Earlier this month I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Ottawa, the tidy, exceedingly pleasant capitol city of Canada. I had been invited to give a talk at the annual membership meeting for Citizens for Safe Cycling—an advocacy organization that’s been working for the past 30 years to improve the city’s cycling environment. I also came with the fervent intention to ride, to share ideas, and to determine whether my experiences in the social media realm offered anything useful to their relentless quest to fashion the bicycle into a primary mode of transport.

Energy levels in the Ottawa cycling community were high. The mayor had just announced that 24 million would be spent over the next several years to improve cycling infrastructure, and riders of all stripes had been rejoicing in the segregated bike lane that has graced Laurier Street in downtown Ottawa since the summer. This marked contrast to much of the heated rhetoric surrounding transportation modes in our region. There was no palpable sense of animosity between cyclists and the community at-large and many of the elected officials in the metro area are expressly bike-friendly.

And yet challenges remain. Ottawa is a classic North American city, blessed (or cursed) with an abundance of open space, and subsequently built with the automobile in mind. Ottawa’s bicycle mode-split is holding steady at around 2%, and there is a wide gap between the number of male and female cyclists. Many continue to view cycling as “recreation” and the primary iterations of athletic attire showed it. Wherever I went the question on was: “How do we get a new generation of people interested in cycling—so that it’s seen as something cool and fresh, but also incredibly normal at the same time?”

With this in mind I chose to focus my presentation on “telling bicycle stories,” and discussed the various ways in which to use social media to effectively promote cycling to new audiences and generate excitement, build alliances, and sweeten the real-life ride.

I have found social media to be an invaluable tool to help tell the stories of people who choose the bicycle as a way to get around, and to portray cyclists in all their various incarnations—from glamorous to earnest to hale and hearty.  Facebook is a dream for sharing clever transportation memes, exchanging luscious photos, and offering moral support and tips to newbie cyclists. It makes it simple to organize events like “Tweet Rides,” “Bike Polo,” and “Heels on Wheels,” increasing the appeal and fun factor of cycling to disparate audiences. It’s extraordinarily easy to form online relationships through social media—all it takes is a few likes—thereby rendering it more likely that non-cycling groups will help spread your information.

Ultimately social media has the ability to so beautifully demonstrate what could be, thereby allowing organizations to break out of the eggshell of preaching to the converted, and opening up a world of imaginative possibilities.

However, I felt it important to point out that the alluring, but sometimes unrealistic, realm of social media is not one to be inhabited exclusively. There is no substitute for actual civic engagement and rolling up your sleeves to lobby for infrastructure improvements that would make it easier to ride your bike.

Ottawa is an example of an extraordinarily liveable place that is making deliberate strides to increase mobility for all its citizens. Adding social media efforts should not replace any of these ground up efforts, only augment them. With a little more sparkle,  creativity and online engagement, I predict they could easily catapult to the top of the list of the most bike-friendly cities on the continent; the dedication I saw from people in the cycling community was that apparent.

Thanks again, Safe Cycling Ottawa, for the amazing opportunity, and best of luck with your organizing efforts!

The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, or SCATS as it’s more commonly known, continually obtains traffic data from all lanes in order to determine traffic light cycle length, eliminating inefficient cycle time and providing extra time when needed. You’ll see it in full effect in downtown Bellevue at the intersection of NE 8th Street and Bellevue Way, as well as NE 8th Street and 112th Avenue NE and myriad intersections further east.

Bellevue has the distinction of being the first city in Washington to implement the system, and to impressive results: where it has been deployed locally, SCATS has shown to reduce delays by an average of 10% throughout the day, and as much as 20% during rush hour. Or, to put that in more concrete terms, it produces an average 70 second reduction in individual wait times, or saves 6,400 aggregate hours for drivers over the course of a year.

But perhaps you don’t drive? The system dazzles with benefits for pedestrians, as well. SCATS has the capability of producing a walk sign midway through the cycle at the press of a button. Since implementation at NE 8th Street and Bellevue Way, there has a 8% increase in pedestrian opportunities, and this function will be extended to more intersections in the future.

SCATS can also respond to accidents and disruptions in real-time (something that was nearly impossible to do with CompuTran – the former signaling system) and comes complete with the flashing yellow arrow function, which enables it to change left turn rules based on traffic conditions.

