Comments on Nice!

PERFECT politics!! He can throw some days in where bikes reign supreme and then turn around and fuck them come Monday morning for the daily commute.

Greg, you are truly a Clinton-Democrat!

Now if only he'd designate a "women only" day out, you'd probably be in hog heaven, wouldn't you, Ms. Pathetic Mud Dragging Whiny Flipflopper?

Every post you make further blots any credibility this publication has. I hope somebody is keeping score.

Um, but then, how will the taxpayer-subsidized roads be used for single-occupancy drivers that the cyclists subsidize?

I mean, next thing you ask for, you'll want them not to build the streetcar through the U Dist given that more than 90 percent of the people here don't want it ... while asking them to build a streetcar thru Fremont to Ballard where 90 percent of the people there want it ...

How does closing a street from cars encourage its use for everyone, including cars?

Closing Rainier is a good idea, for the very reason you claim it's not; people are constantly doing 45 up and down that section and not treating it like the pedestrian-heavy small community it is. If they really need to get somewhere in a hurry MLK Way is just over the hill and much faster.

Erica, please stop writing about bicycles until you can demonstrate that you have operated one outside the comfy confines of Capitol Hill.

K? THX. BYE.

What the hell is up with the attitude copped toward Erica? If she wrote the same posts under "Eric" or even a set of initials unknown, you monkeys wouldn't throw this poo.

oh, snap @6!

good point.

Amelia, When you continually slant the news to your meet your own narrow agenda and discount valid points only because they disagree with yours, well ... expect to get a lot of shit.

So is the lesson here attack and you shall recieve?

I am a cyclist so put your firey sticks away

Seems like a reward for the efforts of Critical Mass.

Which is a god damn shame.

The Mayor's next proclaimation:

"Bring Back the McRib Day!"

So, good idea, with Lk WA Blvd and Rainier Ave aka HWY 167 closed between S Alaska and S Orcas we have...hundreds of cars careening down the hood's streets where the
children and unicorns play? Construction that closed Bangor couldn't keep the local mfs from trying to bust through, this should be an awesome hot sunday in the hood ending with at least one violent moment. Good plan, team "we don't actually live there, we just think it's a good idea".

Cool, but I was hoping they'd close Lk Wa Blvd through the Arboretum, too. It's basically a freeway through the park. Anyway I think it's a good start, and hopefully they will expand this to some larger arterials, and routes that link through the entire city, in the future.

Maybe Gregg can close the viaduct every other Sunday and pray this when the next earthquake will bring it down.

I'm not sure I see the point of closing that stretch of Rainier. Orcas to Alaska is by no means a pleasant, scenic ride; I agree with the poster above that the road through the Arboretum would be a great idea (and Lake Washington Blvd gets closed often enough as is, so no biggy,) but Rainier is just an ugly arterial.

ECB,

You are an idiot. Closing Rainier Ave S from 10-6 on a Monday is a horrible idea. Can you please move to Canada?

I'd like to see a closed Viaduct some Sunday, too, so I can go out and take all those incredible photos you can see from up there but never capture.

@14 makes a lot more sense.

And if you carpooled on the Viaduct, you'd have lots of chances to take pics, Fnarf.

Is ECB under contract or something? Dan? Is she your sister?

Do better.

Uh, 14th Avenue East from Volunteer Park to East Republican Street is six blocks, with almost no traffic anyway. What's the point?

I mean, a block party would be nice.

I do not live on Capitol Hill. Please make a note of it.

The pedestrians better watch out for the cyclists who will mow their ass down without a second thought.

Will you be at the next critical mass? Will you be racing in the Dead Baby Downhill? Will you come ride with .83? Have you ever ridden with Cascade? Chilly Hilly? STP? Ever been to 20/20 cycles? The Bikery? MOBIUS? The Bike Shack? Bike Works? Slow Sunday? Hump-Day Hustle? Bike to Work Day?

I'm only curious because for someone who seems to love cycling as much as you do I find it odd that no one has ever seen you on a bike off of the hill.

Consider this an open invite. Come ride with us (the cycling masses of Seattle).

Seriously, we don't *bite

*Derrick Ito bites. Hard.

Wasn't the Critical Mass melee at 14th and Aloha, right in the middle of the August 24th closure?

