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Cranksgiving 2024 is Nov 23!


  • Publicola: SPD emergency driving policy now instructs officers to consider road conditions, safety of other road users

    Screenshot of the policy text: Sworn Employees May Drive in an Emergency Response Only When the
Need Outweighs the Risk
The preservation of life is the highest priority. Criminal apprehension and the
preservation of property are secondary.
Sworn employees should consider the following when making the decision to engage
in an emergency response and will modulate their response accordingly:
- The nature of the emergency.
- The priority level of the call.
- The opportunity for others to perceive and react to the sworn employee, and other
emergency vehicles.
- Character of the location (i.e., freeway vs. side street).
- Weather and roadway conditions.
    Excerpt of the updated SPD Emergency Vehicle Operations policy (full policy PDF)

    Though you would hope it would have been common sense, the Seattle Police Department recently updated its emergency vehicle operations policies to specify considerations officers should make before choosing to drive above the speed limit, Andrew Engelson at Publicola reported. Officers should take into account the street’s “character,” such as whether it is a side street or a highway, and whether or not other road users will be able to react to their speeding police vehicle.

    The changes are part of the continuing fall out from the killing of Jaahnavi Kandula in early 2023. Kandula was walking across Dexter Ave in a crosswalk when SPD officer Kevin Dave struck her while driving 74 miles per hour on the way to a reported overdose. Her death sparked outrage and demands for change.

    Since the tragedy, SDOT has fully redesigned the fatal intersection as part of a larger Thomas Street redesign that includes a protected intersection at Dexter.

    More details from Publicola:

    In mid-October, the Seattle Police Department released new emergency vehicle operations (EVO) policies that instruct officers to “drive no faster than their skill and training allows and [what] is reasonably necessary to safely arrive at the scene.” The new rules were a belated response to community outrage after an SPD officer, Kevin Dave, struck and killed 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula in a South Lake Union crosswalk while driving 74 mph.

    The new guidelines also advise officers to consider specific factors before deciding whether to break speed limits or traffic laws when responding to emergencies – including the priority level of the call, whether pedestrians can see and respond to an officer’s vehicle, the “character of the location (i.e. freeway vs. side street)” and weather and road conditions. 

    The new emergency driving policy now more closely aligns with SPD’s pursuit policy, which directs officers to pay attention to various factors before deciding whether to pursue a subject. SPD’s previous policy was extremely vague and gave little specific guidance to officers about when they can engage in emergency driving other than “where there is a legitimate concern for the preservation of life” and “only when the need outweighs the risk.”

    [Read more at Publicola]

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  • A guide to biking in the rain and darkness

    A protected bike lane downtown in the dark with lights reflecting in the puddles.

    As darkness once again descends around us, your bicycle is a torch to illuminate the path and keep the monsters away.

    It’s brutal to end daylight savings time the same week as we hold an election with foreboding implications. Nightfall has suddenly jumped an hour earlier, matching my emotional state. Though it is not the solution to the core causes of these problems, your bicycle could at least be medicine to help you through it all.

    Even in non-election years, the annual fall time change is a shock for many people who find their moods affected by the sudden change in seasons (can we please stop the clock changes already?). For many, bike rides home from work have been plunged into darkness, and with the change in seasons comes more rain. Every year, some people choose to leave their bikes in storage around this time. I am here to urge you to try doing the opposite. Try embracing fall and winter biking as seasonal therapy. Getting outside no matter the conditions is empowering, especially once you have figured out all the gear solutions you need to make a rainy and dark bike ride not just manageable but enjoyable.

    As the saying goes, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” You do not need to suffer in order to bike through the winter. Finding the gear that actually works for you is an investment that will pay off as you save money by biking.

    Every person’s body and sense of style is different, so there’s no single solution to suggest for you. Below is a list of rainy season biking gear, ranked roughly in order of importance in my opinion. Got advice I left out? Share it in the comments below.

    (more…)
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  • Seattle voters approve at least $487M for safe streets

    Incomplete election results from election night showing Proposition 1 winning 67 to 33 and Alexis Mercedes Rinck winning 57 to 42.
    Results as of election night. See updated results from the King County Elections website.

    The Seattle Transportation Levy appears to be sailing to a landslide victory after the initial drop of ballots showed the measure passing with 67% of the vote, a margin that could grow as more ballots are counted.