SCATS is currently in effect at 28% of the intersections in Bellevue, and partially in effect at 51%. Implementation will continue in phased rollouts until 2015, or until a new technology comes along that knocks us off our feet again. Such is the cycle.

The Downtown Bellevue Transportation Plan Update is a focused, 18-month planning effort just getting underway, intended to update transportation plans and projects that will accommodate the growth that is expected in our city
between now and 2030.

There are two main objectives for this meeting: to provide information to a broad section of the community about the purpose of updating the Downtown Transportation Plan at this time; and to receive comments and suggestions regarding specific transportation issues that affect Downtown mobility and livability.

Following an overview presentation in the Council Chambers, those in attendance will be invited to the Concourse to join in small group conversations with City staff focused on specific mobility modes such as pedestrians, bicycles, transit, and roadways. In this format, the City hopes to hear from the community about the transportation system issues that concern them and their ideas for improvements. People are encouraged to visit more than one of the mobility display tables to help in the challenging task of planning for a multi-modal transportation system in a complex and dense urban environment.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Bellevue City Hall – Council Chambers and Concourse
450 – 110th Avenue NE

For further information, consult the web site: www.bellevuewa.gov/downtown-transportation-plan-update.htm

You may also contact the project manager, Kevin McDonald at 425-452-4558, or kmcdonald@bellevuewa.gov.

See you there!

Deric received his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington, and has lent his expertise to a diverse array of organizations, including the Sightline Institute, the Puget Sound Regional Council, and the Trade Development Alliance at the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

In just one year at BC, he has already spearheaded a successful movement to bring Metro bus route 240 to campus, heightened the campus sustainability web and social media presence (see Facebook and Twitter pages), as well as instituted a college-wide paid parking program that began this fall.

We chatted with Deric about organizing, land use, making biking “cool,” and what’s next for Bellevue College.

CYWB: Can you begin by telling us a little bit about how you came to work at Bellevue College, and what you do there?

Deric: I began working at Bellevue College in September of 2010, following a year of traveling through the Middle East and Southern Africa by bike on a fellowship through the University of Washington. The first thing I was tasked with was tackling the longstanding transportation issues on our campus. I quickly helped to develop a task force comprised of students, faculty and staff that served as a platform for ongoing discussions about how we continue to grow mindfully while remaining an accessible institution for everyone.

CYWB: We hear you’re a something of a community organizer—would you mind telling us the happy story of bus route 240?

Deric: Earlier this year, I worked with student groups in an effort to get the Metro bus route 240 to make a stop at the Eastgate Park and Ride, the closest transit station to the College. We determined that 23% of Bellevue College students come from areas that would be served by this route, and that the cost of this change would be a mere five minutes for some commuters, but would save our students about a half an hour. We encouraged students to send letters and emails of support to the King County Council, and they went and testified before Council about how critical the bus service was to them. Their testimony tipped the scales, and as of October 1, the 240 now stops at Eastgate. Students often don’t count as much as jobs in transportation route planning, but they matter just as much, which I’m glad the Council recognized.

CYWB: Bellevue College has also been in the headlines lately for their new paid parking program, which is quite a change for the suburban-style campus where about 70% of the students and faculty drive alone. Can you explain how this came about?

Deric: We’ve long offered subsidized ORCA passes for our students, but with sharp increases in the cost of the pass, we realized we wouldn’t be able to continue to make the numbers work without a funding source for both parking and ORCA. We hired a consultant to conduct a parking study for us as a requirement of a new building we have permitted, and they issued the recommendation that charging for parking was the best solution to maintain accessibility of our campus. Furthermore, we determined that 75% of our emissions are commute related, and we want to reduce this by 10% over the next 5 years as part of our campus Climate Action Plan.

CYWB: Parking is often a contentious topic—how did you win the support of the campus community in this process?

Deric: The student government came out in support of it after a long review and deliberation—we have a very active student body and strong leaders on campus. The toughest sell was some of the employee union groups—they’ve long considered free parking to be one of their benefits. The whole bargaining process took a good 6 months. But in the end, the students were able to make the case to the Board of Trustees that we would never have a different future if we didn’t make this change now. It was approved in June of this year, and we began implementation this fall. The rates aren’t prohibitively high—$65 a quarter for students, less if you drive less, and just $15 a quarter for faculty and staff.

CYWB: If you could explain why institutions should charge for parking to the unconverted in just a few sentences, what would you say?

