Hi Everyone -- please forgive me for just pasting in what I just posted on Cascade, but since you all are the ones who generally express the most concern and followup for injured cyclists I wanted to let you know what I saw today. If anyone knows anything about this cyclist or how they are doing, I would really appreciate any info.
--
I'm writing this while I'm still extremely shaken up, please forgive me if it's a little hard to follow and rambling.
I live in Ballard and am a fair-weather bike commuter down 8th Ave NW to the BG trail. Today, like most days lately though, I was in my car around 8am headed south. There were a number of bikes in the bike lane at 65th and 8th, and I counted them as usual going by. At Market Street, a bike went through with the car 2 in front of me just as the light changed, and then about 90 secs later the car in front of me and I got to go through. We caught up with the cyclist a couple of blocks before Leary and then suddenly we all realized something was wrong in front. ((NOTE: On lower 8th there is no bike lane but people tend to stay right along the car line rather than taking more of the lane because there WAS a bike lane, I think. There's a median turn lane so drivers can get around bikes no problem generally. Parking is inconsistent along the route, so I sometimes see bikes going further in and then back out, trying to stay out of the way of cars.))
At 8th & Leary is a new bio-diesel gas station, and there was a large pickup truck sticking out into 8th, stopped in the middle of a left turn north onto 8th -- the front half in the lane, the back half obscured behind a large hauling truck parked in front of what is now probably going to be a much more used driveway (gas station is new to the service station there). At first I thought it was a car fender bender, as there was another car stopped in the road (the car that had made the light at market 2 in front of me). But then I saw someone pick up a bike and I looked down and there was a cyclist on the road with someone bent over him/her (i could only see the bottom half -- they were not moving). The car in front of me immediately pulled over and two people from the gas station area were running out as well.
I'm really second-guessing myself right now, but I turned left to clear the area rather than stopping. With 5+ people involved my first thought was that I didn't want to block the road or get in the way or be some sort of useless lookyloo. But on the other hand, I realized later I had an emergency kit in my trunk with a space blanket and stuff. I don't know how much help I would have been though, since a block or two away I dissolved into a shaking, crying mess.
I'm so worried for that cyclist and so angry about the conditions that led to the accident. It would have been almost impossible for the driver of the truck to see around the very large hauling truck parked right up against the driveway. I personally HATE turning onto lower 8th from the west side streets because the parked cars at the curbs and the layout of the street make it extremely difficult to see what's coming from the north. You kind of have to pray. It's a terrible place for bikes to be hugging the right. I commute that road a lot but I generally get up onto the sidewalk for the last block (the block with the new gas station). I never thought about it too closely, but I always just felt safer up there, plus I could hit the button to cross Leary to the BG. The median turn lane dissolves there, and there are usually large work trucks parked at the curb, and people are sometimes rushing to make that light, so it always felt a little nuts to me. Now that there's a more high-volume business there (gas station added to a service station) with people making a blind turn out of there, this is a complete cluster-you know what.
Anyway, I'm just so concerned for the person hurt and so angry that there was no thought about this dangerous intersection and what introducing a change like higher traffic in and out of a station might mean, and so shaken up because I ride there, my husband rides there, my friends ride there. 30 minutes ago I was ready never to ride a bike again. Now I'm just mad. Where do I start? At the minimum, I think the curb north of the station on 8th needs to be striped for No Parking, so that people can see bikes and smaller cars as they turn out of there. Parking large haulers there can no longer be allowed.
Suggestions? Sorry about the rant. It helped to write it out.
n_claw
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:21 am
Joined: 02 Jul 2007Posts: 517Location: the only hill: Beacon
feel free to rant some more, we're sort of the angry bikey Seattle contingent, if you haven't noticed.
other than finding out the status of the rider and giving them any support they need, whether it be a loaner bike or repairs or a referral to a bicycle-accident specialized attorney, we can
a) take up their cause with the city (only after determining where/if this intersection is slated for improvement on the recently-approved Bicycle Master Plan)
b) raise awareness of the various problems this intersection thru a SeattleLikesBikes ride, as well as going to City Council/Bicycle Advisory Board meetings and raising the issue, writing letters, and calling the pertinent figures. also, getting media coverage is very helpful. it sounds likes it's not just a threat to cyclists, but to motorists (and peds?) as well.
i hate bringing in the political bit, but we have to make the change we need to be safe. it is unlikely it will be given to us without our rightful bitching.
