Seattle Mayor’s Bike Lane Retreat Enrages Activists

Environmentalists and bicyclists in Seattle are furious at Mayor Jenny Durkan after she capitulated to opponents of safe streets on an important corridor.

On Tuesday, the city unveiled new plans for 35th Avenue NW, featuring highway-width lanes and no bike infrastructure. The city’s Bike Master Plan has called for protected bike lanes on this important corridor since 2014. Data show that 198 people have been injured on the roadway since 2004, according to Seattle Bike Blog.

Durkan appears to have caved to a small group of residents who opposed the bike lane. This group, called Save 35th Avenue NE, was intense in its opposition, sometimes almost comically so. Last year, members attacked the project, claiming the “single mothers don’t commute to work on bikes,” only delete their account under fire from a bunch of bike-riding moms.

That group was concerned about the loss of 40 parking spaces, according to local reporter Erica C. Barnett. But the plan rolled out by Seattle DOT on Tuesday — confusingly — still eliminates parking. Rather than a bike lane it adds a turn lane.

Seattle DOT’s Twitter announcement of the design was subject to the worst “ratio” possibly in the history of Twitter.

The city’s decision apparently followed a meeting with both bike and opponents and proponents.

“We have decided not to install bike lanes,” Samuel Zimbabwe, Durkan’s interim transportation adviser told residents, as reported by the Urbanist. “This is a decision we’re happy to stand on.”

Later, in response to the drubbing it received on Twitter, the Seattle DOT did indicate some openness to revising the design.