Deric: People need to understand that parking is not a free resource, and at Bellevue College, we’ve decided that we’d rather put our resources towards the students. Parking costs about $500 annually per stall, so it’s really a trade off when you think of it like that. As an institution, we want to become mode neutral and not subsidize one commute method over another. We want to always give people the element of real choice.

CYWB: Transportation and land use is often thought of something separate from sustainability efforts—often organizations that have recycling and energy saving programs don’t even mention transportation. Why the disconnect?

Deric: There’s always the fear factor of engaging around commute issues—it’s a very personal thing to people, with often intangible manifestations. It also takes work to organize non-drive-alone commutes, which is why before we enacted the paid parking scheme, we set up 5 informational booths around campus with representatives from King County Metro and the City of Bellevue and other students to help people plan their new commutes. That way it became more tangible, and manageable. Interventions like (PARK)ing day can help to make physical effects of parking more visible, as well. That’s something we might try on campus.

CYWB: Do you have any thoughts or tips for other institutions (schools, hospitals, etc) who might want to shift to paid parking?

Deric: Do the analysis to find out the true cost of parking on your institution and explore whether subsidies for parking are more than your subsidies for other modes and consider if that is fair.  In times of tight budgets consider your priorities.  Once you’ve done that analysis bring the findings to your employees and clients.

CYWB: How will you be able to tell if the new paid parking program has been a success?

Deric: We’re planning to do parking counts and a transportation survey but we haven’t decided whether it’ll be the spring or fall. Sales of parking passes and ORCA cards are going briskly, as expected—we’ve actually sold out of the cheaper ORCA pass—and we will continue to help with individualized commute planning through our SHIFT partnership and RideshareOnline. The parking program is a biennium, so we’ll re-evaluate it in 2013.

CYWB: What’s up with biking on the Bellevue College campus? You’d think it would be the perfect demographic for it.

Deric: Anecdotally, I’ve seen more bikes this fall than ever before. We’re installing covered bike parking, and our gym is free to use for showering purposes. We’re in the process of setting up a maintenance facility, and working with the Bicycle Alliance of Washington to organize safety and maintenance classes that will train our faculty and staff so that they can offer classes on campus themselves.

In the longer term, I want to work to make biking “cooler” on campus. That could look something like organizing something to coincide with the Tour de Fat (beer tour) or a “pimp yo bike” ride, or bike swap similar to the annual one in Seattle.

CYWB: What are some other forthcoming projects at Bellevue College that you’re excited about?

Deric: We’re starting a carshare service with WeCar, a service of Enterprise sometime this fall, which will help those traveling the 5 miles between our two campuses, as well as to our newest location in Issaquah in the future. We’re also researching the idea of installing trip planning electronic kiosks similar to the ones in South Lake Union.

CYWB: What does Bellevue College 10 years from now look like to you?

Deric: A campus that uses of land, energy and material resources only to the extent necessary to advance College goals.  A campus that’s easy to access to bicycle, transit, and personal vehicles.  More space for learning and campus life due to a drop in demand for parking.

For this study, researchers gathered data from departments of transportation and public works departments from 11 cities in the United States. Using detailed cost estimates on a variety of projects, they used an input-output model to study the direct, indirect, and induced employment that is created through the design, construction, and materials procurement of bicycle, pedestrian, and road infrastructure. Their findings indicate that more jobs are created per million dollars to create bicycle lanes than any other type of infrastructure building.

We encourage you to read the entire report, but if you can’t quite commit, we created this handy graph that does a good job of breaking it down.

As part of the update to the Downtown Transportation Plan, the City of Bellevue is sponsoring two upcoming bicycle rides that are must-attends if you’re interested in the future of cycling in our community.

The first ride is geared towards Bellevue residents, and will take place this Saturday, September 24, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. We’ll meet at local favorite Top Pot Doughnuts for a snack, and then take a ride through downtown, visiting places like the Bellevue Downtown Park, the King County Library, Old Bellevue and City Hall. Along the way, we’ll identify potential traffic signal improvements, and make suggestions for future signage and way-finding mechanisms. The pace will be leisurely and relaxed, and the length of the ride is approximately 3 miles.