And I wonder if Greg "I'm Afraid to Ride" Nickels knows that this six block stretch of 14th has potholes large enough for him to bathe in.

Let's face it, if it was closed to cars, ECB would be upset by all the people with fixies and wheelchairs using it.

ECB Philosophy: Streets are not for transportation, they are for "making points".

This is cool and all. But how many times have you all tried biking/walking a reasonable distance with two or three children? I know -- I'm a bad person for reproducing and causing more people pollution and all that -- but seriously, do these street closures benefit anyone but singlefolks with no kids? Are we fast approaching liberal fascism?

"Do something that will really make the point that streets are for everybody, not just cars. Close Rainier from 10 to 6 on a Monday."

Start doing shit like this and you'll see a pretty strong move toward declassifying bikes as vehicles. Not to mention that the 95% of people who do not ride bikes as transportation will grow rather impatient with funding bike improvements.

Instead of just trying to piss people off, how about pushing solutions that would work for everyone, like making dedicated bike and pedestrian corridors maybe anchored with BRT, street cars, and light rail. Third ave in downtown would be a good start. Throw in some street vendors and public space and you've got a place people will actually like.

Oh snap! @27 wins.

@28 - more times than I care to remember, actually. I had a bunch of younger siblings.

And actually, @29 wins.

Okay, so on second thought this plan isn't nearly as gutsy as it should be. NYC is planning a similar thing, three Saturdays in August, on a route that extends from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Park. Freakin' PARK AVENUE and Lafayette, people (major intersections will be open to cross-traffic). That would be equivalent to Seattle closing off a downtown avenue from the ID to Queen Anne, or maybe Madison from the sound to the lake. Doing this on a major arterial, where people already live/work/congregrate, would bring the crowds out and not make it a liberal fascist event for singlefolk (that's for you, @28).

I mean, seriously, 14th? Why not 15th?

But, baby steps.

I'm one of the handicapped bus riders you complained about slowing down YOUR commute on the No. 9. And you bet, Monday through Friday, I take the bus to work. Thanks for trying to fuck it up even more for me, "ECB." Maybe I should just accept a handicapped placard from the DMV and start driving every day. Why not, free parking?

Yep - another step forward for ECB's well-documented screw-the-handicapped agenda, I guess. I wonder if it occurs to her that a large portion of the populace cannot, for one reason or another, ride a bicycle.

Better yet - why not 12th?

Seattle is becoming more of a Nanny State than San Francisco. Hard to believe considering the general level of incompetence among local politicians,

My suggestion? Do something that will really make the point that streets are for everybody, not just cars. Close Rainier from 10 to 6 on a Monday.

Close Rainier. Not just to cars, bicycles, pedestrians... Close Rainier. That'll learn 'em: Everybody -- Stay off the fuck off this fuckingforeverybody street!

Oh great. Everytime a street is closed in Seattle, then the parking situation becomes a nightmare all around it due to the already limited parking. Now, I have a garage on Cap Hill, but I know plenty of people who don't and this effects them; especially ones that don't have M-F jobs.

And not everyone can commute via bike, or even have a place to store it. I would love a bike, but at my last apartment there was literally *no* place to put it. This whole 'cars are evil, bikes work for everyone they are just lazy' agenda is annoying. Why do we have to close streets? I don't understand the purpose. I don't see any benefit, even for bikers.

Everytime a street closes, an angel gets its wings...

@19: you are an infected twat pustule. No, you can't, because you're moving too fast. Maybe you don't know how photography works?

I'll believe the roads are not just for cars when cyclists stay off the sidewalk. Bikes are to people what cars are to bikes. Minus more traumatic injuries.

@40 Now Fnarf this is Will we're talking about, of course he knows how photography works he probably babysat Ansel Adams' kids and dated Annie Leibowitz...

@38, it's interesting that you're complaining about the temporary closure of a couple hundred yards of roadway but at the same time, advocating for people to permanently park their cars on public roads. If they don't have a garage on their own property, then perhaps they never could afford a car in the first place. People like that have turned half of Seattle's streets into one-ways but that's ok, right? Just because somebody has a car doesn't mean they own the property it sits on. That's why they are called PUBLIC ROADS.

The viaduct is open to bikes one evening every month.

Closing Rainier, even for three hours, is bold.

...or it's savvy politicking; a poison pill put into the plan to make sure the South Seattle community rejects this idea out of hand.

