The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is, once again, proving that reducing congestion in a traffic-ridden city is not a top priority. Rather, pumping taxpayer dollars into feel-good projects that have little impact on the vast majority of people, like a network of bike lanes in downtown, takes precedence.
According to KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz, SDOT is relying on the “if you build it, they will come” delusion. In other words, officials appears to believe that, by building in a network of bike lanes, people will—all of a sudden—want to bike to work. Rantz points out the flaw in SDOT’s thinking,
“Because if you live even in Queen Anne, you’ll want to bike to work in the rain, arrive sweaty, take a shower in the office shower room that you don’t have, pull your wrinkled suit or uniform from your bag, and go about your merry day.”
According to an SDOT survey, a mere 3.1 percent of commuters use bikes to get to Downtown Seattle. The percentage is actually down from last year. So, why invest in a transportation project that only helps a small segment of the population? Rantz,
“Because Seattle Department of Transportation Director Scott Kubly is a bike activist. So he kowtows to the 3.1 percent (catering to the 1 percent is wrong when you’re talking about rich people, but the 3.1 percent is alright because they’re on bikes)…
“If city officials want to put bike lanes up without impacting driving and busing, then go for it; I like the idea. But that’s not what the city is doing. They’re doing this even though it directly hurts traffic because they don’t care about drivers.
“The city really doesn’t care about the driver experience. They want to cater to the 3.1 percent at the expense of the 96.9 percent.”
Perhaps taking its cue from Sound Transit, SDOT is pretending it cares about citizen input. It is asking people to weigh in on the project. The problem is that SDOT is already moving forward with its plans, so people’s opinions don’t actually matter to the department—not that it ever has. Rantz,
“West Seattle residents found out SDOT is getting rid of parking on Admiral Way and installing bike lanes. The neighborhood went bonkers, tried to stop it. The residents understood this will be awful for their community, but SDOT is moving forward anyway. Rather than listen to the people, the department told them that they know better.”
Because, as we can all attest, government always knows best…especially liberal government.
“The city really doesn’t care about the driver experience. They want to cater to the 3.1 percent at the expense of the 96.9 percent.”
So, according to Mr. Rantz, nobody commutes to downtown on foot, in a bus, or via light rail.
I think we can all now just stop pretending he knows anything useful about this topic.
According to me? When did I say that @tensor — look forward to the quote you provide.
… look forward to the quote you provide.
Look instead to the quote I already provided. I’ll add emphasis to help you this time:
The city really doesn’t care about the driver experience.
Commuters on busses, light rail, the monorail, or on foot are not drivers.
Oh, and we see that Shift is up to their usual standards for fact-checking: the image chosen to illustrate your ill-informed rant about bicycle lanes in Seattle’s downtown core is of the cycle lanes on Broadway. (To be fair, being off by only a mile or so is really, really accurate for this site.)
Didn’t he use the figure 3.1%? Wake up tensor. Is your spandex to tight or what. Where do they find you people?
Just another 3% constituency you can fight for. Go Comrade!
Bike lanes don’t help pedestrians, buses or light rails… just saying…
Bike lanes don’t help pedestrians, buses or light rails… just saying…
Rantz’s claim was that somehow bike lanes hurt bus commuters. He didn’t offer any proof of this. If he had, my response would have been to create more dedicated bus lanes. (Second Avenue has a bike lane down one side, a bus lane down the opposite side, and traffic flows well there.)
Wow. you’ve spun so much on this one, you’re tied up like a pretzel. Comrade Context: the king of the nonsensical argument. Congratulations, you’ve outdone yourself this time.
Your command of actual facts equals that of Mr. Rantz.
The next time you take advantage of Seattle’s favorable business climate to make some more money here, please enjoy your driving experience.
Dude, You must be an absolute Rock Star down at the Ministry of Truth. Anybody that can fold, spindle and mutilate the truth to say “Seattle’s favorable business climate” is #1 with a bullet. (Sorry, forgot you’re afraid of guns, my bad) I bet all the new guys want to sit next to you on the gray bus, in your gray uniforms, bouncing and crashing along pothole filled streets to another glorious day down at the Ministry.
“Seattle’s favorable business climate”
If Seattle does not have a favorable business climate, then why do you come here to make money?
… your gray uniforms, bouncing and crashing along pothole filled streets …
This from the guy who won’t stop whining about how Seattle repaired street damage by installing multi-colored crosswalks.