The second is geared towards bicycle commuters to downtown Bellevue, and will take place on Wednesday, September 28 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. We will meet at Compass Plaza at Bellevue Galleria and from there branch into two groups. One of the groups will head northward towards the SR 520 floating bridge, and the other will head in the direction of the I-90 trail. Along the way, we will identify potential way-finding and signal improvements. Both will loop back and finish at Compass Plaza, with a happy hour to follow depending upon interest.

Both of the events are absolutely free of charge, and all abilities are welcome. Helmets are required and heavy rain cancels. Please RSVP to hayley@bellevuedowntown.org.

See you out there!

A tweeter extraordinaire, he’s amassed quite a following in the virtual transportation community. We chatted with him briefly about particulars of life as a bus driver, bicycling in Bellevue (yes, it does happen!) and his views on the future of transportation in our region.

CYWB: Your background is in software testing—how did you come to be a Metro bus driver?

VeloBusDriver: I worked for Microsoft for roughly 12 years. As the company grew I became interested in a different direction. I grew up riding the bus and have many fond memories of riding the #4 trolley on Queen Anne with my grandmother. I continued to ride the bus when it was relatively convenient and during my last year at Microsoft I often wondered what it would be like to drive a bus. During one of my commutes I ran across a driver I knew from church who told me all about the wonderful world of bus driving. It took a while before I actually decided to apply, but that’s when the idea took root.

CYWB: What’s your favorite route to drive and why?

VeloBusDriver: I really don’t have a favorite route. Really, it’s more of a favorite type of route. While I currently can be found driving Sound Transit’s 550, I’m equally comfortable driving the 73 in the U District, and soon the RapidRide B Line. I enjoy routes that are busy, well utilized, with a diverse mix of passengers.

What role do you see smart phones and technology playing in encouraging more people to live car-free/light?

VeloBusDriver: First off, there is the ability to get real time bus arrival information using One Bus Away, Metro’s bus “Tracker”, or Bing’s iPhone app. Knowing how long you have to wait for the next bus goes a long way to make the wait more comfortable. Once you’re on the bus, a smartphone is great for reading the news, Tweeting, or listening to music (with headphones, of course).

CYWB: Bellevue is getting excited about the RapidRide B Line, which will begin service from Bellevue to Redmond in October. We’ve heard some rumors that you’ll be driving. Can you confirm, and tell us what’s cool about Rapid Ride B?

RapidRide B Line has many Bus Rapid Transit features that will increase the speed and reliability of the old 253 bus line. RapidRide B coaches have 3 doors. When you couple that with the ability for passengers to pay off the bus using their ORCA card at the busier stations, you can see that loading the bus will go much faster once people get used to the system. Simply tap your card while you’re waiting for the bus and get on at any door. Another speed enhancing feature for folks utilizing mobility aids is the passive restraint system that allows the individual to simply park their mobility aid and set the brake—the driver no longer needs to secure them into position. (For those who are uncomfortable with the new system, RR B coaches still have a standard forward-facing restraint system like existing buses.) RapidRide coaches also have the ability to interface with the city’s traffic control system to keep green lights green just a little longer and turn red lights green just a little faster. Given the number of traffic lights along the RapidRide route you can quickly see how this will speed the buses along.

CYWB: You’re also a professed cyclist—aside from painting a bunch of bike lanes, what do you think could be done to encourage more bicycling in Bellevue?

VeloBusDriver: Personally, I’d like to see more city employees out on bikes where it makes sense. Given the maneuverability and cost effectiveness of bicycles, they make a lot of sense in denser areas like downtown. I’ve seen Bellevue bicycle police but they are hard to find. Though Bellevue appears to contract out parking enforcement, there is no reason that function couldn’t be done by bicycle. Reading water meters seems like a natural task for a bike for certain parts of the city. I’m not suggesting the city switch over completely to bikes but looking for ways to integrate these inexpensive and useful tools into the city’s operations would go a long way to showing others that you can get around by bike. It could also save the city money!

CYWB: What else are you looking forward to in the realm of regional transportation plans?

VeloBusDriver: While the car will be with us for a very long time, I’d like to see more of a focus on moving people, not simply vehicles. The key is to give people many options to get from point A to point B. Today, for much of our region, the only comfortable choice is to use a car. Sadly, that “choice” leaves us stuck in traffic.

CYWB: From a driver’s perspective, if you could tell the public one thing about how to make the ride go more smoothly, what would you say to them?

