Make the SLUT safer; Seattle cyclists protest

A downtown correspondent filed these pictures from the Taming the S.L.U.T. bicycle protest in Seattle earlier Wednesday evening.

Up to 100 An esimated 40 to 60 bicyclists showed up for the ride, with plenty of police on hand. The bicyclists say the city hasn't done enough, in fact has done very little, to ensure that the tracks for the new South Lake Union Trolley (SLUT) are safe for cyclists.

The tracks for the SLUT, which began operation earlier Wednesday, run along the curb lanes where bicyclists are supposed to ride under city regulation (as far right as possible). The gaps in the track catch bicycle tires, causing cyclists to fall to the ground or into traffic or parked cars. 

The Seattle Likes Bikes organization called for the protest to draw attention to the problem. The city hasn't acted on a request that warning signs be posted and sharrows be installed on traffic lanes adjacent to the tracks to remind motorists that cyclists will be in those lanes.

In the long run, many cyclists would like to see a rubberized pad in the space between the tracks so bicyclists can safely ride over them.

The gaps in the tracks are 44 mm wide. While mountain bike tires are 49 mm wide and safely pass over the tracks, many road and commuting bikes run on 23mm – 32mm tires. Numerous accidents have been reported.

This is what Seattle Likes Bikes is calling for:

1. An alternative route to be added early in 2008. Bicycle lanes are planned for 9^th Ave N, but the city wants to postpone adding them until late 2008 or early 2009 when construction on Paul Allen's buildings in that area is complete.
2. Caution signs (like those in Portland) indicating that cyclists should exercise caution around the tracks and that motorists should give cyclists a few more feet of maneuvering room so they can avoid the tracks.
3. Where the tracks are in the right lane, sharrows should be installed in the left lane to remind cyclists and motorists of the safest place for cyclists to ride.
4. That Seattle Department of Transportation will consult with Portland Department of Transportation, learn from Portland's experience, and adopt guidelines that consider cyclists when installing future sets of tracks in roadways.
5. For a feasibility study of rubber track filler that could be installed to compress under the trolley wheels while being rigid enough to prevent bicycle wheels from being trapped in the tracks.

The trolley line is the idea of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who has heavily invested in the South Lake Union business area. Many newspaper stories have written about the amazing speed at which the trolley line went from an idea to operation — about four years. Maybe more time should have been spent looking at safety issues.

Read more about the SLUT opening at the Seattle Times: “Streetcar starts service.”