Dude seriously…..you know 2nd is not a happening street like 3rd or 5th, or even 4th for that matter……wow….’reality’ is calling you back….answer the call….LOL
Don’t get out much, do you?
7 days a week! Literally in every part of the city, and talk to everybody unless i find out they’re too stuck up, there are so many people who r completely distraught about these bike lanes…sure they may stay around, but hopefilly youll be one of the casulties, not hoping for ur death, just injured enough that u cant walk or talk, …i would say to not reproduce…but probably dont have to worry about that on from you now do we 😉
Pay your own way, like 100% if you want transit but the vast majority of road users pay the lions share of the taxes only to have them stolen to subsidize the little utilized trains, buses, bike lanes, etc. Flip the numbers in the favor of those who actually pay the bills towards road congestion relief and we’ll have it for all, even liberal simpletons who believe it’s theirs for the taking. Damn control freaks.
Pay your own way, like 100% if you want transit …
Sound Transit is financed via voter-approved taxes. Seattle’s voters recently taxed ourselves to buy more service from Metro. If you don’t like how our democracy works, that’s not anyone else’s problem.
… the vast majority of road users pay the lions share of the taxes only to have them stolen to subsidize the little utilized trains, buses, bike lanes, etc.
Wrong. WSDOT’s own figures show that road maintenance and improvements cost far more than the combined revenues from fuel taxes and licensing fees. WSDOT borrows the difference; motorists are subsidized via public debt. Meanwhile less than a whopping 1.2% of WSDOT’s budget went to mass transit.
You had grabbed my attention for a little bit, that’s until I got to this part “Because, as we can all attest, government always knows best…especially liberal government.” I hear Somalia doesn’t have a working government and they’re not liberal there.
I agree that using conflated terms like “liberal” has lost its effectiveness. But I personally am looking at both sides. It makes some sense to me (due to the impossible nature of more roads) to create mini zones where drivers are incentivised to park and provided alternative transportation up and down the business corridor. Most certainly, I don’t see where motor vehicle taxes (gas etc.) should be used to eliminate or diminish their use. I commented to my teenage boys the other day how beautiful our roads were maintained in the late 70s and 80s and now we see cracks and fill ins and years of stalled road work. I argued that when I went around the world to other countries this was something that stood out to me and I would think, “the degraded roads in this country is a sure sign of a depressed and diminished value.”
Seattle has created their own issues with increases in rents, by decreasing our ability to commute from home to work downtown. It has created a huge demand for housing (who wants to commute 4 hrs a day from the Eastside, North or South in a car or bus with all it’s unpredictable traffic problems?) So they have created bike lanes and have taken away car lanes. To whom are they helping? They are getting themselves re-elected with their base and making themselves feel like they are doing something for the environment. Can we actually measure that environmental impact of this? No. It’s so low, it can’t be measured. Can we calculate the loss of income to people who are struggling to pay their rents now? Oh yes we can. How about the loss of time sitting in our cars and consequences of more gas burned and air pollution? Yep, I think we can. You see, their are many unintended consequences (or intended) to this type of feel good legislation by the City. I hope they feel better.
Roads are not for cars, bikes, buses or pedestrians. They are for human egress, no matter what common mode is used. It’s the duty of government to make it safe for all. If cars were better at recognizing and responding to bike riders, then it may not be necessary to have bike lanes. But they aren’t, so they’ve actually created their own problem here.
This is so true. I think the same thing here in Portland. Lower speed limits on high traffic streets are now in being set in motion. Drivers will be seeing more limitations due to the fact that cyclists are still loosing arms and legs, and even their lives, due to negligent drivers.
You forgot one of the leading causes of accidents, negligent and arrogant bike riders.
You’ve got some statistics on that, right?
Yes…word of mouth, cuz the tupe of press around here only favors idiotic bike riders,(not all,just the idootic ones)
So William, this is to you and your lil B*tc# tensor(I say that cuz I’m sure hes the receiver!) roads as being ones that are paved were meant only for cars…the transportation of the united states recognized this, and put at that time of inception billions into its infrastructure…..you think they would spend that kinda money on a guy riding a bike delivering goods?….no of course not, the US GOV wouldn’t have invested in that, they invested so goods and people driving could get around besides on trains for the interior os country….Roads were built for cars, and to you trevor, if you argue that, your gonna say the sun isn’t really there, or the earth is really flat…..you just obviously like the fact your brainwashed and taking it in the backside to many times, u know from falling off you lil bike u got impaled back there… 🙂 But all that being said, it still is not fair that something that is for only 3.1% of the people affect the lives of the other 96.9%…and last time I checked….weren’t u dems crying about the 1%?….But that’s why the rest of the country thinks were a joke….bikers get their own lane, and still encroach the cars’ lane! bikers have brand new shiny lane, drivers have to bump down the road and dodge potholes…..ahhh….please take your people back San Fran!
