SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Don’t worry — SDOT has transportation figured out in 2019

Jan 2, 2019, 5:59 PM

Seattle bike racks. (KIRO 7)...

Seattle bike racks. (KIRO 7)

(KIRO 7)

Exciting news — the Seattle Department of Transportation has announced one of its first major initiatives of 2019.

I know what you’re thinking.

“Are they going to finally get rid of some of those bike lanes or open up traffic lanes for our cars, or synchronize the streetlights so that we won’t have as much gridlock?”

Well, it’s even better than that — according to a report on MyNorthwest, SDOT is going to increase bicycle rack capacity citywide by about 20 percent over the next year.

Wait — didn’t we just have a story about how bicycle commuting is actually down in Seattle, despite the amount we spend on bike lanes, road diets, and separated bike shoulders? Clearly that must be because we don’t have enough bike racks. It’s like a baseball field in Iowa — once you build them, they will come.

RELATED: The Cascade Bicycle Club’s gangster tactics aim to destroy longtime businesses

SDOT is going to spend over $100,000 to add bike racks around the city. I’m sure they will also feel the need to create a six-figure job like ‘bike rack administrator’ or something. Can you imagine such a bureaucrat? They would sit and instruct the people moving the rack on how many inches to the left or right to place it.

And even better, with all of these new bike racks in the city, some will be combined into “corrals” for multiple bike racks.

As we approach the eve of the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure, rest assured — our traffic problems are solved, our woes are over. We’re going to have more bicycle racks around the City of Seattle. It’s going to be a transportation nirvana when those are built.

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Dori: Don’t worry — SDOT has transportation figured out in 2019