VeloBusDriver: Have your fare ready when it’s time to pay. The best way to do this is to use an ORCA card ePurse or monthly pass. ORCA cards can be loaded with cash, credit cards, or debit cards and also offer a 2 hour transfer for use on other public transportation systems/modes. Given the larger number of people on the buses these days, every little bit of time savings adds up. But more broadly speaking, I just wish folks would slow down a bit in life and be willing to try the bus for at least a trip or two per week. Everybody is in such a rush that they always answer “the bus takes longer” as to why they don’t take public transportation. Many of us who ride the bus would answer, “So what? At least I can read, nap, smash birds into blocks, etc… You can’t/shouldn’t do that when driving.” Frankly, I don’t really enjoy driving and do everything I can to avoid it. Yes, I know that is ironic—that’s kind of the point!

The survey was taken by 394 individuals, 61% of whom were commuters to downtown Bellevue, 37% of whom were downtown residents that commute to other locations, and 2% of whom who both lived and worked in downtown. The survey went out in postcard form to all residents of downtown Bellevue, was posted in commercial buildings and was live on the Choose Your Way Bellevue website May 1 through June 14, 2011.

The majority of survey respondents commuted to work by driving alone (44.8%). In explaining their top reasons for doing so, respondents listed that were no reasonable transit options, they require the use of a car for errands before and after work, and because it saves time.  37% of this population reported that increased bus service would motivate them to ditch their vehicles, though in an illuminating statistic, 22.7% of drivers indicated that nothing would encourage them to change their habits.

Riding the bus was the second most cited commute method, comprising 21% of the mode-share, followed by carpool at 10.4%. The top reason for using both these modes was cost savings. Respondents also cited stress reduction, time savings, convenience and an employer subsidy for doing so. 5.5% of respondents walked to work, and 2% of respondents reported cycling to work.

When respondents were asked about general motivators contributing to their choice of commute mode, the top three reasons were convenience, cost savings and time savings. The top impacts to commute mode choice were transit service levels, traffic levels, and gas prices.

Respondents were also asked the minimum monthly financial incentive that would encourage them to try a non drive-alone mode. The majority of people indicated that $50 would help them make a change, though $100 was the second most oft-cited amount.

These results are quite illuminating as Choose Your Way Bellevue moves forward in branding, messaging and programming efforts directed towards downtown residents and employees. It is clear that we are working with a primarily drive-alone population, and there are some major obstacles to overcome to change these habits.

Considering that neither Sound Transit or King County Metro are in a financial position to expand service in the near future, we will not be able to use that as a motivating factor to encourage non-drive alone habits. Furthermore, there is a segment of the population who claims they would never change their method, which is understandable given that the ample amount of free parking in Bellevue keeps the actual costs to drivers down.

But perhaps we could do a better job at quantifying the cost savings, stress reduction and health benefits of participating in alternate commute modes. Driving eats up a large portion of American’s annual budget, and is the second highest cost behind housing,  but because driving has become so normalized in our culture, these costs remain invisible to many people. Whether it’s getting people excited about what they could do with the money saved by not driving, or demonstrating how often during peak travel times, driving isn’t actually faster (which my anecdotal evidence on I-90 overwhelmingly supports), there must be a way to show it visually, either through infographics or videos.

Additionally, walkers and cyclists overwhelmingly report being happier and healthier commuters, so we ought to encourage them to be more vocal (though not evangelical!) about their commute stories. Cycling burns an average of 300 calories per hour, and walking burns 136. Compare that to the 80 or so you burn while sedentary (car commuting) and active transportation starts to look like a winning option, eliminating the need for extra time at the gym and requiring no monetary contribution beyond start up costs.

But the reality is that most people live far enough away from their jobs that walking or cycling is not a viable option—only 6% of workers in Downtown Bellevue report actually living downtown, and the average commute distance is 14 miles. There’s always the possibility of combining active transportation with public transportation, and 7% of our respondents indicated being multi-modal commuters. But commuters tend to dread transfers, which add stress and uncertainty what can often be a lengthy commute.

Stay tuned—our next post will be about programs around the country that are encouraging people to live closer to where they work, which will help to alleviate some of the necessary driving wrought by extended distances between home and work.

May is National Bike Month. This fun-filled month inspires thousands of Puget Sound residents to embark on an exciting new adventure in transportation: bicycling. This tale of adventure stars everyday people just like you, with a supporting cast of events, encouragement, inspiration, and incentives.

