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Jun

1

Capitol Hill Community Council’s Complete Streetcar Campaign

Filed Under Bicycling, Capitol Hill, Design, Environment, Gas prices, Parking, Pedestrians, SDOT, Seattle, Streets For People, Transit, Transportation, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Great City volunteers and sustainable transportation advocates on Capitol Hill have been conspiring and brainstorming together for years.  We’ve been thrilled to see the great traction our friends on the Capitol Hill Community Council (CHCC) are getting with their innovative “Complete Streetcar” concept.  Here’s an update from the CHCC’s Mike Kent:

On Tuesday, May 4th, more than 50 transit advocates and active community members joined the Capitol Hill Community Council’s Complete Streetcar Campaign at Capitol Hill’s Sole Repair lounge in celebrating the group’s recent successes.

Million Dollar Nile regaled Capitol Hill Complete Streetcar fans with the world premiere performance of "My Streetcar's on Broadway" -- a twist on the Sir Mix-a-Lot classic.

The day before, the Seattle City Council voted into law legislation that brought the proposed First Hill Streetcar closer to completion.

Complete Streetcar Campaign supporter Web Crowell created the animations which ran on a loop throughout the event on Sole Repair’s flatscreen monitors throughout the night


The party honored the group’s success in advocating for an alignment that would run in both directions along Broadway north of Union Street, instead of looping around Cal Anderson park.

The group’s next steps include calling for an extension of the proposed streetcar route beyond Denny Way to the northern end of Broadway near East Aloha Street, as was originally envisioned, and pushing for a streetscape plan that includes, among other things, a separated two-way cycle track.

If you are interested in becoming active with the Complete Streetcar Campaign, send an e-mail to chcc.streetcar@gmail.com.

Nov

18

This is Embarrassing…

Filed Under Cities, Seattle, Transit | 4 Comments

Especially when one considers that Atlanta’s rail system (MARTA) was initially slated to go to Seattle.

via The Overhead Wire who in turn got it from @ttpolitic

Oct

30

I ♥ Copenhagen

Filed Under Bicycling, Copenhagen, Sustainability, Transit, Transportation | 1 Comment

Note: Ryan Miller is a Seattle University student majoring in Political Science. He is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen and will be writing blog posts for Great City about his experiences and impressions of the Danish Capitol (and possibly other locations around Europe).

Drowning in the Green Wave

In my daily commute to and from school I have the great privilege of utilizing one of the prides of Copenhagen’s transportation system, the so called “green wave” streets. Streets on the “green wave” system have had their traffic light timings for rush hour adjusted so that a cyclist traveling at 20km/h will have nothing but green lights for their entire trip.

In theory, this system should create an environment which encourages cycling over other forms of transport during the times when traffic would be its worst. However, in practice, I find the green wave street I ride to be a mixed blessing at best. Perhaps I betray my racing roots a bit much when I say that 20km/h (12 mi/h) is a maddeningly slow pace for me to attempt to ride, especially when I’m running late to my economics mid-term. So what ends up happening is I set off from an intersection, get up to speed, and then come to a stop at every single intersection where I will put my foot down for 15 seconds as I wait for the timing to catch up with me. Conversely, when I do attempt to ride slowly I will constantly get stuck behind a cargo bike moving at 15 km/h and have the same problem in reverse.

That’s not to say there aren’t some benefits to the system, the closer I get to the city, the more congested the bike lanes are, and once just enough people are clogging the lane, the fast traffic will move at the 20km/h needed to get the timing right. And when that happens, riding in Copenhagen is pure bliss. However, you have to be very lucky for that to happen.

Despite my own personal objections to timings, I could not say they speak for the Danish population as a whole. My experience thus far is that the “average” Danish commuter is that they typically ride at closer to the correct pace than I do. So perhaps in time my riding style will become more accustomed to the green wave, and my annoying habit of getting stuck at every light will go away.

It is also important to remember that the people adversely affected by this light timing extend beyond the individual car traffic the system is supposed to inconvenience. One of my worst experiences with Copenhagen mass transit comes from attempting to ride a bus that was routed along a green wave route. The busses, having no dedicated lane on these streets, are stuck in the (planned) traffic jam that results from the green wave.

