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 Seattle Public Library provides many resources both at our branch libraries and online. However, it wants to know if there are other programs, resources, books or materials that would more effectively support our community. To learn more about how the Library can better serve the community, the City Librarian will be hosting 12 Community Conversations around the city. (You can find the full schedule here.) Light refreshments will be served.
The conversation in our area is 1:30 – 2:45 pm on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at Lake City Library, 12501 28th Ave. N.E.
 Sharrows are shared lane pavement markings. You’ve all seen those white outlines of bicycles with double arrows painted near the edge of the road. They show cyclists the best place to ride on the road to avoid parked car doors, and they remind motor vehicles to share the road with bikes. The sharrow markings do NOT designate a place on the road for exclusive use of bikes.
Sharrows are typically used where the road is not wide enough to provide dedicated bike facilities, or on downhill lanes where cyclists might travel similar speed as motor vehicles.
Sometimes you will see sharrow markings next to a solid white line, as pictured below, right. The white line delineates a parking lane. Though a cyclist CAN ride in the parking lane, it is recommended that they remain in the traveling lane where the sharrow markings are, to be more predictable to motorists and so they aren’t weaving between the parking lane and the traffic lane. Motor vehicles should not drive in the parking lane, either.
Both motor vehicles and bicycles should follow the rules of the road just as they would if there were no sharrows. Drivers should remember to give bicycles at least 3 feet of space when passing.
http://www.feetfirst.org/how-candidates-stand-on-walkability#
This is a general reminder that you should already have you ballots and they need to be postmarked by November 5th. And given that sidewalks and walkability are often one of the primary concerns in the area I thought people might be interested in FeetFirst’s guide to the candidates. The full link is above but I also pulled out two quotes on the pedestrian and bicycle bridge that members of the community helped secure funding for earlier. We got Sound Transit and the city to commit to funding for pedestrian improvements like this to go along with the planned parking garage. But the funds still aren’t secured and could be in jeopardy.
Mike McGinn, Seattle Mayor (incumbent)
1) Sound Transit has agreed to help fund a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across I-5 to connect North Seattle Community College to the Northgate light rail station. The City of Seattle needs to come up with the rest of the money for the bridge to be built. How would you do that?
There are several potential funding sources, such as real estate excise tax, Bridging the Gap funds, other tax revenues, grant funds, or a combination of those options. I will work with our central budget office to determine the best way to allocate the $5 million commitment by the 2015 “due date”, so that we can take advantage of Sound Transit funding and build this important connection.
Ed Murray, Seattle Mayor Candidate
1) Sound Transit has agreed to help fund a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across I-5 to connect North Seattle Community College to the Northgate light rail station. The City of Seattle needs to come up with the rest of the money for the bridge to be built. How would you do that?
Sound Transit and the City of Seattle have each pledged $10 million for pedestrian and bicycle improvements around the Northgate station, half of which will be devoted to the proposed bridge connecting the station to NSCC. Even so, the bridge is currently underfunded by $8-10 million, and Sound Transit will reallocate any unspent funds if this project remains underfunded by July of 2015.
It’s an unfortunate reality that Seattle cannot fund every beneficial project. We simply do not have the money. We need to get clear on our priorities, rather than relying on half measures. We have a Pedestrian Master Plan, a Bicycle Master Plan, a Transportation Master Plan, and need a Freight Master Plan. What we lack is a unified plan and coherent set of priorities. I will address this with my Move Seattle Initiative, which will harmonize different transportation modes and clearly lay out what we need to do most. This will allow us to more effectively lobby the state legislature for additional funding.
Locally, Seattle has a set of financial tools available to generate funds for public works projects. I am interested in exploring the expanded use of Local Improvement Districts, which assess taxes on nearby properties that stand to benefit from a proposed project. If a project is backed by the majority of local businesses, we can work with them to form a Business Improvement Area to generate revenue for project funding.
