Seattle uses bike racks to discourage homeless camping

Seattle has a new strategy to combat homelessness sprawling underneath roadways — bike racks.

RELATED: Seattle viaduct days are numbered

A total of 18 racks and six mounting rails now line a stretch under the Alaskan Way Viaduct near Belltown — an area previously frequented by campers. The racks were installed after a recent homeless camp sweep.

The Stranger reports that the Seattle Department of Transportation installed the bike racks, raising suspicions among locals. The city told The Stranger that the racks are “part of the Homelessness Emergency Response effort” aimed at discouraging camping underneath that portion of the viaduct.

Some bike parking pic.twitter.com/CL7DLnMLuq

— Dongho Chang (@dongho_chang) October 22, 2017

The total cost of the bike racks came to about $6,700, including the price of the racks and labor.

Bike racks cause criticism

Following the revelation that the city used bike racks to discourage homeless camping, a range of bicycle advocates spoke out against the move, offended that they be used in such a manner.

One critic is former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who argued the installation was cruel and wasteful. He alleged that the move was political.

BTW, agencies don’t do this – spend on stuff that isn’t their mission – unless they’re getting pushed from above. This was political

— Mike McGinn (@mayormcginn) December 19, 2017

The Seattle Bike Blog also argued that the racks were “bike-washed ‘anti-homelessness spikes.'”

As someone who has been a big advocate of expanding the city’s bike parking, it is disturbing to see hard-won bike racks used in such a way. Bike racks are for improving bike access to businesses and other destinations, not for forming a physical impediment to our neighbors who are just looking for a dry place to sleep. The idea that something this blog and many other advocates for bike access have worked to hard to get into the levy and city budget was used in such an inhumane way makes me feel ill.

… There is no destination near this area warranting that many bike parking spaces. The bike racks were purchased using Move Seattle levy money, but SDOT was reimbursed from a fund for addressing homelessness.

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