Tag Archives: mike o’brien

We Can’t Wait, Part I: People pack City Hall to end Seattle’s bike plan delays

Seattle has not built a bike lane downtown since October 2014. The 2nd Ave bike lane was supposed to demonstrate what could be, but going into summer 2016 it remains all that is. Holding signs saying, “My Family Bikes” and … Continue reading

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SDOT backpedals even further on already-slashed bike plan, cuts 9th Ave

It took only two weeks for Seattle’s Department of Transportation to cut the only significant center city bike lane from their already-scaled-back 2016 plans. The 9th Ave N bike lane would have connected the new Westlake Ave bikeway (due to … Continue reading

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Pronto buyout passes committee amid confusion, heads to full Council vote

At the end of the City Council Sustainability & Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday, the Pronto ordinance appeared to end in a 3-3 tie with Councilmembers Tim Burgess, Lisa Herbold and Debora Juarez voting NO and Rob Johnson, Kshama Sawant and … Continue reading

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Pronto buyout is not only a good deal for Seattle, it’s the only choice that makes sense

Sustainability, access to healthy transportation choices, economic development, congestion reduction, innovation. Public bikes grow and support so many of Seattle’s goals and values as a city that it’s hard to believe we are even thinking about cutting modest losses and … Continue reading

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Pronto needs city buyout before end of March, how did we get here?

The hard deadline to save Pronto is March 30. With more than 30,000 people taking 144,000 trips in the first year of operations, supporters and City Councilmembers are scratching their heads trying to figure out how Pronto got into such … Continue reading

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O’Brien will Chair the Transportation Committee

It’s not just for photo ops, Councilmember Mike O’Brien really does bike everywhere. But he’s also not just about bikes. O’Brien has a seat on the Sound Transit Board, and he has been a strong advocate for biking, walking and … Continue reading

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2015 City Council endorsements

Before the City Council primary this year, we wrote: the biggest mission for this primary should be to knock out the NIMBY candidates who fear change and want to put the brakes on our growing city and the multimodal streets … Continue reading

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Scenes from Bike to Work Day 2015

Happy Bike to Work Day! Remember, there are still a couple after parties if you haven’t gotten your fill of hanging out and talking bikes (as though that were possible!). This morning, I caught the Beacon Hill Local Service Bike … Continue reading

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Cascade announces some early City Council endorsements, supports Godden opponent

As we reported earlier this week, Cascade Bicycle Club has wisely chosen not to ditch their political election work. We also reported that the club’s first political act after making that choice was to endorse Rob Johnson for Seattle City … Continue reading

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Sound Transit wants to allow more time to find Northgate bike/walk bridge funds

The Northgate biking and walking bridge would connect North Seattle Community College and its surrounding neighborhood to Sound Transit’s planned light rail station on the opposite side of I-5. It would also provide a rare comfortable crossing of the wide … Continue reading

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Regional leaders ask for more time to find Northgate bike/walk bridge funding

A group of regional elected leaders, including two members of the Sound Transit Board — Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien and King County Councilmember Larry Phillips — have asked the agency to disregard the July 2015 funding deadline for the … Continue reading

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SDOT fails to bike and chew gum at the same time, hasn’t started bike plan due last month

Tuesday’s City Council Transportation Committee chat with incoming SDOT Director Scott Kubly got off to a strange start as committee chair Tom Rasmussen and Councilmember Mike O’Brien laid into Deputy Mayor Kate Joncas (and to a much lesser extent Kubly … Continue reading

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Happy Bike to Work Day!

You gotta love Bike to Work Day. It’s like a look into the near future when the everyday bike commute rate grows a bit higher. Plus there are people all over the region waiting at tables to wave at you … Continue reading

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Friday is Bike to Work Day: Ride with Councilmembers + Map of commute stations

Bike to Work Day is Friday! It’s the perfect day for interested people to make the leap and give biking to their jobs a try. The number of people biking downtown surge, giving a little look into the near future … Continue reading

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Congratulations to Ed Murray, Mike O’Brien and other election winners

Ed Murray has been elected as the next Mayor of Seattle. We look forward to covering transportation issues under his leadership. He has campaigned on the claim that he can forge the partnerships needed to get things done, including safe … Continue reading

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You’ve voted by now, right? If not, here’s a mini-guide

If you haven’t voted, do it now. I mean it. Go get your ballot. I’ll wait… … … OK, good. I say to vote now because mail-in voting allows procrastinators to, well, procrastinate. Then it’s the day of the election … Continue reading

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Parks Levy and O’Brien way ahead, McGinn looks strong in early returns

King County voters overwhelmingly passed the county parks levy, which among many other parks projects could help accelerate development and planning of high profile regional trails like the Eastside Rail Corridor trail, missing trail connections near Snoqualmie, work on the … Continue reading

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Endorsement: Mike O’Brien for City Council Position 8

Mike O’Brien is an unwavering supporter of transit, biking and walking, and he is not afraid to take a stand in favor of safe, modern transportation even if might cost him some political capital. But that’s not the only reason … Continue reading

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Why an $80 vehicle license fee makes sense

The city is considering an increase in the Vehicle License Fee (car tabs) to help pay for the massive backlog in road maintenance. But the proposal recommended by the citizen’s committee tasked with putting the funds to use also saw … Continue reading

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