The future of bicycling in Seattle is up to us
Shannon and one of her daughters
We all have our own story about why we love bicycling. For Shannon Koller, a mom, international educator, seasonal pumpkin carver, and a budding bicycle advocate, it’s all about her girls.
“Getting rid of our second car was an easy choice for my family – we simply weren’t using it," she says. "Over the last couple of years, my husband and I had become year-round bicycle commuters and our girls either bike or walk to their schools every day."
Shannon's daily commute route takes her from her Ballard home to the UW via the Burke-Gilman Trail, including the Missing Link.
“This route connects me to so many of the places that I want to go on my bike – but I would not, under any circumstances, ride with my children on the Missing Link. It’s simply not safe for a 9- or 12-year-old who are still emerging urban bicyclists," Shannon states.
Seattle’s Bike Master Plan Update highlights the Missing Link project, and other projects that are important to connecting our neighborhoods – from West Seattle to Rainier Valley to Magnuson Park, Ballard and beyond.
“Exciting things are happening in our neighborhoods as we encourage and teach our young bike riders how to be urban bicyclists," Shannon says. "Now we need to provide world-class bicycling infrastructure that will support and protect those riders.”
If you believe that Seattle should be a city where Shannon’s girls have the freedom to safely ride to where they need to go, come join her and dozens of your friends and neighbors at an Seattle Department of Transportation open house to speak up for a connected Seattle where it is safe and comfortable for everyone, including Shannon’s girls, to ride a bike.
SDOT is ready to give us a taste of where Seattle is headed with the Bicycle Master Plan Update – from SDOT's draft vision, goals and objectives, to actual lines on a city map that mark where our new bikeways might go.
This is an exciting time for the future of bicycling in Seattle but if we don't stand together and speak up now for world-class bikeways in our communities, we could end up with a plan that calls for more sharrows on four-lane arterials.
Pick a date below to RSVP and let us know you'll join your friends and neighbors at an SDOT open house on the Bicycle Master Plan update to speak up for a connected Seattle where it is safe and comfortable for everyone to ride a bike:
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Seattle City Hall
Thursday, Nov. 8, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at New Holly Gathering Hall
Tuesday, Nov. 13, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at University of Washington
This is our chance to plan for a city connected by 200 new miles of world-class bikeways by the year 2020, where safe and comfortable bikeways reach 95 percent of all Seattleites within a quarter-mile and 20 percent of all trips are made by bike.
Since last May, SDOT has received over 3,500 survey responses and collected a ton of data on their interactive map from Seattle residents like you. That’s a good start, but now your input is needed in person at these open houses. You’ll get the chance to make your voice heard about what planned bikeways work well, and which areas need more attention. This is a remarkable opportunity to help shape the future of bicycling in Seattle, so please RSVP and invite your friends today!
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