This is the most ill-informed article on transportation I have ever read. Study after study after study has proven that increased car capacity does nothing to alleviate congestion. The only solution is creating more and more viable options for people to get from one place to another: Walking, biking, public transportation, even those weird little one-wheel things the techies are riding now. If you can’t see that more people getting out of cars and choosing a different method of transportation is the only real solution to congestion, then I feel sorry for you and the future of humanity. And that doesn’t mean that NO ONE should ever drive. There are times when driving makes the most sense. But not all times. why invest in something that only helps a small percentage of the population? Because thankfully, at least some people are thinking about the future.
Where in the world do you live, under a rock?
Your idea is absolutely stupid and has been proven so for the last 40 years in King County. You will not get people out of the freedom they enjoy in their cars.
You will not get people out of the freedom they enjoy in their cars.
Yeah, I often see them enjoying all of their freedom — as I ride past their motionless vehicles in a Seattle bike lane.
You fall under the ill informed as around the country, where ‘congestion relief’ is at least a priority additional lanes are added, thus reducing congestion. Ta da a cause and effect we could live with since vehicle drivers pay the vast majority of the transportation bill. Now that would be common sense.
… additional lanes are added, thus reducing congestion.
So, where in downtown Seattle do you propose to add more traffic lanes? Do you plan to tear down a few office buildings?
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is, once again, proving that reducing congestion in a traffic-ridden city is not a top priority.
A rider in a dedicated bike lane is not affected by traffic congestion in the other lanes. Therefore, for those riders, congestion hasn’t merely been reduced, but eliminated.
What planet are you from? The ‘road diet’ approach by the Fed’s and local governments alike are eliminating road lanes and replacing them with little utilized bike lanes. That’s not progressive, it’s regressive and amounts to increased congestion; even you should be able to understand something that simple.
An arterial street gets congested because the surrounding network of streets moves fewer vehicles than the artery can. Slimming the artery thus reduces congestion. Conversely, putting more lanes on the artery just creates more congestion.
Sorry, I really can’t make it any simpler for you.
That’s about the stupidest reasoning I’ve ever read! It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Then I suggest you learn something about engineering of roads in cities.
Where, oh where did you dig that up? I worked in two different government transportation organizations for over 31 years. I know liberal, social engineering BS when I see it.
Where, oh where did you dig that up?
While the data came from SDOT, this blogger did a good job of crunching the numbers.
I worked in two different government transportation organizations for over 31 years.
Seattle has used road diets to improve safety and traffic flow for over 40 years, as the link, above, shows.
I know liberal, social engineering BS when I see it.
I’m sure that’s easier for you than evaluating actual data.
“Seattle has used road diets to improve safety and traffic flow for over 40 years, as the link, above, shows.” Yeah, right! And traffic congestion in Seattle continues to worsen primarily because of idiotic policies concerning private vehicles, public transportation and bicycles. And you’re merely perpetuating the same liberal, social engineering BS that’s hand fed to you.
(what link?)
The same one I provided: http://WalkinginSeattle.org/?p=3661
And traffic congestion in Seattle continues to worsen primarily because of idiotic policies concerning private vehicles, public transportation and bicycles.
Our rapidly growing population might have something to do with it. (It’s a pity your 31 years of collecting paychecks on the public dime didn’t provide you with any insights concerning connections between population density and traffic congestion.)
And you’re merely perpetuating the same liberal, social engineering BS that’s hand fed to you.
And yet, you sit here and repeat your tired, empty, liberal-bashing slogans, all the while offering no data or facts to support any of your claims.
As if the SDOT can be relied upon to publish anything that wouldn’t support their preconceived notions with the approval of the powers that be you are determined to undermine anything that gives furtherance to private automobile ownership in the city. If you’d actually cited a demonstrably objective and unbiased source to support yours and the SDOT’s assertion it would have credibility, considering the source… there’s none.
