Mercer will still be One-Way, in a way

Gee, so Seattle is going to put $154 million on making Mercer Street two-way, with another $50 million coming from federal stimulus funds. Yes, we'll be paying contractors and putting people to work to take a couple minutes off the drive of people exiting I-5.

This strikes me as perpetuating the "one way" that urban development has followed for decades: the car culture.

I've been going around telling people that the point of the stimulus is to spend money to get it out into the economy. Well, why Mercer Street? Won't other non-defense spending also create work? How about these items that are supposed to be city priorities:

• Pedestrian safety
• Housing and support services for the hardcore homeless
• School district funding
• Finish the sidewalk grid!
• Duwamish Superfund cleanup
• Fast, convenient and pervasive transit

And how about this need that no one ever talks about: preparing the infrastructure that will support the 1.6 million additional residents expected to move to the Puget Sound region between now and 2040. Do you think the current wastewater treatment system can handle all the additional inputs? Wouldn't our power grid benefit from rooftop solar and wind farms?

The problem for Seattle is that the federal stimulus is only going to shovel-ready projects. That is, projects that were already in advanced planning and only lacked the funding to proceed.

Obviously, Seattle didn't plan.

Another piece of great reporting

The Seattle Times reports on another one of those accidents where a cyclist collides with an -- apparently -- driverless vehicle:

Bicyclist killed in Ballard crash

A 39-year-old cyclist was killed in a collision with a van this morning in Ballard.

By Seattle Times staff

A 39-year-old cyclist was killed in a collision with a van this morning in Ballard.

Medics were called to 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 65th Street just before 11 a.m. and performed CPR on the man, according to Dana Vander Houwen, a spokeswoman for the Seattle Fire Department.

The cyclist suffered life-threatening injuries and later died at Harborview Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson. Police did not immediately provide details of the collision.

Way to get all the 5 Ws, "Staff."

Update, 2/5:

Here's the Street View of the scene, looking south. The Viking is on the left, the turn lane is just ahead. The arrows appear to be where the accident occurred -- pan right 2 clicks, and the telephone pole in the P-I photo is visible.


View Larger Map

Scenario 1. News stories are implying the van was making a legal turn at the intersection with 64th. But the only way the accident makes any sense at that location, and considering the victim, Kevin Black, was an experienced rider, is if he was in the southbound lane preparing to enter the turn lane, and the van driver passed Black and got there first. It's also possible she only thought she was past him, then turned before he did. Drivers think they can share the lane with me all the time.

By the way, for the P-I Soundoff trogs -- there is no law saying you MUST use a bike lane if one is there. There are in fact all sorts of reasons not to use it -- people often insist on loading cargo on the driver's side, someone could be in the middle of parking, a car could be parked in the bike lane. The bike lane is also where all the road debris winds up.

Scenario 2. But the most common reason not to be in the bike lane is if you have to swerve to avoid something -- such as a van that has pulled out in front of you. Interestingly, the accident site is precisely where a southbound vehicle would make a U-turn to get to The Viking (look at where the nose of the white van is in the 13th photo HERE). But that can't possibly be the case here, since U-turns are only allowed at intersections and streetends -- and drivers never EVER break the law, right trogs?