WAY TO SHOW UP SEATTLE!#Ride4SafeStreets pic.twitter.com/eRxSV45toP
— The Ride For Safe Streets (@4SafeStreets) June 16, 2019
Hundreds rolled and walked from Seattle neighborhoods to City Hall Sunday to protest inaction on street safety issues under the Jenny Durkan administration and to call for a new “Green Transportation Package” for the city.
Organized by Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and the MASS: Move All Seattle Sustainably coalition, the Ride for Safe Streets event came after the latest implementation schedule for the Seattle’s bike plan revealed watered down plans for new bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure across the city.
Today's #Ride4SafeStreets was testament to the community's frustration that, in one of the most prosperous city's in the nation, our streets are still not safe to walk and bike. Walking and rolling down 4th Ave was a powerful, palpable reminder how people-centered places energize pic.twitter.com/S4v0y71hD6
— Cascade Bicycle Club (@CascadeBicycle) June 17, 2019
Protest at Seattle City Hall against cuts to safe streets by @MayorJenny and @seattledot. #SEAbikes pic.twitter.com/EwUcrtPryi
— Seattle Bike Blog (@seabikeblog) June 16, 2019
This one is for you @MayorJenny ! #Ride4SafeStreets pic.twitter.com/v3BVxrpNNi
— Daigoro Toyama (@daihard) June 17, 2019
Amazing turnout for the #Ride4SafeStreets. Why can’t 4th Avenue be safe for bikes all the time? pic.twitter.com/csw3HwLkig
— Queen Anne Greenways (@QAGreenways) June 17, 2019
“We WILL make our streets safe & comfortable for everyone thanx to people like you,” Seattle Greenways said via social media following Sunday’s big rally.
“Too often, infrastructure improvements are pitted against each other and that’s not right,” City Council member Lorena González said.
Monday night, Central Seattle Greenways is holding a neighborhood tour and forum with candidates for the District 3 seat on the City Council to talk about “how to make our neighborhood streets friendlier for people walking and biking.”
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Interesting how Councilmemeber Sawant didn’t show up to support this movement. I bet she was out of town raising outside money from rich donors in NYC. Any word on where she was and why she’s not supporting the movement?
Her campaign was planning to have a presence at the rally
https://twitter.com/VoteSawant/status/1139292484293447683
3 of 9 Seattle councilmembers were prominently in attendance:
– CM Bagshaw
– CM O’Brien
– CM Gonzales
A number of people seeking to become councilmembers also were in attendance.
Sawant was not present, nor did I see visible evidence of any of her staff.
Maybe she doesn’t think the avg cyclist is sufficiently proletariat enough for her to spend her time on?
Quite likely.
And sadly so, as much of the event was around transportation justice for people of color living in South Seattle who have the most deadly streets in the city.
Sawant needs to go…..asap…no re-election for her please.
Sawant has numerous times at candidate forums and in council chambers made clear her support for safer infrastructure as well as transportation equity in the broadest of terms. She has attended memorials for people killed by traffic violence. I have spoken with her twice IRL on this and she gets it. Her twitter feed suggests staff were at the event although I did not see her.
On the positive side, CM Gonzales gave a great speech. When is she running for mayor? Durkan needs to go.
Where is the cyclists outrage over the waste and squander SDOT engaged in over bicycle infrastructure ” improvements” like the 2nd Ave. $1,000,000 a mile cycle track with half the cost going to SDOT engineering? In what world does half a project cost go to the engineers? How much bicycle infrastructure do they think they are going to get at that ridiculous price?
Cyclist activists do not get it. SDOT ripped everyone off, including the cyclists. People are outraged at the incompetence and bureaucratic waste of SDOT’s failed bicycle experiment and Durkan is trying to bring some accountability, realism, and professionalism to SDOT.
That is exactly what a Mayor is supposed to do.
Hopefully Durkan will next get rid of the elements within SDOT responsible for the bicycle waste and squander.
Seattle needs crosswalks and curb ramps more than bike lanes and cycle tracks. In fact Seattle was sued by the Federal government for failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act for failing to build over 20,000 missing curb ramps.
Where is the cyclists outrage over Seattles’ proven denial of disabled people’s federally guaranteed rights? Not a peep.
Why? Because Seattle Cyclist activists only care about themselves, and Seattle is sick and tired of their whiny self absorbed sub culture.
If cyclists really want to get what they need, they should give up their unrealistic, unaffordable demands, and support the changes Mayor Durkan is trying to make in SDOT.
Seattle Greenways and Cascade Bicycle Club need to butt out, sit down, shut up, and let the Mayor do her job.