Disqus - Latest Comments for MichaelSnyder

Re: Seattle Schools promise new try to relocate evicted tenant

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 18:33:52 -0000

For a few more details about Northwest Center and the petition to ask the school board for more time see this link.

https://www.change.org/peti...

Re: Street lights a concern for Ballard District Council

MichaelSnyder — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:40:42 -0000

For me, it was a ride up, pull over, shine a light on the pole and pull a pencil and small notebook from my pocket, activity. I noted my route, the pole #, the street, the nearest cross street, and the nearest house # along with the type of light malfunction.

I'm volunteering to help...but not to run the whole ball of wax. I have enough large projects on my plate at the moment. If someone has a team of 5-10 people willing to help and get out on bikes, I do think that bicycling it is a very efficient way to tackle the task.

I am in the phone book.

Re: Street lights a concern for Ballard District Council

MichaelSnyder — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:36:36 -0000

Why stop at arterials? I think 10 volunteers on bicycle could survey the entity of Ballard in about 2 hours.

I came up with a list of over 100 street lights all by myself along Elliott and 15th south of the Ballard Bridge in about an hour and a half.

Re: Hundreds gather at ‘Missing Link’ in Ballard

MichaelSnyder — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:59:32 -0000

The lawsuit is just a delaying tactic. It was a delaying tactic from the start.

Re: Hundreds gather at ‘Missing Link’ in Ballard

MichaelSnyder — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:50:44 -0000

Use the DPD GIS Maps to see the right of way and property lines:
http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd...

The buildings are built right up to the very edge of the property lines.

Re: Car into building on Seaview Ave.

MichaelSnyder — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:57:38 -0000

The building was not wearing a helmet and as such must have been at fault.

Buildings are known for jumping out in front of cars. Other recent cases have been seen in Fremont and in Ballard at Market and 24th. We should license buildings so they will stop getting hit by cars.

Re: New markings to help cyclists cross tracks

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:27:39 -0000

They also look alf-implemented. There is quite a bit more spray paint than there is final reflective paint.

Re: New markings to help cyclists cross tracks

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:25:53 -0000

A removable lid is an interesting idea. Since they don't use it more than a few hours a night, I don't see why that wouldn't be at least a possible solution.

For a different idea, why does that need to be a through street? Is there any reason why the traffic to that area couldn't turn east earlier and then come down 14th?

The tracks wouldn't be much of a problem if cars weren't around pushing us into the tracks as they try to squeeze past without slowing down.

Re: New markings to help cyclists cross tracks

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:48:33 -0000

There is still a train that runs on them, between midnight and 4am a few nights a week. I've seen it. It could be argued that it was purchased and is kept in operation soley to prevent the bike trail from being completed.

It makes deliveries to SBS&G and pushes cars for storage down near Fred Meyer and Hales Ales.

Re: Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel faces $12,000 fine

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:42:16 -0000

Own it? I'm sure they built it too. It is a concrete road after all. ;)

Re: New markings to help cyclists cross tracks

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:17:21 -0000

If you have crashed, please report your crash here:
http://www.bikewise.org/pub...

Re: New markings to help cyclists cross tracks

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:10:05 -0000

Federal laws. Don't even joke about doing something that could derail a train.

Re: Nickels concedes mayor’s race

MichaelSnyder — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:20:06 -0000

I'm a little surprised that Mallahan didn't have a better message for all of the money that he spent.

McGinn ran his primary campaign with such limited funding that he had to focus on Nickel's weak spot.

I expect to hear a lot more genuine debate on a wider range of issues for the general election, from both candidates. My impression is that McGinn has a lot more substance on neighborhood issues and Mallahan has much better business connections.

Re: Two cyclists injured in separate accidents

MichaelSnyder — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:52:14 -0000

You can boil it down to the League of American Bicyclists Education motto:
Bicyclists fare best when they act as, and are treated as, drivers of a vehicle.

That said, a bicycle can turn sharper than a SUV and a SUV can stop much quicker than a bicycle can, so there are different abilities for each vehicle.

Re: Two cyclists injured in separate accidents

MichaelSnyder — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:52:05 -0000

Please report crashes, hazards, and thefts on http://www.bikewise.org

The more we can learn about where and how crashes happen, the more we can help to prevent them.

Re: New markings at intersection confuse drivers

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:36:43 -0000

http://www.seattle.gov/tran...

