Rantz: Militant Seattle bike activists livid with city and they should be

The militant Seattle bike activist community was met with news that Mayor Jenny Durkan could jettison over 20 long-awaited bike projects in an update to the Bike Master Plan. These activists are mad. They should be.

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They should be mad because some City leaders exploited their activism for political gain, making absurd promises in updates to bike infrastructure that are both costly and senseless.

They’ve been used by people who either share their hobby or celebrate their cult. Both those leaders — Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Rob Johnson — are so deeply unpopular with the non-biking community, that they’re abandoning their political careers, running (well, biking) for the hills (which, coincidently, are part of the reason bike commuting is down).

The Bike Master Plan makes little sense given the lack of meaningful growth bike commuting has seen in the last several years. Mayor Durkan, finally, appears ready to ditch projects that just don’t make sense for the Seattle area.

The bike activists should be mad with anyone who treated their hobby as the future of commuting in this City. It is not. In the short-term, mass transit, walking and part or full-time telecommuting are the future.

In the long term? Add self-driving cars to the mix. These activists should be mad that their delusion was taken advantage of, giving them false hope

Just because some bicyclists don’t want to be inconvenienced from a route they prefer, doesn’t justify the millions spent on every single project. The “if you build it, it will come” mentality from the activists has been proven wrong.

The best bike plan includes bike lanes where they make sense, don’t cause more traffic for buses and cars, don’t displace parking spots already in high demand, nor cost millions when they will be infrequently used.

If the biking community doesn’t like it, well, they’ll just have to deal with it. They’re not entitled to every project on their wish list, certainly no more than the average citizen who pays into the system at significant higher rates than they do.

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