I can’t say enough how much I enjoyed this week’s pro-bike manifesto by Eli Sanders. To his list of bike death traps in Seattle, I would add the following: Olive Way coming up Capitol Hill from the west, where there’s barely room in the lane for even one car, much less a bike; Pine Street coming up the hill from downtown, where the city dealt with biker complaints by painting a bicycle icon right in the lane, thus encouraging cyclists to feel safe even though they’re still in the middle of traffic; and Leary Way, a terrifying free-for-all with no bike lane and 40-mph traffic.
Seattle’s not a TERRIBLE city for bicyclists; but with all the lip service the City Council and mayor give to making the city bike- and pedestrian-friendly, it should great. Bike lanes (unlike, say, tennis courts and skate parks) aren’t just recreational; they’re part of our transportation infrastructure, and as such, they shouldn’t be a luxury.