For The Love Of God No More Bike Lanes Replacing Car Lanes - This Is Seattle Its Winter [View all]

The other day I noticed they took away a lane on what used to be a two lane main arterial, and made it into one lane with a bike lane. It is 40 degrees outside and drizzling. Only the most hearty are on a bicycle freezing here in Seattle for the next 5 months.

The traffic was backed up for 20 blocks at this "improvement". It was a two lane street Roosevelt, merging into 15th Northwest. The traffic was backed up behind the 125th street traffic light, all the way to 105th street. 20 F-ing blocks. Nothing was moving. Nothing.

Now I live as green as I can. I don't ride a bicycle for a number of reasons, mostly because it rains here, it is cold, and riding a bicycle is dangerous, especially if you can't see because your visor is wet. I drive a Volt, and rarely use gas, have super insulated my house, and use very little carbon to survive.

The point is, there was not one bicycle using the bike lane, and if they wanted to ride their bicycle, they could easily and even more safely ride one block to the East on residential streets. There was hundreds of cars backed up behind the traffic light, sitting at idle, and not even moving.

What is better for the environment. Having hundreds of cars sit and idle an extra half hour a day, so a half a dozen people can ride a bicycle, or have 2 lanes of traffic so people can get home in cars that burn less, and less gas, and even go electric?

Please answer that question all you rocket surgeons down at Seattle's City Hall...... By the way thousands of people have moved to Seattle recently, and the traffic is insane. Constantly they take away lanes from cars so buses can run once every 10 minutes, or worse yet so a couple people can ride bicycles while thousands sit in their cars in gridlock.

At some point someone is going to have to wake up.... They could put the bike trails / paths safely through residential neighborhoods, and leave the main streets moving people by the thousand. Make bicycle crossings of major streets. Everyone wins, and people can get home from work an hour earlier.