Category Archives: Getting Around

Getting Around, Other Neighborhoods

Biking on Beacon: Family biking to Columbia City

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I was at The Station the other night having a drink with some friends (Thanks Luis!), and we got to discussing Columbia City and how much it has changed over the past 10 years.  Today, there are a number of great destinations there including Empire Espresso on Edmunds (best latte in Seattle, though they can’t touch The Station’s Mexican mochas); Columbia City Cinema (now playing: Black Swan and a couple movies about hornets); Tutta Bella (a stopgap until we get our own brick oven pizza place); Full Tilt (old school video games and small batch ice cream… ’nuff said); a bakery, bar, toy store, etc.; and—of course—Bike Works!

Bike Works was established in the mid ’90s with the goal of promoting cycling in the underserved communities of Southeast Seattle.  When the bike shop went in, it was the only one between Capitol Hill and Renton!  They currently run the earn a bike program for kids and are generally bicycle angels in our midst. I biked there with my kids a few months ago to get some hand grips for Kai’s bike.  It was Malia’s longest ride and she did great (we took the light rail to get back).  The key to getting to Columbia City safely on a bike is Renton Ave. S. which runs between MLK and Rainier.  You can see our mapped route with videos here.

There are many reasons why Columbia City has changed so much while Beacon Hill has not (topography, demographics, arterial access) and I am sure the next 10 years will bring similar change to our community. This will, of course, have complex ramifications: some good, some bad.  One good one, that my kids will appreciate, is that our bike rides will get a little easier.

Beacon Hill to Columbia City (SAFE ROUTE) at EveryTrail

Getting Around, Opinion

Biking on Beacon: Back to work by bike!

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After a long holiday vacation, which, due to the blizzard in the Northeast, stretched into an even longer holiday vacation, I finally made it back to the Hill to find that indeed I am required to return to work in the new year. 🙁

An upside to this situation is that I get to hop on my bike and get back into my commuting routine.  I have to admit that when I was first considering bike commuting from Beacon Hill to Downtown and back I was hesitant.  Though it is only a three mile ride to Belltown from my house, there are a number of daunting hills and even scarier rivers of traffic.  But after testing out numerous routes, I found one that is not too hilly and avoids a good bit of the traffic. 

If you look on a map the most logical route to get from North Beacon Hill to Downtown is along 15th Avenue South via the Jose Rizal bridge.  The problem with this is that even after last years restriping on 15th (addition of a bike lane going southbound from Jose Rizal to Beacon, and sharrows northbound), the road is still a little scary to bike along.  An alternate route is to take 18th Avenue South to the Mountains to Sound Trail to Jose Rizal; this avoids the traffic and, as 18th is a gradual climb, provides one of the easiest ways to get up the north side of Beacon Hill.  Once over Jose Rizal, King Street (non-arterial) and 3rd Avenue (bus and bike only during commuter hours) provide the best routes for avoiding heavy traffic.  Another great way to avoid heavy traffic is to go into work early and come home early, this makes biking much safer!

I have mapped this route with accompanying video here.

According to SDOT counts, bike commuting in Seattle has doubled over the past 15 years. And with the implementation of the bicycle master plan in full gear, this ridership rate will only increase in the coming years.  Hop on your bike and try this route someday to see if bike commuting is for you.

Beacon Hill to downtown (COMMUTER ROUTE) at EveryTrail

Getting Around

Free bike lights today at 12th and Sturgus

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The free bike lights today probably won't be this Christmasy. Photo by Richard Masoner via Creative Commons.
Beacon Hill bicyclists can brighten up their cycling tonight, for free. Ride by the south end of the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge (the start of the I-90 trail, where 12th Avenue South becomes Sturgus Avenue South) today between 4:00 and 6:00 pm, when Cascade Bicycle Club will be distributing 420 sets of free bike lights. Look for the Cascade banner that will mark the spot.

The lights are first come, first served, and the project is part of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Bike Smart program.

Getting Around, History of the Hill, Opinion

Local holiday shopping by bicycle

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Now that the holiday season is upon us, shopping is on the minds of many.  Black Friday is infamous for the crushing crowds at the box stores and the malls and now “Cyber Monday” has become a major phenomenon, as folks turn to the internet for convenient holiday shopping.  Both these forms have shopping have something in common: they do not support local businesses.  On Beacon Hill this is a chicken and egg issue—not much holiday shopping occurs locally because there are not many places to shop, and there are not many places to buy gifts because people tend to drive elsewhere to do their holiday shopping. But it was not always this way.

I was curled up with Images of America: Seattle’s Beacon Hill yesterday and came across this quote from Pete Caso (born 1923):  “There were many businesses before and now there is absolutely nothing. There were four drugstores on Beacon Hill, three bakeries, five grocery stores, and all your daily shopping was done on Beacon Hill. Why did the businesses close? The businesses were there in the 1940s. They closed up after World War II, with supermalls and everybody got a car. Before those days, nobody had a car. Up until then you used the street car or you walked.”

