Bicyclists push for designated bike lane on Fremont Bridge

By Callie Craighead, SeattlePI

Up to date

11:30 am PDT, Friday, September 18, 2020

A coalition of bicyclists in Seattle have began a petition asking the Seattle Division of Transportation (SDOT) to put in designated two-way bike lanes on the Fremont Bridge to enhance security and assist with social distancing.

Ballard-Fremont Greenways began the petition after members shared considerations of security hazards of getting to trip on the street throughout busy intervals. The group says the sidewalks of the bridge, that are shared by each pedestrians and cyclists alike, are too slim for enough bodily distancing as they solely attain 6 toes huge.

“The unsafe situations alongside the sidewalks of the Fremont Bridge drive cyclists to make the not possible selection between risking their well being by driving too near different folks on the sidewalk and risking damage by driving with motor autos in site visitors,” wrote the organizers. “Cyclists shouldn’t must make that selection.”

Final yr, the bridge recorded over 1.2 million bike journeys in 2019 and was set to outpace that quantity in 2020 earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Nonetheless, with much less folks driving transit amid virus fears, biking has seen a surge in popularity that’s certain to develop much more as folks start to return to work within the downtown space.

Whereas town has designated 13 different busy areas, corresponding to Lake Washington Blvd., as “Keep Wholesome” streets to advertise bodily distancing throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Fremont Bridge is an important hyperlink over the Ship Canal and Lake Union, particularly for commuters.

Pedestrian and bike advocates at Seattle Neighborhood Greenways expressed their assist for the petition.

“There has by no means been sufficient area for folks on the bridge, and now with social distancing the problem is much more acute,” wrote the group in a Fb submit.

An SDOT spokesperson informed KING5 Information that the division is taking the security considerations significantly and plans on issuing a proper response to the petition within the upcoming weeks.

In the meantime, sidewalks and bike lanes across the metropolis are about to get extra crowded as Lime has deployed 500 electric scooters as a part of a pilot scooter program. Two different corporations are additionally anticipated to launch 500 scooters every within the coming weeks.

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