Return your ballot by November 5
LATVIAN CULTURAL CENTER
11710 – 3rd Ave NE
SEATTLE, WA 98125
(East side of I-5 Freeway)
Washington State Latvian Association 2013
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 9
10am to 4pm
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 10
12pm to 4pm
 You will find:
- latvian ethnic bakery & foods
- christmas specialty foods
- latvian and modern jewelry
- decorative pillows
- knitted articles
- stuffed toys
- hot meals
- latvian linens
- latvian books
- etched crystal
- and much much more
Washington State Latvian Association 2013
Today we’re starting a new series on bicycle infrastructure, or what Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) calls bicycle facilities. The City encourages bicycles for transportation and has been implementing various signage and street striping to increase safety. These things appear, but there is not much education about what they mean and how to use them. This series will explain the usage of all the types of bicycle facilities, as well as go over some laws pertaining to bicycles and the responsibilities of drivers of vehicles around bicyclists.
In 2007 Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan was adopted to attempt to build as many bike facilities as possible quickly and with low cost using Bridging the Gap money. The limited funding resulted in mostly street painting, such as sharrows (we’ll cover these later). The Master Plan project is about half complete now. SDOT has learned a lot from observing the results and getting comments about what has been done to-date. SDOT believes that what’s in place now works for superuser cyclists, but that casual cyclists are still uncomfortable riding in traffic and don’t feel safe. Now the focus of the project is on connecting neighborhoods for casual cyclists and pedestrians.
Meanwhile, best practices for bicycle facilities, safety, and design keep evolving in the U.S. and around the world (such as greenways and cycle tracks – we’ll explain these later), so Seattle has drafted a 2013 Bicycle Master Plan.
For the most part, each post will cover one type of bike facility. The next post will be on sharrows since we see a lot of those bike images painted on the streets around here.
 Head to Meadowbrook Community Center for a Haunted Bounce 6:30-7:30 p.m., including ghostly lighting, glow sticks, bounce toys and “Halloweenspirational” music.
Then bounce up to the pool from 7:30-8:30 p.m. for carnival games and prizes like “ride that pumpkin”, deep sea fishing and our special glow-in-the-dark room. It features fun, not fright!
Ages: All (children under 4’ and 6 years must be accompanied by an adult in the water.)
Location: Meadowbrook Community Center and Pool, 10517 35th Ave. NE
Date and time: Friday, October 25, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Cost for youth: $2 for the bounce, $3.75 for the pool
Cost for adults: free at the bounce, just $2 for the pool
 Back by popular demand, Magical Mac ‘N’ Cheese – featuring Xakary the Magician and his pet rabbit who will mesmerize you with their Halloween magic. Turn your Friday family dinner into an evening of dinner and entertainment. There will be basic macaroni and cheese and you can add your favorite toppings.
Friday October 18th, 6-8 pm
Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave NE, 206-386-4283
$5/person, or $20/family
 This month’s speaker was Renee Hopkins, President and CEO of Seattle Police Foundation, which is a non-profit that supports and raises funds for Seattle Police Department. It is SPF that stepped in and funded the Mounted Patrol when its budget was eliminated a few years ago.
Dick Reed also gave an update on the new North Precinct police station. First choice location is the SE corner of Aurora and N 130th St. On Saturday, Oct. 26, the City will host a community open house to provide more information on the site selection process, how the site meets SPD’s operational needs, the development schedule, and future opportunities for public comment. The open house will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Bitter Lake Community Center gym, 13035 Linden Ave. N.
To see more information on Seattle Police Foundation and the new police station, crime info, and other news from the North Precinct, see the October minutes here.
Our next Pinehurst Community Meeting is this Thursday, October 10th from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at Amante Pizza and Pasta! You may remember my “Save the Date” from a couple weeks ago and since then we’ve confirmed the time, location, and guests. The project manager for the construction project is lining up people to talk about the proposed design. And we’ve got the PTSA to talk about their organization and share information and contacts for how we can get involved. I’m particularly excited to continue driving the point home that sidewalks are important and we need safe walking routes to our neighborhood school.
Please help spread the word to anybody that’s not on the blog or Facebook group! Especially anybody living near the school or anybody with young children. Thanks!
Pinehurst Community Meeting
Thursday, October 10th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Amante Pizza: 12319 Roosevelt Way NE
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