    Over eight years, the levy promises to invest more than $160 million in Vision Zero, $193 million in sidewalks and crosswalks and $133 million in bicycle safety. Those three categories total $487 million for direct investments into safer streets, about double the annual amount in the expiring Move Seattle Levy. It also promises $151 million for transit improvements and $66.5 million for public spaces in addition to $221 million for bridges and $403 million for street maintenance. It does not include any funding for new or expanded roadways.

    With these funds in hand, Seattle has the means to make a meaningful push to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030, the city’s stated goal since 2015. The city also has the means to make meaningful progress on reducing its largest source of greenhouse gas emissions: Road transportation.

    Washington State voters also appear to have rejected I-2117, an effort to repeal the Climate Commitment Act’s carbon tax that funds a lot of active transportation and trail work in the state’s budget. The initial results from election night show 62% of voters rejecting the initiative. This is another huge win for climate action, biking and walking safety, and many other investments. This result should also give WSDOT the state the green light to begin its delayed e-bike rebate program.

    The approval these votes by such wide margins are much-needed rays of hope in our community on a very grim day for the nation. I see our community believing in itself and investing in a better tomorrow. We’re not giving up just because the problem seems difficult, even insurmountable at times.

    “Tonight’s results demonstrate that Seattle voters are committed to advancing a safer transportation system that benefits all,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell in a statement declaring victory for the levy.

    Unfortunately, there are strong echos of 2016 here, when the region passed Sound Transit 3 funding in the same election that Trump won the first time. I went to the ST3 party, and it was grim. People were in tears everywhere, and it was hard to muster much of a cheer when the transit measure passed. It was a big local win overshadowed by a much larger loss.

    I know a lot of you are feeling horrible today. It has taken me hours to write this story because my mind keeps drifting back into the doom spiral thinking about our nation’s future. I am grateful that I had a rec league hockey game scheduled last night in Mountlake Terrace. An hour and a half of biking round trip was very helpful for my mental health. Getting outside and moving my body broke up that painful ball of anxiety in my gut so I could at least start working through it. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t come up with any answers to fix our nation’s problems, but I found strength in this thought: Remember that your community loves you.

    As I wrote in 2015, the path to the Move Seattle levy “was paved by the lives of people who did not need to die.” The same is unfortunately true in 2024. But Seattle has defiantly responded to a rise in traffic deaths with a rise in traffic safety funding. We refuse to accept that beloved members of our community must die to preserve the status quo on our streets.

    Thank you to everyone who worked to make this transportation levy as good as possible, and then everyone who worked to get out the vote and make sure it passed. Special thank you to Rita Hulsman, who did not allow our city’s leaders to take their eye off what really matters in this levy. We have done a genuinely good thing that will save lives and make our city a healthier and better-connected place.

    Map of Seattle with a dense network of proposed bicycle routes.
    The 20-year plan for the Seattle bike network, from the Seattle Transportation Plan. The new 8-year levy won’t build this whole map, but this is the plan that will guide at least $133 million in new bicycle safety investments. The plan also states that any streets selected for paving should also include the designated bike facilities.
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  • Which ballot dropbox is the most bike-friendly? + It’s not too late to register or get a replacement ballot

    Selfie of the author wearing a bike helmet about to put a ballot into a drop box with gas works park in the background.
    I dropped my ballot here Saturday evening and received a text Monday morning saying it has been counted. This is how voting should work in every state. Track your ballot’s status and sign up for alerts via the King County Elections website.

    I biked my ballot to the drop box near Gas Works Park the other day, which got me wondering: Is this the most bike-friendly ballot drop box in Seattle? It’s across the street from the Burke-Gilman Trail, so that’s got to be hard to beat. I threw together this map overlaying ballot drop box locations on the Seattle bike facilities map, and there are a lot of bike-friendly drop boxes around town. This close to election day, it is best to take your ballot to a drop box rather than use the mail just in case it doesn’t get postmarked by election day or get lost en route.

    Map of Seattle with bike facilities and drop box locations marked.
    Use the King County Elections website for an interactive map of all county drop box locations and addresses. Other county drop box maps: Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish.

