I can only assume there was some kind of calendar mix-up, because there are at least three important bike-related meetings at the same time this evening.
We have written previously about the 23rd Ave Corridor Neighborhood Greenway meeting (5:30–7:30 p.m. at Nova High School Auditorium in Miller Park).
It is also the first Wednesday of the month, so it’s the Bicycle Advisory Board’s monthly meeting at City Hall (6-8 p.m., Room L280).
And on Beacon Hill, the city will hold an open house to discuss a road safety plan on Beacon Ave S between 14th Ave S and the Mountains to Sound Trail.
The project includes new sidewalks, crossing improvements and a new ramp at the base of the S Holgate St bridge.
The meeting is from 6–7:30 p.m. at the Beacon Hill International School.
- S Holgate Street Bridge
- Replace staircase with a continuous sidewalk
- Increase safety and access for all
- Improve connection between Beacon Hill and SODO
- Beacon Avenue S from 14th Avenue S to S Holgate Street
- New sidewalk on the east side of the street
- Uphill bicycle lane
- Permanent street closure at 13th Avenue S with improvements
- 14th Avenue S and S College Street
- Curb bulbs to reduce pedestrian crossing distance
- Improve visibility and safety for people crossing the street
- Beacon Avenue S and 14th Avenue S
- All-way stop and marked crosswalks on all sides
- Reduce pedestrian crossing distance
- Southbound left/right turn only, except bicycles
- Reduce cut-through traffic on 14th Avenue S south of Beacon Avenue S
Comments
9 responses to “So many bike meetings tonight: Beacon Hill, 23rd Ave greenway, Bike Advisory Board”
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I just got back from the central district meeting at Nova. Boy, what a mess that was, especially in terms of cycling advocacy! The majority of crowd commentary had to do with vehicular traffic, parking, and a general resentment at having a pie-in-the-sky project shoved down their throats. I saw plenty of helmets and Ortliebs and rain gear, but the bodies that went with them were mostly silent. Meanwhile, the geezer contingent won the day. Then, THEN, there was the matter of the slow-paced, dull, boring as hell slide presentation that just sucked the life out of the room. While Mr. Dull droned on about design elements and parameters and blah blah blah the haters became filled with passionate intensity and the lovers lost all conviction (or something like that).
I’d say that’s a pretty good summary of how it went. What a train wreck.
I’m a bit confused. Were people at the meeting upset about having a proposed greenway “shoved down their throat”, or the reworking of 23rd Ave? Or were they just taking the opportunity to vent about traffic/parking frustrations in the area in general?
Who were the folks from SDOT presenting this?
I was there too, and got the same impression as Fred and Tom.
To answer your question, Andres, there were contingents of both. A depressing number of people insistent that this was the first they’d heard of any changes to 23rd, so they were going to have their chance to complain about it, agenda be damned. And about as many again who were worrried about the greenway for one reason or another. Ironically, some of them seemed concerned that it would become a car traffic siphon off 23rd, which SDOT really could have addressed if their presentation had been any good.
Thanks for going Fred- sorry to hear that it was such a mess. At least the Tea Party didn’t crash the show.
We posted a bit of aftermath commentary on our blog, but with a softer lens: http://centralseattlegreenways.com/2013/11/november-6th-meeting-on-23rd-corridor-greenway-possibilities/
I showed up late at the CD greenway meeting because I was running late and it was closer… but I probably should have checked out the Beacon Hill meeting. Did anyone check out how that went?
Beacon Hill was decidedly not dry and mostly curmudgen free. Ped and bike safety and convinience are strong concerns in our neigborhood and all folks present seemed to agree that slowing auto traffic and safer crossings are needed improvements. Good, right? 14th and Beacon is a challenging beast of an intersection however. Maintaining bus traffic flow, access to an auto shop, reduce cutthrough traffic but don’t allow backups to adjacent intersections were some repeated concerns.
So much to do, and to do it without compromising safe ped and bike access for which this is all about. I guess you could say that this intersection is all about tipping point. If we compromise it, fewer peoople will leave their cars behind or get out for excericise, reducing the need to drive. Right?
Luckily you can come back out in a couple months where SDOT will present a plan reflecting design feedback. We need more people showing up to say yes to short term vehicular “inconveniences” to improve passage for all. Giddy up.