SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Seattle mayor wants to spend $15 million on bikes while car thieves run rampant

Sep 29, 2015, 10:07 PM | Updated: Sep 30, 2015, 9:40 am

bike...

One of the proponents of Seattle's bike-share program quit and went back to the East Coast. (AP)

(AP)

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray wants to ensure there is money secured for expanding a bike-share program in the 2016 budget.

Murray’s proposed 2016 budget would help the Pronto bike program grow.

If all goes according to plan, revenue from construction projects would help increase the number of bike-share stations in the city from 50 to 250, along with adding electric bikes. The mayor’s plan is to get a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The city would spend an additional $5 million to see the bike-share dreams come true.

Now all those people looking for a way to cruise down from Queen Anne don’t have to worry about the city running out of bikes.

“Seriously, that’s what the program is,” KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson said.

Here’s how the bike-share system is used, according to Dori: People rent bikes at the top of Queen Anne, they ride them downhill and drop them off at another station. After that, employees, called “bike rebalancers,” take the bikes back up the hill.

That system doesn’t seem to be too environmentally friendly, Dori’s producer, Jake, points out.

If the bike-share program is expanded, it will mean more people will have to be hired to drive the bikes around, Dori says.

But what’s more important, bike-share programs or crime? Someone informed Dori that they witnessed a car break-in recently and called 9-1-1. Unfortunately for the owner of the car, the police department didn’t have enough officers available to respond. Outside the city, police would respond within minutes. In the city, they don’t bother.

“Why?” Dori asked rhetorically. “Because we’re too busy spending $15 million on bikes for people to ride down a hill.”

Don’t worry, though, Murray wants to spend money on a lot more than bicycles. There would be money pumped into the police and planning departments, for example. The proposed budget would provide $1.8 million for cameras. The police department would grow by about 30 officers.

The budget &#8212 similar to past proposals, The Seattle Times points out &#8212 would total $5.1 billion in spending. It could help improve a city coming to terms with its growing size, while giving people more opportunities to use all the bike lanes that are being built for the less than 5 percent of people who use them.

Seattle News Archives & Features

Associated Press

Parked Delta plane apparently struck by Japan Airlines plane that was taxiing at Seattle airport

SEATTLE (AP) — A Japan Airlines plane that was taxiing on the tarmac of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport apparently struck the tail of a parked Delta aircraft on Wednesday morning, airport authorities said. Authorities responded to the incident around 10:17 a.m., the airport said on X. There were no injuries, and airport authorities were working to […]

2 days ago

Photo: President Donald Trump takes questions while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Pres...

Matt Markovich

Democratic lawmakers vow to ‘Trump-proof’ LGBTQ+ rights and DEI protections in WA

Washington Democratic legislative leaders made it clear on Tuesday that they intend to "Trump-proof" the state from federal interference.

3 days ago

Photo: A marcher holds up a sign at a march and rally at the South Carolina Statehouse to honor Mar...

MyNorthwest Staff with Wire Reports

How do we talk about race? UW professor joins KIRO Newsradio amid MLK Day

"Seattle's Morning News" hosted Dr. Ralina Joseph, a professor at the University of Washington, on MLK Day to discuss how we talk about race.

19 days ago

Sunday marks one year since an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland was forced to make an emergency...

Gwen Baumgardner, KIRO 7 News

Passenger recounts Boeing door plug blowout one year later

Sunday marks one year since an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland was forced to make an emergency landing after a door plug blew out mid-flight.

1 month ago

Associated Press

Boeing lays off hundreds in Washington and California as part of cuts announced previously

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing has laid off hundreds of additional employees in Washington state and California as part of planned cuts that will eventually reduce the company’s workforce by about 17,000. Nearly 400 Boeing employees were laid off in Washington state and more than 500 in California, news outlets reported Monday. The aerospace giant announced […]

2 months ago

Troopers warn even big four-wheel-drive rigs can run into trouble when there's compact snow on the ...

Tom Brock

Snowy conditions in the Cascades brings ski season, difficult driving

Snowy conditions in the Washington Cascades brings ski season and difficult driving.

3 months ago

Dori: Seattle mayor wants to spend $15 million on bikes while car thieves run rampant