Then Nickels' office will be able to say they both "tried closing streets" and "are listening to the community" when they go ahead and back out of the plan in 2009.

@38 - take the bus, Original Monique. And remember to fume at the wheelchair users who use it ...

@40 - invest in a more recent steadicam camera - the more modern ones are pretty good, especially if you're not using a car with shot shocks.

It's kind of pathetic how up-in-arms people get about something as trivial as closing a street on a single day that might inconvenience them slightly if they're too stupid to plan ahead.

A good roads system would have a mix of roads, some favoring pedestrian uses, some favoring bicycles, and some favoring cars, with most having a mix of all three. You wouldn't need to have temporary road closures for bikes because there would be permanent routes available. And really, even without this ideal, what's the difference between a cyclist's day on a major arterial and an annual parade that blocks traffic for everyone else? It's a city; sometimes public facilities are in use by a specific group, inconveniencing everyone else. If that kind of thing bugs you, maybe you should leave the fucking city and build a bunker on your rural compound.

@46, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. A Steadicam is the stupidest fucking idea I've ever heard of. I'm not making a fucking movie, I'm taking photographs, and in addition to the jouncing motion (which the Steadicam isn't very good on) there's the issue of motion blur, which the Steadicam does NOTHING for, and the framing and angle of the shots, which the Steadicam does NOTHING for. And Steadicams cost thousands of dollars.

The only thing you see when you drive on the viaduct is a movie of the car in front of you, because your mind is blinkered. If you took a look to your right or your left you'd see more, but you still wouldn't be able to take it in; your "buffers are full" to put it politely.

DOUG. mentions something that is both true and useful, which is more in ten words than you could ever accomplish in a thousand lifetimes. Jesus. Shut the fuck up.

I may have jumped the gun on the "true" part. Where can I find more info about this bike closure, DOUG.? I'm not turning anything up in Google.

It is open to cyclists the last Friday of every month...

Can you provide a link? The only thing I'm finding is that one-off viaduct ride Critical Mass did last year. I'm not looking to hang around with them.

Sorry, thought the ellipsis would give it away. I was joking and I think Doug was too. The last Friday of every month IS Critical Mass day.

Fnarf just got pwned.

Thanks for playing.

Can I buy a vowel?

INDEED!!!

@42 - nope, never met either.

You can buy a modern camera with motion-stabilizing features for around $800, actually, Fnarf. Unless you're one of those film nazis.

Image stabilization doesn't do a blessed thing for motion blur, Will. Really, I know what I'm talking about, and you do not. You're a fuckhead. A complete and utter jizz bag. Go away.

Is it just me, or have other primarily-pedestrian people in Seattle noticed that our city's auto drivers seem much more cautious at pedestrian crossings since the Critical Mass Fiasco? Seems like I've gone four days straight now without once having my right-of-way cut off by some horsepower-entitled asshole or another--a milestone!

Anybody else?

Quite the opposite, Jeff. I came very close to getting creamed by a truck today in the marked, unsignaled crossing right in front of my work. Small sample size theater.

@58, no more than usual. I walk home most days, and unless it's a really busy intersection like Lk Wa Blvd and Madison, drivers will generally stop to let me cross. I'm also not a terribly militant pedestrian and only cross a few busy arterials, so my walks are generally confrontation-free.

BUT I am glad I no longer work downtown, becuase the red-light running down there is out.of.control. I was developing serious pedestrian-rage issues at motorists.

SWEET!

I'm going to take a lawn chair and sit in the middle of the E 14th. Get a lot of friends to do it, and we'll have a grand ol' time. It'll be a protest!

Fnarf @59,

Three questions:

One, did you get the license plate number?

Two, do Kelly O and Ari Spool still have all that Rize we keep hearing so much about?

Three, do you have contact info for both Kelly O and Ari Spool, and Critical Mass?

Critical Mass must get awful thirsty riding those bikes all day long. Maybe you see where I'm going with this...

No, don't know, no. I'm good for nothing. But decorative.

Closing off Rainier for 8 hours on a Monday? Oh, that'll go over just great with the doo-rag contingent. You live in the whitest part of Columbia City, don't you? Chicken.

I absolutely agree with Fnarf. I would love an afternoon of using my STILL camera on the viaduct. I always take my visiting guests down the viaduct- the view is unforgettable!!!