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Seattle installs first ever bike box

Seattle installs first ever bike box

Credit: KING

Seattle installs first ever bike box

by VANESSA VAN HYFTE / KING 5 News

KING5.com

Posted on September 29, 2010 at 12:05 PM

SEATTLE-  It's Seattle's way of showing some bike love. Tuesday night the SDOT installed a new bike box on East Pine and 12th Avenue, the first of four of its kind. 

Other boxes will be installed at East Madison Street eastbound at 12th Avenue, and 7th Avenue South northbound at South Dearborn Street.  The idea is to create visibility for cyclists. 

Signs will be installed at the boxed intersections to help motorists and cyclists know how to use the new feature.  At a red light motorists will be required to stop behind a thick white line, and cyclists will park in the designated green boxes in front of the vehicles. 

When the light turns green, motorists and cyclists may move through the intersection, with cyclists going first. 

Motorists turning right on green should still watch for cyclists to the right approaching in the green bike lane.  According to the SDOT website, no right turns on red will be allowed. 

Cyclist Kevin McDonald used the new box Wednesday morning.

"I think it's a good investment. It will make bikers more visible, it will let motorists know where we plan to turn. I've had a lot of close calls.  Anyone who bikes downtown Seattle has had close calls," he said. 

Other cities have already installed the roadway feature including Baltimore, Minneapolis, Portland and New York City.

 

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Comments: Displaying 1 - 15 of 27

taxdollarsponge said on October 1, 2010 at 7:27 PM

@kingcountryvoter-And I pedaled away to safety.

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blankingout said on September 30, 2010 at 5:54 PM

Is there an RCW, Seattle Code, WAC that says we need to stay out of these? if not, F' these bike boxes! Remember the law considers it assault if someone hits your vehicle while occupying it, ex. if a bicyclist were to attack you and your car for stopping in one...

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stryker said on September 30, 2010 at 6:47 AM

Bike riders need to get a clue. You think you have more rights than everyone else because your on a bike. Ok, fine. Since you cant follow the rules of the road. Your death is your own problem. I glad Seattle wasted their money on something that only gets used 3 months out of the year.------------ dakotanative said: It isn't the bikes that people dislike. It is the idiots on them that people hate. If they followed the rules of the road, people would not be aggressive towards them. AGREED!

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kingcountryvoter said on September 29, 2010 at 8:52 PM

@taxdollarsponge - no oil in Afghanistan. They did however have training camps that people used to directly attack us a few years back.

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taxdollarsponge said on September 29, 2010 at 8:08 PM

@kingcountryvoter,I'm sure the recycled concrete from the viaduct would build all the paths I need.We're not havind a war over Schwinns.

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dakotanative said on September 29, 2010 at 7:45 PM

It isn't the bikes that people dislike. It is the idiots on them that people hate. If they followed the rules of the road, people would not be aggressive towards them. The law says you have to pull over if more than 5 people are stacked up behind you. Ever seen a bike do that? Stop signs are just a suggestion. I don't think I have seen a hand signal if 10 years except for the guy in his antique car and a few Harley riders. Next we will have scooter lanes for the handicapped to ride on the road. It IS dfiscrimination to not have them.

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meldin said on September 29, 2010 at 6:27 PM

So... we're going to have the slowest members of traffic start off the line at a green first... and how badly is THIS going to tie up traffic? It's bad enough in Seattle already, with morons blocking intersections so that you can sit at the same light for 3 or 4 cycles before getting a chance to inch forward. And how is this a safety measure if there are no cars at the intersection behind the cyclists, and the light turns green as two or more cars are approaching - the first car has to hit the brakes to avoid plowing through the bicyclists which are now blocking an intersection with a green light and gets rear ended?

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i3road said on September 29, 2010 at 5:47 PM

Wow. It's a safety thing people...no no...wait...you're right. In fact...we should get after pedestrians all together. What...with their wanting to WALK across OUR roads! The NERVE! Did their walking pay for any precious piece of that pavement? I think not! And the city has the audacity to use money to PAINT CROSS WALKS on them?! That's more money out of tax payers' pockets. I see them smugly J walking all over the roads (blatant disregard for the LAW!) and never see THEM get a ticket! Let's start to License/register everything...obivously its the American thing to do.

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digiwave said on September 29, 2010 at 4:10 PM

When I see Seattle bicyclists obey the rules of the road - stopping for traffic lights and stop signs, using hand signals when making turns, etc, then I will obey the rules of this ludicrous bike box. If necessary, I will begin shooting video of the many bicyclists running red lights and breaking other laws. Too bad they don't have some form of identification on the bike so they can be ticketed just like a motor vehicle driver. And just to let you know, I am a bicyclist and have ridden all over Seattle for over 30 years. I never needed bike lanes, "sharrows" or bike boxes to ride smartly and safely.

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freedomfrank said on September 29, 2010 at 3:43 PM

Thinking about this,,,, does this remind anyone of the million dollar toilets? $15,000 for just one of these? Why not green paint with the non skid glass beads like everywhere else for a test run? Might have been a few hundred at the most. You folks that live in Seattle should be furious over this blatant waste of money.

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waituhminute said on September 29, 2010 at 3:31 PM

Even on a bike, the law is the law! "bike lane" = False sense of security for sure. I don't care how you get to work but you must obey the traffic laws, even on a bike. Sadly, I have a feeling we're going to see a whole lot more "ghost rider" bikes around Seattle. Both sides, be safe!

