattle residents participating in bicycle or pedestrian safety events or educations programs.

Funding for the BMP is expected to come from the Bridging the Gap levy and federal and state grants. The Plan also suggests establishing a bicycle facility grant match reserve fund, which would make it possible for the city to have matching funds available to take advantage of state and federal grants, “even if other city funding sources are not available.” Some of the Plan’s projects are expected to be “piggy-backed” onto other projects; for example, when the city replaces the Magnolia Bridge. With the Complete Streets legislation, the city is mandated to consider the needs of cyclists while working on street improvements. Though there seems to be an uncertainty thus far about where exactly all the funds for the $240 million project will come from, many remain optimistic.

Portland, a city known for its bicycle friendliness, has faced uncertain budget issues as well. They found their Platinum Bicycle Master Plan in danger after funding was cut last April. (Portland is currently rated as “gold” by the League of American Bicyclists, but hopes to raise their standing with their updated plan.) Funding was reinstated the next month after additional revenue was located from higher than expected business license receipts. Their current Plan, which was adopted in 1996, has not received an update in the past ten years. Mia Birk, the former bike coordinator for the city of Portland and current principal at bike and pedestrian planning firm Alta Planning and Design, helped draft the original, and is working with the city to make a complete overhaul to the current Plan. The city held monthly rides to assess how Portland could best improve their cycling infrastructure.

What Birk and her colleagues found was that in the inner part of Portland, the percentage of people who commuted by bicycle was a lot higher than those on the outskirts of the city. They deduced that a large factor in residents’ decision to cycle was the connectivity among cycling facilities; essentially how easy it was for commuters to ride (and feel safe) along their entire trip. Portland, like Seattle, hopes to improve this substantially in the coming years.

As Seattle looks toward the future with their newly passed Bicycle Master Plan, many are curious to see where the city will go from here. Gordon Black of BAW states, “I think it’s our job to ensure that the timeline expenditure is adhered to. It’s incumbent upon every cyclist and advocate to doggedly follow this plan, otherwise it becomes another dusty report sitting on a shelf.” Ayers echoes this statement, explaining that CBC will be playing a “watchdog” role. He states, “The plan is only as good as its implementation.” When asked if the Plan’s timeline would get extended upon funds not being met, he responds, “We don’t plan on letting that happen.”

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