Predictably, when your empty slogans all fail, out come the conspiracy theories:
As if the SDOT can be relied upon to publish anything that wouldn’t support their preconceived notions with the approval of the powers that be…
(Yes, in a city of single-family houses, the “powers that be” hate cars. Right.)
Then, denigrate the actual evidence, since you know it never supports your claims anyway:
…If you’d actually cited a demonstrably objective and unbiased source to support yours and the SDOT’s assertion it would have credibility,
Like the sources YOU cited? Like the sources Shift cited? Like the sources Mr. Rantz cited? You spent over 31 years in government transportation departments, and you actually believe someone else collects and publishes traffic data? Really?
I’m sure the engineers for whom you worked appreciated all of your hard work at the coffee maker, copy machine, and filing cabinet. They may even have been amused by some of your conspiracy theories. But they knew not to bother trying to educate you on their work.
Well, you’ve more than amply demonstrated it’s impossible to have and adult discussion with a liberal imbecile.
… to have and [sic] adult discussion …
I’ll do you the favor of informing you that we adults use facts, logic, and reason in our civic discourse. Your name-calling, conspiracy theories, and refusal to engage the evidence may make you feel better, but it will win you no debates here in Seattle.
Look for more “road diets” from SDOT, and resultant improvements in traffic flows — including further declines in rates of injurious collisions. I’m sure you and Mr. Rantz will continue to describe all of that as bad things.
you say it wont win any debates….but here’s a fact….city is failing on budgets across the board, businesses are leaving ,except tech and a handful of other ones, and all the while more and more people growing impatient with your peoples kinds of one-sided decisions that are always conveniently ‘snuck’ into bills and levies only to get overturned later thus causing more and more of a budget short fall….the only progressive stronghold left in Washington is only in Seattle, as seen by this latest election compared to prior ones(presidential) and more and more people are getting fed up with it…..just a matter of time and people will plainly see, that there is in fact some greater evil behind all this….GOD willing, the damage can be reversed, and brainwashing will cease! ADAM AND EVE, NOT ADAM AND STEVE tensor!
but here’s a fact….city is failing on budgets across the board, businesses are leaving ,except tech…
So, we’re replacing lower-paid jobs with highly-paid tech’ jobs? How awful.
Have you actually been to Seattle in this decade? Construction cranes across the horizon, population increased past that of Boston, a high minimum wage existing with a higher number of restaurants — literally everything you’re ranting about has no relevance to modern Seattle.
We did choose correctly in the recent elections, though. 🙂
He idiot, most of those cranes you speak about were from loans from a while ago and were on hold because of FUNDING issues, there is still a lot of inrented apts in most of the bldgs, so get off your hi horse u apperently dont know as much as u think, out of the last decade worked in every biilding dtown….even hi security clearance buildings where the rent is so astronomical that only elite can afford it, have personally moved at least 20 or more companies out because they dissolved because its way too expensive, so yeah dtown a little more than you, difference is you most likely are stuck in a box, and have lost touch….what u think u see, u think u know, but u couldnt be more wrong, and as far as you saying everything im ranting about is completely relevant, you just keep doing the typical seattle progressive
democrat thing, and thats deny that anything is wrong, i can already tell you were not born here, and probably havent been here more than a decade….but u keep on telling yourself everythings fine, …your just gonna say the sun isnt there when its a clear sky….wait can you actually understand the fact that, people starting to see right thru the bullshit….this last election says it all…dems are losing their grip, thats why u are commenting on every single post….spreading lies…..but seriously…how are they paying you???
you don’t support a good one yourself, so what’s the difference?
Dude….if u really are one….your acting like a little girl…….I have been driving in this city for over 30 years…especially in north end of seattle. the day they put in bike lanes….literally the next day at 5pm, when traffic at its heaviest, even with a stalled vehicle involved, was never more than 2 to 3 blocks backed up, now almost 2 miles from Northgate way(110th st) all the way past maple leaf park, 82ndsh st….do the math…..all in one night….but I bet your gonna argue that too right?
Love reading all the arguing, bickering comments below! Should be fun watching all the bikers pedal out Seattle to buy food, as they slowly and willfully push businesses further and further away!
Should be fun watching you produce evidence businesses are actually leaving!