    Speaking of voting, if you are already registered in King County but lost yours or never received it because you forgot to change your address, there is still time to print out a replacement ballot online. If you have not yet registered, you missed the deadline to do so online. But you can still register in person up to and including election day by going to the King County Elections Office in Renton (919 SW Grady Way, Suite 100, Renton, WA 98057). Election info for other nearby counties: Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish.

    Both Lime and Bird are offering a pair of free rides through election day to encourage people to vote. Use code VOTE2024 in the Lime app or code RockTheVote2024 in the Bird app.

    There are still volunteer opportunities to help pass Seattle’s Proposition 1, the Seattle Transportation Levy. The No on I-2117 campaign is also hosting a big get out the vote phone banking day tomorrow. You can join from anywhere. The polls have looked decent, but we also have no idea how accurate they are this year. It seems like polls get shakier and shakier each election cycle as fewer people answer unknown numbers. We have to assume these two measures that are vital to biking and walking safety in our region will come down to the wire and that we will need every last vote we can get.

    By 8 p.m. Tuesday, no home should contain both a bicycle and a ballot. Let’s win this thing.

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  • Saturday: I’m speaking at the Center for Bicycle Repair’s 6th Year Anniversary Party

    Illustration of the Center for Bicycle Repair storefront with a colorful tree in front. Text: Saturday November 2nd at 1 pm. Sixth Year Anniversary! Special Guest: Tom Fucoloro.
    Poster design by @kiocell.

    Join me at the Center for Bicycle Repair‘s 6th Anniversary party 1 p.m. Saturday (November 2) at their shop on Jackson Street between 10th and 12th Avenues.

    I’ll be giving a presentation about some of my book research followed by a conversation and Q&A with Center founder Cory Potts. I’ll also be happy to talk and sign books afterwards. There will be snacks and drinks. More details from the Center for Bicycle Repair:

    The Center for Bicycle Repair and Restoration became a business on Halloween, back in 2018. Since then, the shop moved from a condemned store front space below an Odd Fellows lodge in Kent to a former florist and jewelers in Seattle’s Little Saigon Neighborhood.

    On November 2nd, at 1pm, we’re celebrating our anniversary with a talk and reading in the shop by Seattle Bike Blog’s Tom Fucoloro, who will be speaking about his book, Biking Uphill in the Rain. Everyone is invited: we will have treats and Seattle Bike Blog swag for you.

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  • SNGreenways storymap shows how the 2015 transportation levy ‘made Seattle a safer place for walking, biking and rolling’

    Screenshot of the storymap showing a map of seattle with 9 projects marked. The first is about the downtown Seattle bike network.
    Check out the full feature.

    The 2015 Move Seattle Levy added nearly 100 miles to Seattle’s bike network, repaired or replaced 44 public staircases, built 1,600 new accessible curb ramps, made 293 transit improvements, repaired 220 blocks of sidewalk and built 350 new blocks of sidewalk. This is in addition to all the other road and bridge maintenance work.

    It’s easy to forget how much Seattle has accomplished since voting in 2015 to nearly triple its transportation levy. Now that voters are in the process of deciding whether to increase the levy by yet another 88% annually by voting YES on Seattle’s Proposition 1, it is worth revisiting what the expiring levy has accomplished.

    Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, which has endorsed Prop 1 and has been working to get out the vote, created a StoryMap highlighting just a few of the projects that only exist because voters in 2015 approved the levy. Some of my favorite projects that they didn’t list include the Duwamish Trail connection just south of the West Seattle Bridge, the SW Admiral Way bike lanes (do you all remember how scary that climb used to be?), and the Rainier Valley Neighborhood Greenway (though it’s not an effective alternative to Rainier Ave bike lanes, it is a great project on its own). A few more major levy-funded additions are still pending construction, including the Georgetown to Downtown bike route, the Alaskan Way bikeway completing the Elliott Bay Trail, and the in-construction project on 11st/12th Ave NE that will connect to the Eastlake bike lanes as part of the under-construction RapidRide J project.

    I, for one, am excited to see what SDOT can accomplish with 86% more annual funding for Vision Zero, 105% more funding for sidewalks, curb ramps and crosswalks, and 108% more funding for bicycle safety. Vote YES on Proposition 1! If you want to help further, sign up for a volunteer effort to get out the vote.

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Cranksgiving 2024 is Nov 23!

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