Slog - Comments on County May Eliminate Bike Subsidy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy Amid all the talk about the so-called "bike bailout" included in the recently adopted financial rescue package (which is actually a tax break for employers who choose to subsidize biking to work), one employer--cash-strapped King County--is actually talking about eliminating a $20-a-month subsidy for bike commuters, for a total savings of $37,000 a year. That's approximately .04 percent of the county's projected $90 million budget deficit, which could cost several hundred county employees their jobs. The King County Council will consider legislation to eliminate the subsidy on Monday, November 3.... Copyright 2008 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:16:05 -0800 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:48:55 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Matthew Umm... I am sympathetic to the biking cause, but... Aren't you already saving a ton of money by not buying, maintaining and insuring an automobile? Just ride your bike. What's wrong with that? Do we need incentives for common sense?

I mean... I know we DO need incentives for common sense. I just can't figure why.

Magneto was right.

]]> Matthew http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181836 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181836 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:27:54 -0800 Comment by kinaidos How about eliminating all free county employee parking and then leasing the spaces at market value? That would create a revenue stream and serve as an even better incentive to utilize alternate forms of transportation. It might even allow for the sale of parking lots and even more revenue. And, hey, if it means some people need to quit, then it would mean a reduction in payroll costs. Win, win, win, win.

]]> kinaidos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181844 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181844 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:33:15 -0800 Comment by Will This post has nothing to do with Sarah Palin! You should be ashamed of yourself Slog homos. I'm pretty sure Sarah Palin hates bikes, no? She must be behind this somehow. Or Trig? Trig must have something to do with this.

]]> Will http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181848 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181848 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:34:59 -0800 Comment by Fnarf The county is slashing stuff HARD. You're worried about your piddly bike subsidy, but the real news is human services cut in HALF.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181851 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181851 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:35:29 -0800 Comment by Paying a lot for a spot What free county employee parking is that? Certainly none downtown.

]]> Paying a lot for a spot http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181857 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181857 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:38:04 -0800 Comment by Giffy @2 Aside from Councilmembers and maybe department heads, there is no free parking for county employees. At least not downtown. The County's garage downtown charges market rates.

As for the subsidy, I am not sure why bikers should get it and not say walkers.

]]> Giffy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181861 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181861 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:41:04 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi $90 million deficit.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181889 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181889 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:59:04 -0800 Comment by COMTE $90 BILLION DEFICIT? Damn, we is in the tank, aren't we?

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181891 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181891 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:59:21 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave @1 made me laugh. seriously, your already subsidizing something that already has its own incentives and saves money. Would you hand out a 20 buck subsidy for using over the air TV broadcasts?

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181894 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181894 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:01:44 -0800 Comment by happy renter @6: the subsidy is available to walkers as well.

]]> happy renter http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181915 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181915 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:09:52 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave @10, No shit? I've been missing out on a free lunch!

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181926 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181926 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:14:44 -0800 Comment by jrrrl @6, do KC councilmembers really get free parking? Nine parking spots in downtown Seattle is at least $30k a year, about as much as this entire bike subsidy.

]]> jrrrl http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181954 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181954 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:35:19 -0800 Comment by Westlake, son! And how about charging market rate for on-street parking? $2 an hour is a bargain that causes folks to endlessly circle looking for a spot clogging traffic, polluting, and denying the city extra revenue.

]]> Westlake, son! http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181966 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181966 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:40:34 -0800 Comment by jezbian @10 & 11 - it's for ppl who walk, bikeride, or car/vanpool to locations OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN ("Outside downtown Seattle is defined as the area north of Denny Way, south of South Dearborn Street, and east of I‑5.")

http://your.kingcounty.gov/employees/transportation/incentives.aspx

]]> jezbian http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181968 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181968 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:41:13 -0800 Comment by ECB @7: $90 zillion grillion infinity!

(Fixed it).

]]> ECB http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181977 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181977 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:47:05 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave so of course it's a subsidy for people that don't actually work where most the jobs are.

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181991 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181991 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:52:06 -0800 Comment by MarriedToTheLaw @2 : No damn idea what you're talking about. My spouse has had to pay $13/day out-of-pocket many times to park our car in the privately-operated "county garage" on Goat Hill because there weren't county vehicles available. Of course, s/he usually isn't doing anything important -- just stuff like driving around trying to locate witnesses for a murder trial s/he's prosecuting. But I'm sure whatever you do for a living is *really* important too.

]]> MarriedToTheLaw http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181998 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1181998 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:53:51 -0800 Comment by Giffy @12, Its in a county owned garage, but yup. Or at least they did a couple years ago

@13, Its 3 bucks an hour which is pretty close to market rate in most areas. Especially given the limitation of 2 hours.

]]> Giffy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182000 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182000 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:54:28 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle thank god the UW is part of the state, not the county.

But it is a low blow by the County. They should at least MATCH the deduction.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182011 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182011 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:58:25 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle (and if you walk/bike/bus to the UW, you can get parking tickets (6 per semester) for half-price compared to what the regular commuters pay ...)

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182014 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182014 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:01:23 -0800 Comment by Fnarf @16, if you think most of the jobs in the region, or even the city, are downtown, you're super-wrong.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182118 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182118 City Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:16:27 -0800 Comment by happy renter @14: that information is outdated. Downtown workers were eligible beginning Oct. 1st

And no, there is not free parking for county employees' personal cars. However, my understanding is that elected officials are provided free parking spaces in the new county office building at 5th & Jefferson.

]]> happy renter http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182519 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/county_may_eliminate_bike_subsidy#c1182519 City Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:48:55 -0800