King 5 interview cyclists at the intersection
Stopped at the intersection where Lance David died this week. A King 5 camera crew was taping the ghost bike and interviewing cyclists. Shared my thoughts, as did others, and the story ran last night with friends remembering him as a cyclist. While there, the reporter was talking to the family on the phone as semis carried containers from the port to the rail yard. I said the area was a gauntlet, including the six-corner intersection at Spokane and Marginal where my wife was hit last month. The planners and advocates will take this as a call to action and I hope make it a cycling corridor, as well as a trucking one.
Another crash
Returning home, I assisted a cyclist who crashed rounding the corner southbound from Alaskan to Spokane. His tire skipped a seam and he went down on a sidewalk that used to be a path. It’s now a spillway that sends cyclists into the gauntlet. Like Lance, that cyclist was experienced and rides Alaskan Way frequently.
Lance’s widow posted a statement on the West Seattle blog noting the cause of the accident is not known. We may never know, but what’s more important is that Seattle’s streets become more rideable. Despite cycling friendly ratings by marketers and fundraisers that don’t live or ride here, we’re not a bike town. That label doesn’t apply until the infrastructure better supports us. It’s a little-known fact that Seattle city attorneys have argued that no duty of care is owed to cyclists.
We’re on our own here and demand more.
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