This year involves an exciting plot development in Bellevue….big time bike love. In addition to all the Bike Month events produced by Cascade Bicycle Club, Choose Your Way Bellevue has set the stage for a thriving bike scene in Bellevue. Check it out!

Join thousands of your best bike friends on F5 Bike to Work Day, Friday May 20th. Stop by a commute station along your route to grab a free water bottle, fuel up with tasty treats, grab a local bike map, or pump up your tires. In downtown Bellevue, be sure to stop by the Bike Bar at Commuter Connection at the Bellevue Transit Center. The Factoria area will feature a great station at the I-90 Bike Trail intersection at SE 34th Street.

But why stop with a simple one-day cameo appearance? Why not join the cast for a month-long production that will transform you into an A-list celebrity bike commuter. The Group Health Commute Challenge builds a heartwarming story of team camaraderie with dramatic elements of fierce competition among teams and organization.

Cascade Bicycle Club not only produces Bike Month, but also supports bicycling every day of the year. We look forward to working with businesses, elected officials, and transportation agencies to create a better Bellevue through bicycling.

Photo by TransportationCamp on Flickr

We at Choose Your Way Bellevue are geeked (literally) to report back from Transportation Camp, which took place in San Francisco this past weekend. A great mix of entrepreneurs, transit nerds, policy makers, activists, and students assembled under a disco ball to tackle the question: How can we use data to improve our cities and transportation systems?

Sponsored by Open Plans and the Rockefeller Foundation, Transportation Camp is a relatively new concept referred to as an “unconference”(also popular in the tech world because they reflect the culture of the industry) with a hands-on, flexible, a little casual but very hard working and fun to the extreme approach. Instead of a set schedule and droning speakers, every attendee at Transportation Camp had the opportunity to suggest or lead a breakout session, panel discussion or Q&A, and was encouraged to be as creative as possible.  Topics up for discussion ran the gamut of “sexy transit,” “building apps for livable streets,” and “the perils of privatization,” which resulted in delightful and sometimes unexpected conversations. Questions like, what makes a liveable street? Can mobile applications be built that facilitate street life? What are the best practices being deployed by transportation demand management groups across the globe? and How can social media be leveraged to generate more on the ground involvement? were asked.

The majority of the sessions were geared towards addressing the current reality: with accelerating technology and recent census figures pouring in, many municipal governments have unprecedented access to data sets and are trying to figure out what to do with them.  Attendees had the goal of brainstorming how to package this information in a way that is transparent, accountable, and efficient.

While attendees may not have arrived at any answers, there were definitely some concrete conclusions. Consensus abounded that information should be and wants to be made public, and that in order to facilitate and maintain democracy, it should be shared in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Attendees also agreed that nonprofit groups are essential at bridging the divide between public and private entities, and are well positioned to introduce new technologies to a diverse range of constituencies. Everyone acknowledged that web developers are notorious for existing in silos, and deemed it integral that they be encouraged, maybe even incentivized, to talk with citizens about how to build apps that would actually be useful and valuable to them. Groups like Code For America, which collaborates with selected cities throughout the United States to transform data into something which encourages citizen participation and civic building, were featured. 

What are your reactions? Could access to data really improve the transportation system? Are there mobile applications that would make you more likely to use transit? Would knowing the transportation habits of your co-workers make you want to change your behavior? Do you think real-time ridesharing could work in our region? What about connecting your transit pass to a carsharing service? The possibilities are as endless as a data set:  Share your thoughts below!

As we gear up for Bike Month in May, we want to demonstrate that people do bike in Bellevue—contrary to what the perception may be. So, we’re running a “Spot a Cyclist Contest” from now until April 17th.  To participate, simply take a photo of a cyclist or evidence of bicycle infrastructure—bike lanes, bike racks, or bicycles around town, and post it to our Facebook page along with your email address. Just for posting, you will automatically win your choice of a Choose Your Way Bellevue pen, tote bag or bike/walk safety light! The best photo of all will make it onto our Bike Month promotional materials (with due credit of course)!

Help us give visibility to our bikers! Spot a cyclist—and win!