There are plenty of individuals who are unable to ride their bikes into work for a number of very valid reasons (e.g. the physically impaired), yet are still making the decision to not take their cars into the city. Why should they be punished in the same way car users are? I know that the street would have ample room for bus lanes if the on-street parking were removed. It seems to me that by giving these streets bus lanes instead of on-street parking you kill two birds with one stone. Not only are you avoiding the dilemma of punishing mass transit users, but you are also discouraging car use in an extremely effective manner.

Sep

9

I ♥ Copenhagen

Filed Under Cities, Copenhagen, Innovation, Sustainability, Transit, Transportation, Zoning | 1 Comment

I-Sustain Report on Transportation in Copenhagen

Continuing along with our recent theme of Copenhagen sustainability envy, we want to give a shout out to our friends at International Sustainable Solutions (www.i-sustain.com), a local non-profit that strives educate urban professionals and decision makers about the best sustainability practices happening around the globe.

I-Sustain has loaned some reports documenting some best practices from their recent sustainability tours that took place in, you guessed it, Copenhagen! We’ll be posting on our blog over the next few weeks.

The first one focuses on transpiration. You can download it here:
Solutions at a Glance: Can Reliable Efficient Transit Limit the Numbers of Second Cars? (PDF, 353K)

Thank you I-Sustain for lending us your report and hooray for Copenhagen!

Sep

4

Letter From Copenhagen: Introductions & First Impressions

Filed Under Bicycling, Copenhagen, Sustainability, Transit, Transportation | 8 Comments

Note: Ryan Miller is a Seattle University student majoring in Political Science. He is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen and will be writing blog posts for Great City about his experiences and impressions of the Danish Capitol (and possibly other locations around Europe).

Hej (Hi)

With Copenhagen (spelled København and pronounced Kew-bin-hawn if you ask the Danes) currently being inundated by heavy rains, I have finally been allowed a free moment to sit down and reflect on the first week I have spent here rather than continuing to attempt to explore and experience as much of this city as I can (while the daylight lasts).

Some quick (and relatively boring) biographical information about myself before I begin this blog in earnest:

My name is Ryan Miller and I am a 19-year old senior at Seattle University majoring in political science. Upon graduation in the spring, I intend of pursuing a career in environmental policy planning, with particular interest in transportation systems (and using a lot of parenthesis). Outside of academics, I am an avid cyclist (I have been racing since I was 10) so the amount of snobbery and elitism I am with which I’m burdened when it comes to cycling knows no bounds. My bike I am staying with a host family in Amager (pronounced Ah-ma), and as part of my housing my host family provided me with a bicycle. Normally, I might refer to the quality of this bicycle using a rather derogatory slang term for defecation. However, this is a family friendly place so I shall instead call this bike “remarkably utilitarian.” That said, the 30-lb aluminum framed bicycle is equipped with all the things a person could want from a basic bicycle in a flat city. It has fenders (a necessity as Copenhagen is very similar to Seattle in terms of weather), lights (there is a rather substantial fine if the police catch you without them at night), and a three-speed gear system that will OCCASIONALLY shift when you want it to.

Exploring the City by Bike and Metro

Much to my surprise upon heading out on my first ride into the city, this bicycle is turns out to be somewhat luxurious. Perhaps my understanding of “cycling culture” is clouded by all the spandex wearing and leg shaving I normally partake in, but the informality of Copenhagen’s cyclists came as a huge surprise to me. Unlike bicycle commuters in Seattle, who typically ride to work wearing more cycling-specific clothing (or at least shoes) and then change upon arrival to work, the people of Copenhagen will simply ride to work in whatever they intend to wear that day. I have seen men in suits riding to work with the only modification to their wardrobe being that they have pulled their right sock over their pants to avoid anything getting caught in their chain. More surprising to me, however, are the many women riding to work in their high heels. My personal knowledge of riding in heels is (so far) non-existent, but of the Seattleites I have talked to, the consensus amongst them is that they would “rather ride barefoot” than attempt to ride in heels. Read more

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