notes on biking in Seattle

So I was in Seattle a few weeks ago, and meant to do a series of Seattle posts right when I got back, but, well.... you know how it goes. Anyways, two great things about the above image: first, the bike parking was pretty nice. Apparently these used to be parking meters, but the metering on that street was replaced by a single electronic meter that serves the whole street. So instead of ripping out all the old parking meters entirely, they just chopped off the tops and added these cute bicycle symbols, that cyclists can lock to. Being convenient, good-looking, obvious, and based on the principle of re-purposing existing infrastructure gets this bike rack major props here. The only downside was that they were only good for one or two bikes.

Great thing #2 about the above picture: that's a rental bicycle! That's right, the great folks at Montlake Bicycle Shop hooked me up with a very nice rental bike for a few days. I got several compliments on it, everyone was suprised that it was a rental. I completely recommend renting a bike as a great way to see the city- you're not at the mercy of the bus schedule, and you get a better view of many of Seattle's natural wonders than either pedestrians or motorists do. Plus, all that exercise lets you try tasty treats from Pike Place market guilt-free! So all in all, it was a great trip and I logged in lots of miles. I hope to post more later, particularly about some of the parks I saw there.

Expo Line Funding In Jeopardy

Shhhh, they're trying to keep it quiet, so quiet it was just a tiny nugget buried in today's LA Times, but the State of California may pull funding out from under Phase II of the light rail line intended to connect downtown Los Angeles and the University of Southern California to the ocean at Santa Monica.

"There is talk in Sacramento about major budget cuts in transportation spending — and that has implications for the Expo Line. Work is now beginning on a light-rail system from downtown L.A. to Culver City. But transportation officials said cutbacks could hurt the chances of building Phase 2, from Culver City to Santa Monica. That could be bad news for Santa Monica. The city has already purchased land for a possible rail station."

As this snippet mentions, Phase I Expo Line has already started construction. Phase I will begin at the 7th Street Metro Station in downtown LA, heading south parallel to the Blue Line before breaking away west to connect with USC, Exposition Park, the neighborhoods of Crenshaw, Baldwin Hills, and La Brea before ending (temporarily, we hope) at the northern edge of Culver City near the start of the Ballona Creek bike path. fortunately, this phase of the Expo Line has funding in place, community support, and is set to go.

Phase II of the Expo Line is apparently not so lucky. This phase intends to pick up where phase one leaves off, and continue west via one of two routes: either by integrating into Venice Blvd, then jogging north up Sepulveda Blvd and then returning to the westerly course; or by following the Exposition Right of Way all the way to Santa Monica. I happen to be partial to the Venice/Sepulveda detour, as it places a station right next to my apartment building, and through a couple of neighborhoods that I know could use the added transportation option, but either option is better than nothing.

I can only support a project with such laudable goals as enhancing the connectivity of Los Angeles, reducing traffic congestion along the always busy east/west parking lot known as the I-10, and providing viable transportation options for those who either cannot afford to or morally oppose owning a personal automobile. So it frankly confounds me why the bureaucrats in Sacramento would rather fund highway expansions that let more people sit alone in their cars on the freeway than fund a mass transit option that enhances one of the most crowded commuter routes probably in the nation. The Expo Line will have millions of riders either way, but letting it hang out there half-finished would be a guffaw to rival the move in which Metro allowed the Green Line to not quite make it to the airport.