god, i really hope this rider is okay. keep us posted if you get any more details? i feel guilty, but i always think 'i hope it's not one of us', then i think more and realize that ANY Seattle cyclist (even the squids) feels like 'one of us' to me if they brave these roads.
be well, N*
Lutella
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:39 am
Joined: 20 Mar 2007Posts: 206Location: all dressed in yella
When I rode by this morning there were EMTs and maybe a couple other people helping what looked like a disoriented female. She looked pretty out of it, but they had just moved her so she was sitting up on the sidewalk.
jahara
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:59 am
Joined: 08 Aug 2007Posts: 9
Thanks n_claw. The Seattle Likes Bikes ride would be a great idea, and I'd be happy to work with the group to help set it up. I rode with the first one this summer (i was the one with the madame gridlock panniers in the Stranger writeup, ha ha).
I don't know, but I think this street/intersection probably is actually considered already a "bike corridor" since it connects a bike lane (although, the marked bike lane ends at market st) to the BG. I'll do some research into this.
___
Edit: Lutella -- thanks for the update! That had to have been the cyclist, and the fact that they let her move to sit up is a good sign.
n_claw
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:01 am
Joined: 02 Jul 2007Posts: 517Location: the only hill: Beacon
alright, let me know what you find out. just because it's a bike corridor doesn't mean it isn't slated for further improvement, but it doesn't mean it IS, either. and either way, it seems pretty clear that the city needs to step up their time-table on improving this intersection for ALL users.
btw, my name is Nova, in case we haven't met. i don't remember seeing your Madame Gridlock panniers, tho I remember seeing some of the images--they were awesome!
be well! ride safe, ALL!
bobhall
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:28 am
Joined: 28 Jul 2006Posts: 460
from cascade forum wrote:
Some possible good news, on point83 a rider went past this accident at some point later in the morning, and said the EMTs had a disoriented female cyclist sitting up on the sidewalk
Who was the .83 rider?
gsbarnes
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:30 am
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
Earlier incarnations of the BMP had the bike lane on 8th continuing down to Leary (with a sharrow between Leary and the BGT, but that's just one block of lightly-used road, so no biggie).
The BMP as ratified may be different from what's on the map (which is dated late May), but because 8th Ave NW was identified as part of the 'Urban Trails and Bikeways System' (sort of the barebones of the planned network; see p35 of the full plan), it doesn't seem likely they would muck with it.
You could write the city or David Hiller of CBC for more info. Writing the city is a good idea no matter what; it lets them know that people out there care about this issue.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
joeball
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:37 am
Joined: 24 Jul 2005Posts: 6037Location: Ether
bobhall wrote:
from cascade forum wrote:
Some possible good news, on point83 a rider went past this accident at some point later in the morning, and said the EMTs had a disoriented female cyclist sitting up on the sidewalk
Who was the .83 rider?
Look 3 posts up from your original.
jahara
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:38 am
Joined: 08 Aug 2007Posts: 9
After settling down a bit I realized I could call Bernie's Automotive, and they did have an update. The cyclist was evaluated and released without being taken to the hospital. Her husband came and picked her up. The guy at Bernie's said he and the owner were talking about whether they might be able to install mirrors at the driveway. The guy I spoke with got a little nervous talking to me about it, I don't blame him because there might be a potential liability here.
Looking at the BMP there's a short light blue strip right over the block where the accident occurred, and north of that block, a dashed blue line. Which, if I read it right, means they want a bike lane south of market, but a sharrow for the last block. Which is essentially the situation now and won't exactly help matters unless they remove the sight impediments.
Will continue to ruminate and agitate. Hope the cyclist herself does too, once she's feeling better. Hope her bike is OK and she doesn't find herself in the common situation of discovering injuries hours later once shock wears off and inflammation sets in.
gsbarnes
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:57 am
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
jahara wrote:
Looking at the BMP there's a short light blue strip right over the block where the accident occurred, and north of that block, a dashed blue line. Which, if I read it right, means they want a bike lane south of market, but a sharrow for the last block. Which is essentially the situation now and won't exactly help matters unless they remove the sight impediments.
Unless I'm reading you wrong, I don't think that's right. The light blue strip is south of Leary. You're referring to a business north and east of Leary, right? The BMP map shows a bike lane on 8th on all blocks north of Leary ending way north (near Carkeek Park), with a sharrow for the single block south of Leary until the Burke-Gilman.
