Does the City of Seattle hate bicycles?

The question above is a legitimate one. Things keep happening that cause it to be asked. First, there is the re-routing of the Burke-Gilman Trail to accommodate construction going on around the Fremont Bridge. I understand the need to keep people out of the construction area. I sure don't want bricks or whatever falling on me. My problem is the detour we have been given. N 34th St is an extremely busy arterial, as any road leading to a bridge would be. The cars are jockeying for position, making turns, looking for parking, and generally people are careful and aware of the cyclists presence . Part of the problem is the road surface itself. The bike lane has many seams, potholes, and cracks in it. Lots of times you will see the riders swerve to avoid these obstacles. Sometimes the swerve will put the rider out into the street. Not good. The stretch from Stone Way to Phinney Ave is pretty well pock-marked by hazards for cyclists. These are almost all problems that wouldn't even cause a motorist to notice. Plenty of problems for people on bikes, though. Second, the City has decided, unilaterally, to have the Summer Nights concert series at Gasworks Park this year. I guess it wasn't unilaterally. A meeting was held, with 2 days notice, on Friday December 23rd. Sneaky, huh? What the hell are they smoking? There isn't much parking down there, access is not good even under normal conditions, any summer evening is crowded with cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. Off the trail, on Northlake Ave., there are the boaters that moor their boats at the marinas that dot the waters edge. Now add to this 3500 people (and their cars) that aren't familiar with the Trail or it's users and you have a recipe for trouble. What makes the City think 20 or so concerts will have little to no impact here? I predict cyclist/concert-goer collisions at each show. The concerns I give here are based only on my admittedly narrow focus as a cyclist that rides this stretch of trail on an almost daily basis. Other groups, like the neighborhood associations in the area, are already in an uproar about this and are making their concerns known. This is a bad idea that will be proven out if it goes ahead. Third, the City will be selling a piece of Metro property to developers along this now crazy stretch of of the BGT. I speak of the Metro Yard located at the corner of Northlake Place and Densmore Ave North. Neighborhood groups have expressed desire to use this space as a community center. But no, the Mayor has stated more than once this land is too valuable to remain in public hands. So... on the block it goes. Now, we will have additional construction going on here. Any guesses where the construction people will want to park their equipment? How about where the concert goers want to park. They will likely also want to close that part of the Trail to create a buffer zone. The cyclists will once again be detoured. Northlake Way is a real mess at this particular spot. Choppy pavement, railroad tracks, dirt, glass, and all of the other usual debris. I'm sure this will be the designated detour for trail users. Great. I know this all seems very pessimistic. It's just that every time these projects begin, the first ones to feel the impact are cyclists. How many times have the bikes lanes around town become parking for construction? Every time it's handy, that's how many. I don't get this. The City creates these trails and bike lanes to keep cyclists out of the way and then, closes the most popular and prettiest stretches for years at a time. Is it any wonder so many riders disregard traffic law? But all is not lost. We cyclists do have a voice in city government. His name is Pauh Wang. He's the Seattle Dept. of Transportation Liaison to Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board. Follow this link to see the kind of work he does on our behalf. http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/sbab/about.asp I've known Pauh for about 5 years. He's a real cyclist, not some chairborne policy maker. Late last year I rode a stretch of the BGT pointing out some problems and potential problems. Pauh was very interested in what he was seeing and, in some cases, took on the spot action. Really impressive. Don't hesitate to get in touch with him with your concerns. www.pauh.wang.seattle.gov Hopefully this all won't turn out to be as bleak as it looks here. I guess we'll see.