The League of American Bicyclists has announced their newest Bicycle Friendly Business ratings, and Seattle Children’s leads the way in Washington State.
And that should come as no surprise to anyone following all the work the hospital has done recently to encourage employees to bike to work. They went way beyond just providing quality bike parking and other amenities like showers.
Seattle Children’s funded safe streets projects in the neighborhood, including one of the city’s first neighborhood greenways on 39th Ave NE. They built a new trail connection to the Burke-Gilman and a protected bike lane to help complete the connection to their campus. Their theory was that if you help create safe and comfortable bike routes, their employees will be more likely to bike. And, no surprise, they were right.
They also helped sponsor Pronto Cycle Share and, most recently, opened an on-site bike shop offering employees free tune ups and discounted repairs while they work.
Apparently, that’s what a “Platinum” level bike-friendly business looks like, according to the League. Seattle Children’s is the only business in Washington State to receive that rating and one of only 20 in the nation. In fact, they are the only medical center in the country to receive the top rating and one of only five employers with more than 500 employees to reach Platinum. So, every other major employer in the area, the bar has been raised. Your move.
WA Bikes lays out the rest of the new and upgraded businesses:
Newly Named Businesses: Gold
- Sanitary Service Company, Inc. (Main Office), Bellingham
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
- GGLO, Seattle
- Novo Nordisk Research Center, Seattle
Moving Up: Gold
- Anderton Law Office – Washington Bike Law, Seattle
Newly Named Businesses: Silver
- Sanitary Service Company, Inc. (1001 Roeder Ave.), Bellingham
- Allen Institute, Seattle
- Starbucks, Seattle
- Sportworks Northwest Inc., Woodinville
Newly Named Businesses: Bronze
- Golder Associates, Inc., Redmond
- Conduit Coffee Company, Seattle
The next application cycle deadline is July 15, 2015. For more information see the League’s Bicycle Friendly Business page. When you work with these businesses and others on the Washington Bikes list of all Bicycle Friendly Communities, Businesses, and Universities, thank them for helping grow bicycling statewide in the #1 Bicycle Friendly State.
I am surprised Microsoft is not on the list. They have all of the amenities mentioned above: secure bike parking, showers, 2 on site bike shops (though one of them I wouldn’t take my tricycle to) plus bicycle shuttle service between Redmond and Montlake.
I fail to see how buses driven by people who are a menace around people riding bikes ferrying the rich between their rich neighborhood and their work campus because they don’t want to actually have to ride the bike is remotely “bike friendly”. I mean yeah, it’s friendly to the sort of person who likes the idea of telling people they commute by bike without actually putting any effort into it, but who cares?
I think you are missing the point. You can’t bike of the 520 bridge and everyone doesn’t have time to bike over the top of the lake both ways. Once the new 520 bridge is completed the need for a bike shuttle will be no longer.
I would much prefer to just ride across the bridge if I could but I’m afraid a 1:45 commute each way by going around just isn’t ok. Would you prefer I drive instead ? Or take your spot on the bus bike rack ?
These are all great, progressive improvements, but not entirely done out of altruism. The Children’s Hospital expansion required vacation of an entire City street (public ROW), and demolition of about two dozen low-income homes. To grant the street vacation, Children’s needed to offer public benefits in exchange for the public land, and to offset the impact of their expansion to the surrounding neighborhood. The street vacation process was done through the Seattle Design Commission, where these improvements were negotiated ($2 million in ped/bike improvements in the surrounding neighborhood).
An of course Children’s contribution was enhanced by having buy off the Laurelhurst Community Club mafia.