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dede1978 said on September 29, 2010 at 3:13 PM

Yes taxdollarsponge you want to ride your bike on the streets of the city, you should have to license it. And gatt01, if you already have a drivers license then you should be required to get an endorsement just like motorcycle riders. The point is, if you want to share the road, you should follow the rules and pay for the privledge to do so.

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sc206 said on September 29, 2010 at 3:09 PM

Another stupid idea and waste of money. Yes, let's make traffic in the city even more jammed by disallowing right turns on red lights. Idiots!

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yogibear said on September 29, 2010 at 3:05 PM

I am so sick of bikers taking over streets. They want the street, however lots of them don't stop or yield, and they switch from street to sidewalk, what ever works for them.

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freedomfrank said on September 29, 2010 at 2:11 PM

You can also Goog Seattle Bike Box cost

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freedomfrank said on September 29, 2010 at 2:11 PM

From the PI Each bike box costs about $15,000 to install, he said (UPDATE: the paint is actually an aggregate of crushed rock set in epoxy and costs about $10,000. It requires special skills to put down correctly, which results in $5,000 for labor, according to SDOT). The intersections were chosen because the city already had plans to repair and repave them, he said. The three bike boxes were listed among the city's top biking and pedestrian projects for 2010 under Mayor Mike McGinn's "Walk Bike Ride" initiative.

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gatt01 said on September 29, 2010 at 2:10 PM

Wow - what a bunch of crazy bike haters! Bikers also do have cars (for the msot part) and pay car tabs and taxes like the rest of you and have just as much right to the road as cars do. Whenever a car hits a biker, guess who wins - the car! Those on bikes do need to follow the rules of the but so do cars - which means no turning right in front of a biker in a bike lane and no cutting them off then they are in the flow of traffic if there is no bike lane! These boxes just give the bikers a clear place to stop at an intersection and a clear indication to the cars not to run them over. Give the griping a rest and just share the road!

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clear2copy said on September 29, 2010 at 2:00 PM

Wait.. some are saying it was 15 large to paint a green box on the pavement? Does anyone have a source for this insane figure? Not that i don't believe that Seattle would flush that kind of money down the drain..

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benjitek said on September 29, 2010 at 1:47 PM

Unfortunate there isn't much emphasis on enforcing that cyclists obey rules of the road as for motorists. If they're going to become such a prevalent force on Seattle streets, then they should have specialized licenses to be allowed to do so, as it is most just do as they wish.

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biohazard1 said on September 29, 2010 at 1:10 PM

$15,000 ? and Mayor McCheese is threatening pay cuts and lay offs ? yeah RIGHT like any bicycle rider is going to use this stupid contraption ! they will still be pulling out anywhere they dang well feel like pulling out of...cutting in front of cars and trucks.. hogging the roads..getting in everyone's way.... and yet .. they pay NO license fees.. no vehicle tabs.. the city has built some nice bike paths for them.. yet the only ones using them are joggers,toddlers on tricycles.. and grandpa out for a walk...they dont use the bike lanes.. they would rather ride in front of a car.. then flip YOU in the car the bird cause you DARED to honk at them...i hate bicycle riders...you look like idiots in those bicycle clothes..... someone took the City of Seattle for $15,000.. shame on you Mayor McCheese !!!!!!

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tugthug said on September 29, 2010 at 12:57 PM

And another thing, cats, dogs, motorcycles and just about everything else have to be licensed why not bikes!

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lanebailey658629 said on September 29, 2010 at 12:56 PM

Under WA law, cyclists must obey the rules of the road for the privledge to use the roads. WA law clearly states that it is unlawful for one vehicle to pass another vehicle moving the same direction, on the right (unless it is safe to do so). WA law allows for R turns at red lights, if no vehicles approaching from the left pose a hazard. The city of Seattle has just thumbed it's nose at the State of WA and our lawmakers, but more importantly, they have given cyclists a free pass to ignore the rules that exist for their own safety. Let's not mention the upcoming gridlock at intersections where these boxes exists because motorists will now be forbidden to make a free right turn!

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tugthug said on September 29, 2010 at 12:55 PM

Can' turn right on a red? All because this city is being taken over by a bicycle riden mayor. Since when does a bicycle have certain rights over a car? Doesn't the law say something like the bikes have to obey the same laws as cars? So why the special treatment then?This is a car hating city.

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screwybruce said on September 29, 2010 at 12:48 PM

What idiots Seattlites have become. Bad traffic and you let rude riders go first? The same ones that DO NOT obey the RCW regulations. What is with you morons? One perchent of the population that ride a bike should NOT get preferentual treatment of the VAST majority. This will just make your traffic woes worse, thus putting off visitors to the Moldy City.

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kingcountryvoter said on September 29, 2010 at 12:41 PM

@taxdollarsponge What an appropriate name. So what would you ride your bikes on if the cars hadn't paid for all that nice pavement?

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freedomfrank said on September 29, 2010 at 12:20 PM

These boxes will cost $15,000 each folks,,,, say it with me $15,000

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kingcountryvoter said on September 29, 2010 at 12:13 PM

Wow what a great idea! Put the slowest vehicles in front at a light. So did bike riders pay for any of this, or is is all on the backs of the car drivers? It is time to charge tabs for bicycles. $40 a year... same as cars.

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