For reference, the green line on the map is the Burke-Gilman, not Leary.
In any event, bike lane or sharrow, it sounds like you have ideas about making the intersection safer, which should be brought up with the city.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
n_claw
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 11:05 am
Joined: 02 Jul 2007Posts: 517Location: the only hill: Beacon
the sight impediments sound like the biggest issue here, and they're not just putting cyclists at risk, but drivers, as well.
i'll try to put in a call to Cascade's advocacy hotline for info on accidents at that intersection later today, as well as a clarification of the BMP, but if anybody else has time, i'd certainly appreciate it.
okay, now to try to work while i seethe. *sigh* there are too many of these stupidly bad intersections, all across the city. all across the goddamned nation. but this is MY city.
jahara
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 11:29 am
Joined: 08 Aug 2007Posts: 9
GSBarnes, you are right -- thanks for the correction. I apparently have an old version of acrobat so I'm not getting very good resolution on that damn map and totally misread. I don't see there being room there for two lanes of traffic, parking and a dedicated bike lane (at least based on what they decided on lower Stone!) so who knows what they have planned. At the very least it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
n_claw, I've sent about 20 emails today to SDOT, city council, mayor and contact CBC. I'll keep at it. And yeah, it's really the driveway with the blocking trucks that's going to continue to be the issue. I hope Bernie's Automotive gets a good scare from this and puts in the mirrors. The guy was trying to be nice but I could tell he wanted to blame the cyclists generally by saying they needed to use a different street and that most of them "rode without wearing the correct propaganda" (sic). The owner is calling me back later, supposedly.
I'll keep bugging the city. Thanks all for helping me out.
pete jr
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 11:41 am
Joined: 13 Dec 2005Posts: 1930Location: balls deepx
Foo, this is all you.
Foo
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:18 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Sweet Jebus, I'm sick people, stop getting hurt!
I still haven't earned back my sleep debt from all the Bryce stuff.
OK, I'll throw a line out to David Hiller to see what he knows. I have to talk to him anyway. If someone can stop by the accident scene and see if you can find out the rider's name, I'd like to check to see how's she's doing.
jahara
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 2:43 pm
Joined: 08 Aug 2007Posts: 9
I'll go by and try to see if someone has her name and will pass it on. I worry I might have made the folks at Bernie's cagey tho.
I actually got a phone msg from Monica DeWald from the Seattle Bike Advisory Board. She was concerned and plans to visit the site early next week and will try to call me again as well. That's cool.
I'm going to bring the camera along to the intersection when I drive down. Depending on time of day and whose trucks were parked there earlier, the obstruction may be gone, but if its there I'll try to document it.
jahara
Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:15 pm
Joined: 08 Aug 2007Posts: 9
Well, whaddya know. I got this from the SDOT -- they are going to restrict parking around the service station driveways to make it easier for bikes and peds and cars to see each other. Too cool:
EMAIL:
Thank you for contacting the City of Seattle regarding bicycle safety in Ballard. I share your concern for making bicycling in Seattle a safe mode of transportation.
I understand you have already been in contact with us (Seattle Department of Transportation) regarding this issue. I am happy to report that our Arterial Street Operations group is planning on placing a no-parking sign on the north and south side of the driveway to the bio-diesel station. This will create better sight distance for bicyclists and motorists.
You are correct, 8th Avenue NW from 45th to Leary, has been identified in the Bicycle Master Plan as a facility to receive “sharrows”. We are in the process of prioritizing the corridors for our 2008 bike facilities. This process should be completed by mid-December. If you would like more information on the 2008 projects, please contact me directly at (206) 684-5374 or via email directly at monica.dewald@seattle.gov
Again, thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts on improving bicycle safety. I will be happy to assist you further.
Sincerely,
Monica DeWald
Associate Civil Engineer Specialist
Seattle Department of Transportation
rlotz
Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:59 pm
Joined: 23 Jan 2006Posts: 311Location: Capitol Hill
Monica actually rides bikes too. She's been whopping ass in women's Cat 4 cross this year, her first season. A lot of people in SDOT are trying to do the right thing, but as with most things in involving the government, it can be hard.
n_claw
Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:59 pm
Joined: 02 Jul 2007Posts: 517Location: the only hill: Beacon
YAY!
Thanks for the update, I am so happy to hear about this--was cruising around there a week or two ago and wondering how this was going to resolve.
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