The darling of transportation planners and urbanists alike, the bike-share concept is exploding worldwide, as cities as diverse as Minneapolis to Montreal to Mumbai seek to increase bicycle usage and decrease reliance on the automobile, particularly for trips less than three miles. According to Portland Online, Bike Sharing has the ability to “increase number of bicycling trips, introduce new people to active transportation, reduce peak-hour pressure on transit and provide the “last mile” connection between transit stop and final destination, reduce automobile trips, and improve livability.” There are now over 230 bike sharing programs worldwide, and along with them comes an incredible number of success stories: Washington DC’s Capital Bike Share has generated 115,000 trips in just four months, Barcelona’s Bicing has replaced 10% of automobile trips, and Dublin’s DublinBikes has over 40,000 active members.

What does it take to implement a successful bike-sharing program? There as many different models as there are colors with which to paint the bikes! Some are membership only and require a membership Smartcard to check out a bike, though some are credit card or cell phone activated. The most successful programs tend to be a self service model with a progressive rate structure that allows the first 30 minutes of the trip to be free, acting as an incentive to try it out. Another determinant of success is how widely available the bikes are—they must be placed in a high density centers near employment and universities, and their placement must be strategic and convenient. The systems also vary a great deal with regard to their funding sources—some operate as public/private partnerships, some are paid for by exclusive advertising rights on shelters and bikes, and some are the recipients of grant and philanthropic dollars.

Would bike-share be a solution to Bellevue’s traffic woes? Bellevue ostensibly presents a challenge to even the most experienced cyclists because so many of the roadways are designed primarily for cars, with heavy, fast moving traffic at almost any hour of the day. However, what we lack in roadspace we make up for in sidewalks—they’re nice and wide and perfectly legal to ride upon. Another obstacle is the number of hills that grace downtown Bellevue—rendering an intense workout inevitable. But there are a number of innovative new technologies such as the Copenhagen Wheel, which give cyclists a boost when they need it and could be included in the bicycle fleet. And of course there’s the chicken or the egg argument—which comes first, improved bicycle infrastructure, or more cyclists on the streets? Janagram has recognized that a huge part of his programs success is connecting commuters to their ultimate destinations—be it from bus stop to office or park and ride to home—which would be difficult in Bellevue, given the distance from which people commute. But if Janagram’s success is any indication, sometimes all it takes is a good idea and a dedicated individual to get an entire city in motion.

What do you think? Could bike sharing work in Bellevue? Join the conversation!

Currently drive alone? Pledge to try a new way of getting to work and take these steps:

1) Fill out and turn in the Way to Work Bellevue sign up form.

2) Look for your sign up confirmation email containing a promotion code. 

3) Register on RideshareOnline.com.

4) Join the Way to Work Bellevue network. Search “Way to Work” under “Profile > My Networks” on RideshareOnline.com. Enter promotion code to join.

5) Begin logging your non-drive-alone commute trips on RideshareOnline.com’s trip calendar.

Just for pledging to try a new commute and registering on RideshareOnline.com, you will automatically receive a $10 gift card! Log 25 days or more of round trip non-drive-along commutes and you will automatically receive a $25 gift card! Monthly drawings for $50 gifts will also be made in February, March and April for those who continue to log their trips at least 3x per week. 

Already ride the bus, carpool, vanpool, bike or walk to work? Pledge to continue commuting the way you do:

1) Fill out and turn in the Way to Work Bellevue sign up form.

2) Look for your sign up confirmation email containing a promotion code. 

3) Register on RideshareOnline.com.

4) Join the Way to Work Bellevue Commute Pros network! Search “Way to Work” under “Profile > My Networks” on RideshareOnline.com. Enter promotion code.

5) Begin logging your non-drive-alone commute trips on RideshareOnline.com’s trip calendar.

Just for pledging to stick to your non-drive-alone commute and registering on RideshareOnline.com, you will automatically receive a $10 gift card! Monthly drawings for $50 gifts will also be made in February, March and April for those who log their trips at least 3x per week!

So what are you waiting for - sign up for Way to Work Bellevue today!

Name:
Brad Shinn

Employer:
CH2MHILL

Commute Mode:
Bike + ferry + bus 

Distance One-Way:
11 miles on bike, about 30 miles total 

What does your bicycle commute entail?
I start out biking on Vashon Highway to the Fauntleroy or Downtown Ferry. Once I’m off the ferry, I bike to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and take the Sound Transit route 550 bus to the South Bellevue Park & Ride and finish off the last mile to the office on my bike. I bike five days a week unless I’m travelling. In the summer I usually add another leg—either Bellevue to Seattle or Seattle to Fauntleroy Ferry. 

