If We Were the Mayor, Pt. 1: Make Aurora Bike-Only

Bicycle safety pamphlet from Seattle Municipal Archives via Seattlest Flickr Pool.

All this mayoral election mumbo-jumbo has gotten us thinking about what we'd do if we were mayor. Well, not actually mayor, because if we were mayor we'd probably have to run things through community forums and the city council and all other manner of "democratic" institutions. BOOOORINGGG. So this is more like, "If we were the benevolent dictator of Seattle..."

Turn Aurora south of Green Lake (including the Viaduct) into a bike-only thoroughfare.

The main impediment to bicycle commuting in Seattle is that there's no direct route from where all the bike people live (north of the ship canal, mostly) to where all the jobs are (Downtown). So why not just make Aurora bike-only?

FACT: Anyone driving down Aurora in a car who needed to get Downtown could just cut over on 85th Avenue North and catch the freeway there.

FACT: Impact on businesses would be minimal--there aren't that many south of Green Lake, mostly just skeevy motels and that weird hydroponics place). The city could buy this land and compensate the owners at a reasonable cost.

FACT: Car owners might initially be opposed, but when you explained to them that the inevitable Viaduct collapse would kill a bunch of bicyclists, we bet they'd be all for it.

This bold move would turn Seattle into the bicycle commuting star of the United States, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and change the overwhelming smell when you run the west side of Green Lake from exhaust to patchouli oil. (Because bicyclists are all hippies. That's a funny joke, and we're standing by it.) EVERYONE WINS!

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By Seth in Miscellaneous on August 13, 2009 1:45 PM

Comments [rss]

Matt the Engineer

Love the idea. Add a streetcar for rainy days and you're done. Aurora is an abomination and shouldn't exist. Well, at least not for cars.

@2 I think that class was cut for budget reasons.

Troy Morris

If I were mayor, I would require everyone to take a "It's a joke" seminar.

If this were California, we'd have already taken it to graduate from high school.

Nate MC

What about people that have vehicles that aren't legal on the freeway? Say, any motorcycle or scooter under 200cc? Aurora is their only option if they want to make it downtown in a timely fashion without the higher chance of getting creamed on the side streets by inattentive motorists at uncontrolled intersections.

I'd like to see cyclists required to wear DOT approved helmets just like motorcycle riders, they travel at the same speeds, why not require them?

If we had california winters, I'd be more likely to see this come of some use, but when it rains, watch the fair weather riders all go back to their cars and jam up 85th.