Action Alert: Demand Protection for Eastlake Ave Bike Lanes!
- clara
- Nov. 18, 2021
Protected bike lanes on Eastlake Ave connecting the University District and South Lake Union are long awaited and eagerly anticipated.
But current designs show protection ending two blocks south of the University Bridge, leaving people unprotected through the most dangerous section of this entire corridor.
Act now to demand a complete, protected bike connection through this vital corridor! Comment period closes Monday, Nov 22, 2021.
A Dangerous Gap in Protection
The current design, which includes a gap in the protection for people riding bikes between Fuhrman Ave E and Harvard Ave E, just south of the University Bridge, is unacceptable. This unprotected area is especially concerning due to the volume of high-speed vehicle traffic to and from Harvard Ave and the I-5 highway on-ramp.
Already A Heavily Used Route, Even With Current Dangerous Conditions
This bike route fills an essential missing segment for people traveling between the University District and South Lake Union, two of Seattle’s neighborhoods with the lowest rates of car ownership. And the route is already extremely popular: Despite current dangers, during peak hours, there are over 120 people on bicycles per hour riding along Eastlake Ave. The University Bridge has the second highest volume of people on bicycles in the city.
Yet it is an exceptionally dangerous route for people travelling by bike. From 2012-2017, there were 39 reported bicycle collisions along Eastlake Ave -- and those are just those that were reported. The map above shows car crash data in the section where protection for people on bikes drops. Click here to see the full map. A comfortable, fully protected route along this corridor has the potential to increase the number of people riding bikes to where they need to go exponentially.
Continuous Protection is Critical
Bike routes are only as comfortable as their scariest section, and we can’t keep building bike routes that stop and start, dropping the protection for people riding bikes in the most dangerous sections. This design means the route won’t be comfortable for many including families, kids, elders, disable people, and new riders. 60% of Seattleites say they want to bike more, and safety is the number one reason they don’t. Fully protected bike lanes are critical for maintaining safety throughout the entire corridor, creating better bike network connections, and increasing ridership. Click here to learn more about our citywide campaign to #UnGapTheMap!
Seattle’s Climate Action Plan calls for an 83% reduction in road transportation emissions to reach our 2030 climate goals. Every effort should be made to increase the utility, safety, connectivity, and attractiveness of the city’s bike network to make bicycling a viable option for more people, for more trips. We appreciate the work that has been done to this point to plan for bike lane protection along the Eastlake corridor, and it is why we are pushing so strongly for the final block of this project to receive the same attention.
Send an email to elected officials now to demand a complete, protected bike connection through this vital corridor! Comment period closes Monday, Nov 22, 2021.
Click here to learn more about our campaign to #UnGapTheMap!
Thank you for your continued advocacy!
Clara Cantor
she/her
Community Organizer
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
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