In 1937, the east side of the 15th and Beacon Junction, now home to the ABC Supermarket and the big empty building that is Hui Intertrading, was home to Eba's Mutual Grocery, Ray's Barbershop, a hardware store, and a small Safeway. Photo from the Puget Sound Regional Archives.

Biking was also popular before the War, as evidenced by the fact that a popular bicycle repair shop (Mr. Ellis’s Repair Shop) used to exist on Beacon Avenue at the current location of La Bendicion.  Because it was difficult to get off the Hill by foot, bike, or long street car ride, people stayed up here to do their shopping and the local economy boomed.  Today, the Department of Planning and Development‘s answer to bolstering the local economy is density and transit oriented development. Generating more shoppers will help, but just as important is to reorient existing residents inward.  One way of doing this is changing how we get around.

So before I walk up to Red Apple to get some groceries, and El Centro to pick up my Christmas tree, I thought I would share another quasi-local route to a great shopping destination that is fun for the whole family: Goodwill!

This route is safe for bikers of any level and because it uses 18th Avenue South to get back up the hill, it is not too strenuous.   I look forward to the days when I can stay on the Hill to do all my shopping; until then, I have my bike as a viable transportation alternative that forces me to keep it local (and keeps me from getting trampled trying to pick up a NERF N-Strike™ Stampede ECS™). Happy Holidays and please respond with your favorite local shopping destinations!

Beacon Hill to Goodwill on Dearborn (SAFE ROUTE) at EveryTrail

Getting Around, Weather

Today is another icy day; commute carefully

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A new record low overnight temperature was set this morning: 14F at Sea-Tac Airport. The bitter cold means that many streets are still quite slick today, and driving may still be hazardous. Take transit if you can. King County Metro says that buses are still on snow routes, but fewer routes will be cancelled. (Route 38 on McClellan, however, is one of them.) See the Transit Alerts Center for the latest information. Sound Transit’s alert page is here.

SDOT tweeted that “Snow routes in good condition due to overnight work. No significant problems in that network of streets.”

Seattle Public Schools and the University of Washington remain closed, as do many county offices. A list of closed county offices is here, and as usual, school closure information is here.

The Seattle Times (BHB news partner) has an interesting article on why Seattle can’t handle snow. It explains, among other things, why the anti-ice chemicals sprayed on major arterials in advance of the storm actually made things worse: the brine was diluted by the melting snow, making it ineffective against further snow, and then refroze into a slick sheet of ice.

Speaking of ice, there’s a lot of ice still on sidewalks, steps, and walkways. Please clear the ones you’re responsible for—falling on the ice can be really dangerous.

Getting Around, Weather

Snow has stopped, but baby, it’s cold

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About 4:00 pm. Photo by Wendi.
It was a long, strange trip for a lot of folks yesterday—from work to home. The Monday evening commute took hours for many, as snowy, icy conditions turned local streets into curling rinks, parking lots, and probably a few other things that no thoroughfare should be. It reminded some of us of December 18, 1990, when a similar storm wreaked havoc on the afternoon commute. (That one, with 8 to 14 inches, was worse.) This animated gif gives you an idea how bad it was last night. (We found it in a tweet from @KIRO7Seattle, but we aren’t sure who originally created it.)

We got about 4 inches of snow on North Beacon Hill, but the wind and blowing, drifting snow makes the actual measurement difficult to determine. The conditions here as of 3:00 am are very cold and windy, with dry, granular snow that is, in some places, drifting on top of earlier ice. Walking is treacherous and driving is worse. The snow isn’t melting any time soon—as of now, the National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 25 and a low tonight of 13 for Beacon Hill.

As far as today goes, here’s what we know:

The University of Washington Seattle campus and Seattle Public Schools are closed today. See schoolreport.org for the status of other schools, colleges, and universities.

King County Executive Dow Constantine released a statement urging County government employees who are not first responders or mission-critical to telecommute or take a day of vacation instead of going to work today.

Metro is once again on snow routing. Your buses may not follow their usual routes or keep to their usual schedule. Some routes may be cancelled. (Route 38 along McClellan is one of these.) See the Transit Alerts Center for the latest information. Sound Transit’s alert page is here.

Link Light Rail performed like a champ on Monday, and should do so again today. Sound Transit ran the trains all night long to keep tracks/wires clear of ice. Expect large crowds on Link today, as people who may not always ride Link decide to try the train to avoid another hellish commute. If you do need to leave the Hill, and live at all near a station, Link is your best option.

Here’s the Seattle city snow and ice emergency page, with tons of links to useful information.

There was a series of power outages on Beacon Hill last night, mostly in an area immediately around Jefferson Park. Service is back on to most now, but there are still small outages near 24th and Hanford and 33rd and Holly. You can see all current outages here.

Please dress warmly and take good care of yourself today, neighbors. Don’t drive unless you absolutely have to! We encourage you to visit one of our local coffee shops for a warm drink or three, and keep an eye on our Twitter feed throughout the day for additional info.