How long have you been commuting by bicycle?
I started the day after Memorial Day weekend, three years ago. 

What do you like best about your biking commute?
There is so much I like about it—the time for reflection, the exercise, the feeling that I am minimizing my impact, the reliability. It also a good conversation starter, “you bike from where?” 

What motivates you to continue commuting by bicycle instead of taking another mode?
Believe it or not I started because I was tired of the unreliability of driving and inflexibility of taking the bus. My commute takes no more time than it did when I drove—except now I can control it. 

If you could improve one thing about the biking experience in Downtown Bellevue, what would it be?
I would say for the region, not just Bellevue, separate bike lines and more of them in congested downtown areas. 

What advice would you give to someone considering commuting by bicycle?
Get a good solid bike, spend the extra money on solid components so your bike is tough and reliable. Buy quality clothing that allow you to ride in any kind of weather—if you don’t you’ll find a million excuses not to ride on a rainy day.

In concurrence with the increase of better pedestrian and biking options around Bellevue, Choose Your Way Bellevue recently updated the Downtown Bellevue Pedestrian Guide Map. You may download and print a copy on the ChooseYourWayBellevue.org website, or stop by one of the following locations to pick up your own pocket-size hard copy:

• Commuter Connection (In the Rider Services Building at the Bellevue Transit Center; Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.)
• Service First Desk at Bellevue City Hall (450 110th Avenue NE; Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)
• Bellevue Downtown Association (500 108th Avenue NE; Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)

Other cities in our region are equally concerned with their pedestrian environments. Some are even launching safety campaigns. The Portland Bureau of Transportation released a short animated film about Oregon crosswalk laws. The film, “Every Corner Is A Crosswalk”, graphically illustrates responsibilities that both drivers and pedestrians have to make our roadway safer for everyone. Should the City of Bellevue or other organizations create PSA’s like the video done in Portland to further increase pedestrian safely? Check out the video below:

What do you think about Bellevue’s environment for pedestrians, specifically in downtown? Is it meeting the needs of the 45,000 workers and 6,500 residents currently circulating in the downtown core on a day-to-day basis? What pedestrian or bike friendly projects would you like to see move forward on the priority list? Comment on this post below and let us know your thoughts.

-Jordan

-Jordan

Given the location of the world’s petroleum reserves, when Americans pull out their credit cards at the gas pump, they indirectly fund the economies of countries like Iran, Venezuela, Libya, Sudan, and not to mention Al Qaeda (whose financial backers include many who are in the fossil fuels business). Even if the oil sold in the US comes from Alaska, Texas or allies like Norway, American demand drives up the price of the commodity, thereby pumping huge flows of dollars into the treasuries of its enemies. If Americans start thinking about their dependence on oil as equivalent to providing assistance to our enemies, more citizens would be open to looking for and practicing alternatives.

Dujarric doesn’t believe we should throw out the environmental arguments altogether. He instead believes supporting them with a new patriotic message might do the trick to cutting down our oil consumption. What motivates and inspires you to decrease your carbon footprint? Is it saving endangered species and improving air quality or is it protecting US borders? Let us know your thoughts about the climate change debate by submitting a comment below. Also, be sure to calculate your own carbon footprint on our carbon emissions calculator. You may be surprised at what you find!

-Jordan

-Melissa

Cascade Bicycle Club professionals will teach the intricacies of bicycle mechanics and train participants to tackle all repairs efficiently on their own. Taught in a three-part series. Pick the course you need, or enroll in all three at a discount price. Necessary supplies and helpful handouts provided. Ages 15 and up only please. Enroll in all three courses for $120 and save! For more info and to RSVP visit www.MyParksAndRecreation.com or call 425-452-6885.

Fix a Flat
Monday, November 2, 6:30-9:00 p.m. $45
Learn basic maintenance techniques, including efficient flat tire repairs and everyday adjustments.

Chains and Derailleurs
Monday, November 16, 6:30-9:00 p.m. $45
Sync up those squeaky gears and bring your bike up to speed. This course will focus on the mechanics of shifting and turn you into a gear repair expert.

Brakes
Monday, November 23, 6:30-9:00 p.m. $45
Coaster? Disk? Pad? Don’t let technical braking mechanics keep you from obtaining premium braking power and safety. This course will focus on repairing braking systems so they are as strong and quite as when you bought the bike!

-Jordan