Oh they’re leaving, between $15 an hour, no parking due to turning parking spots into bike lanes with the anti business liberal agenda, they’re running them out of the city! It’s so typical, resturants are closing all over the city, and you demand proof? LOL, fk off
No, I asked for you to “produce evidence businesses are actually leaving”. You merely blathered some more empty words.
It’s so typical, resturants are closing all over the city, and you demand proof?
Here’s a partial list of restaurants opening in Seattle just since our minimum wage rose. There’s at least twenty, many of them new locations of existing favorites. Businesses here in Seattle are expanding, not leaving.
So, again — where’s *your* evidence?
What? Your cheap liberal @ss hasn’t been given a computer by the tax payer? Your @ss has Google, look it up Skippy! This isn’t a court of law, I’m not enclined to prove damnit to you! I told your @ss some facts, if you don’t believe it, disprove it! Either search it and learn, or shut the hell up! It’s all over the media for crying out loud!
I told your @ss some facts…
No, you’ve blathered yet more of your empty words.
… if you don’t believe it, disprove it!
Sure. Here’s the graph showing the number of restaurants in Seattle. Note the number has increased every week since our minimum wage increase. This is further proof that businesses here in Seattle are expanding, not leaving.
So, once again — where’s *your* evidence?
Why Are So Many Seattle Restaurants Closing
Lately?
http://www.seattlemag.com/article/why-are-so-many-seattle-restaurants-closing-lately
Um….the duh factor. Restaurant failures are just the tip of the iceberg of businesses failings due to the tyrannical liberal economic meddling, high taxes, regulatory nightmares, lack of parking, etc., etc. Why anyone with a business would want to invest in an anti-business city like Seattle is beyond belief. Let Seattle rot like its sister Detroit, another Democrat hell hole.
Restaurant failures are just the tip of the iceberg of businesses failings…
Did you even read the article to which you linked? It described five restaurants opening as four restaurants closed.
Um….the duh factor.
Well put.
Here is a point counterpoint argument for and against impact of minimum wage on business. It’s worth a look.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/08/04/the-7-most-dangerous-myths-about-a-15-minimum-wage/
NO-NO-NO Its the bike riders who have the problem they should be watching out for themselves also. The other problem is we have way less than 5% of the population in Seattle using bikes. So just how much of the street do they need? So just how much $ do these bike riders pay for the amount of road they use? So what happens to all those fair weather bikers come November 1 & thru May1. What percent of Seattle’s bike riders will still be biking thru Seattle or to work when its raining.
Remember the roads were built with gas tax money…
Wrong. WSDOT’s own analysis shows gas tax money wasn’t nearly enough to build roads. The shortfall was made up with public debt.
Not WRONG. Just WORSE.
TENSOR , PLEASE Do you actually believe anything WSDOT puts out… REMEMBER ITS PART OF WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNMENT. If you do BELIEVE even part of what they put out then there is a big hole in the middle of Seattle which they have been digging for a tunnel and you might want to invest money in that tunnel as the Brooklyn has already been bought and sold many times.. Then why isn’t enough money? The state has been collecting gas tam money for as long as I can remember. So how do other states can finance their roads?
TENSOR , PLEASE Do you actually believe anything WSDOT puts out… REMEMBER ITS PART OF WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNMENT.
Well, since you put it in ALL CAPS, you SIMPLY must be RIGHT.
Seriously — why should we not believe WSDOT’s own spending report? (Hint: “silly anti-government paranoia” and “I don’t want to admit we motorists are just another government-subsidized special interest” are not factual statements.)
I think Washington state should be licensing bike riders and require license plates for all bikes. O am tired of bikers who think they own the roads and push their way onto the roads often jeopardizing my life and theirs. Wake up voters and get rid of these liberal progressives.
I think Washington state should be licensing bike riders and require license plates for all bikes.
I think we should take all of the money this proposal would waste, and spend it on improving safety for all motorists, bus riders, cyclists, and pedestrians.
I am tired of bikers who think they own the roads…
By law, they have just as much right to be there as do you.
…often jeopardizing my life and theirs.
Cyclists tend to fare poorly in collisions with cars.
Wake up voters and get rid of these liberal progressives.
Seattle’s primary election results say hello.
I think you are on the wrong forum. George Soros is looking for you at Media Matters. You’re wasting your time here.
Given your lack of citations and quotes to support your claims, I’d say you are on the correct forum! 🙂