Here are some images from yesterday:

Jefferson Park. Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
This snow-laden tree looks rather like a giant spider. Photo by K. Shuler in the BHB photo pool.
Beacon Hill Station in the snow and wind. Photo by Wendi.

Getting Around

Expect Link delays Sunday-Tuesday evenings

The doors to the southbound platform at Beacon Hill Station will be closed on Sunday-Tuesday evenings this week. Photo by Oran Viriyincy in the Beacon Hill Blog Photo Pool on Flickr.
Link Light Rail riders will experience delays due to maintenance work between 8:00 pm and 1:00 am each night from Sunday, November 21, through Tuesday, November 23. Link will operate every 20-25 minutes during those times, and the southbound platforms at Beacon Hill and Mount Baker stations will be closed. Board all trains at the northbound platform, and dress warmly — it’s going to be cold.

(Thanks Seattle Transit Blog for the heads-up!)

Getting Around, Local Events

Opinion: Biking and walking are viable options on Beacon Hill

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Map on Everytrail website, showing safe bicycle routes to MacPherson's produce market. The map includes videos with commentary about the route and reasons why certain paths were chosen.
Beacon BIKES! is excited about our upcoming community-wide biking and walking information event on Saturday, November 20 (at Beacon International School, 2021 14th Avenue South, from 10:00 am until noon)!  To celebrate biking as a viable option on Beacon Hill and in Seattle in general, I thought I would show how safe and easy biking can be in and around our neighborhood.

Many years ago I lived in Davis, California, which is known as the biking capital of the U.S. (Their city logo is even a bike!).  In Davis, biking is just the easiest way to get around, not only because it is a dense city and flat as a pancake, but because there is an amazing bicycle infrastructure to keep biking safe for everyone.  As a result, 17 percent of the population commutes by bike (compared with the less than 3 percent in Seattle).  I bring up Davis because what is interesting to see is that when that many people are biking, they stop identifying as cyclists—they are just people who happen to get around town in the easiest manner available, by bike.  So that is our goal at Beacon BIKES!, to make biking so safe and easy that even your grandma will want to hop on a bike to head to MacPherson’s for her afternoon errands. 

“If we get out of our cars more often, we become more neighborhood-oriented.”

We are not a bunch of spandex-clad aggro bike advocates, but rather neighbors who want to see you on the streets walking or biking to your local destinations.  If we get out of our cars (and yes, we all have cars too) more often, our options for what are viable trips change and we become more neighborhood-oriented.  We go to Red Apple instead of Safeway, The Station instead of Starbucks, and we see our neighbors along the way!

Part of what we will be doing on the 20th is providing maps for safe routes to schools (and other destinations) for you and your children on Beacon Hill.  We will have a bunch of blank maps; you show us where you live, and we draw you a safe route to your destination of choice.  In the spirit of this, I have begun to compile a series of virtual tours of routes that I use to safely get around and off of Beacon Hill, both by myself and with my family.  All the routes I map either start or end at the library or light rail station.

I use the program Everytrail to map all the routes.  Here are my preferred routes to MacPherson’s (family-friendly) and Lowe’s (mostly safe, but involves biking on South College Street for a couple blocks).  Clicking on these links will take you to the Everytrail website (click on the “View Full Screen” button on the bottom right of the map to get the best view of the route). For all the routes I use the following criteria:

  1. Whenever it makes sense, use non-arterial streets or multi-use trails
  2. Whenever it makes sense, take the least steep street possible
  3. Try to make all arterial crossings at signalized intersections

I also frequently take advantage of the light rail to get back up the hill after biking off the hill.  I have more routes already mapped and more planned for future posts.  In the meantime, let me know the destinations you would like mapped in the comments section.  Happy Biking!  See you on Saturday!

Getting Around

Chief Sealth Trail extension nearly done

The Chief Sealth Trail extension during construction, looking oddly like a country road. Photo by kashgroves in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
The Chief Sealth Trail northward extension project is nearly completed. The Seattle Department of Transportation told us recently that the asphalt surface paving is done, and only the final stages of construction remain, including minor paving work, storm drainage, signage and bollard installation, hydroseeding, and cleanup.

There will continue to be intermittent traffic restrictions through mid-November on South Angeline Street (east of 15th Avenue South), South Ferdinand Street (between 17th Avenue South and 19th Avenue South), Columbia Drive South (between South Ferdinand Street and South Pearl Street) and Beacon Avenue South (curb lane only between South Bennett and South Ferdinand streets). See the map at the end of this post for these locations.

The trail is being extended northwesterly, following the City Light corridor from the intersection of Beacon Avenue South and South Dawson Street to a point near the intersection of South Angeline Street and 15th Avenue South.

Seattle Bike Blog has noted how useful the trail is for providing connections for cyclists to ride from Rainier Beach to Sodo and Capitol Hill.


View Traffic restriction locations, 11/10 in a larger map