Traffic Signals
Dianne Thomas
206-684-5118

Or:
http://www.seattle.gov/Tran...

If you have questions or comments about the City's Traffic Signal Program, call (206) 684-ROAD or send an e-mail to traffic.signals@seattle.gov.

Re: New markings at intersection confuse drivers

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:32:01 -0000

From Market, northbound on 17th could also be either going to church or going to get coffee from scantily clad women. ...so, saints or sinners. ;)

Eastbound on Leary, my impression is that 1/3rd is headed south across the Fremont Bridge and into the S.Lake Union area, and 1/3rd is avoiding 45th and trying to get to I-5, the U-district, or I-520.

The nice thing about in-person counts instead of using the boxes is that you can get bike & ped, and car vs. truck data too. It is also able to provide turning data to build a picture of where people are coming from and where they are going. I don't think the boxes are able to give turning data, they just give total # of vehicles.

Re: New markings at intersection confuse drivers

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:07:36 -0000

Would anyone be interested in doing some traffic counts?

It isn't too hard, it just takes time.
Here is one of the traffic maps from 2006:
http://www.cityofseattle.ne...

Say from 6am - 10am or 4pm to 8pm on a weekday, take it in 15 minute segments. Ideally, bicycles in one colum, trucks in another, cars in another, pedestrians in another. Count northbound vs. southbound.

Or, if you can cover a whole intersection, north-straight, north-right, north-left, east-straight, east-right, east-left, etc. For something like 17th & market you'd want a few people, each covering a different set of movements.

SDOT can then plug that data in to traffic simulation models and/or compare that data to historic data to make better decisions. It seems like one really great thing we could do as a community to help with traffic planning is to give SDOT some really nice granular data about how traffic is flowing in our neighborhood.

Re: New markings at intersection confuse drivers

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:50:50 -0000

I had been crossing at Leary & 20th instead of Leary & 17th when I head northbound because the intersection is so large. This feels like a good improvement, but time will tell. At the very least, it reduces the area of the potential conflict zone.

As our neighborhood gets more densely populated, as these new condos all fill up, I think that we will eventually need stop lights at Leary & 17th and/or at Leary & 20th. Shilshole & 17th needs a stop light or 4-way stop too.

Re: Tidying up old art under Ballard Bridge

MichaelSnyder — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:15:26 -0000

Well, there is a group trying to make a public pocket park under the bridge on the other side of the road from this, and that has been putting in a garden area next to the tracks beside this storage area.

There was a proposal at one time to make a skateboard park under the bridge here. Maybe that effort is gaining steam again?

As far as all of the stuff stored there, Suzie Burke has a large area underneath the Fremont Ave approach to the Fremont Bridge that is mostly un-used. Maybe the Fremont Arts Council can twist her arm?

If you haven't seen the mailbox under the bridge for the Bridge Mice, it is worth spending some time wandering around that area.

Re: The Missing Story on the Missing Link: A Legal Analysis of the Burke-Gilman Trail Extension | NorthWest Hub

MichaelSnyder — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:40:36 -0000

What this article fails to mention is that dozens of cyclists are critically injured each year on the industrial railroad tracks that exist in this area as they try to cross as a car would, instead of using a safer crossing that the trail would create. Several hundred cyclists commute on this route daily today despite the problems and hundreds more would use this trail to commute and for commerce, the same as other sections of the trail.

The industrial business owners see the trail as a recreation facility when most people actually use it as a transportation facility that helps the local economy.

Re: New ’sharrows’ on 32nd Ave. NW

MichaelSnyder — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:43:58 -0000

It could have something to do with the grade. The steeper the slope, the faster cyclists go and the more they should ride toward the center of the lane for visibility and manuvering issues.

In theory, if SDOT put the sharrows in the right place, they should help teach novice cyclists what lane position to use. ...in theory.

Re: New ’sharrows’ on 32nd Ave. NW

MichaelSnyder — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:40:17 -0000

Yes, the sharrows are counted as miles of bicycle facilities in the Bicycle Master Plan.

Re: New ’sharrows’ on 32nd Ave. NW

MichaelSnyder — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:58:23 -0000

One of SDOT's reasons for using sharrows is when the road is too narrow to safely accomodate on-street parking, a bike lane, and a travel lane.

If that is the case, most of our sharrows are too far to the right.
I'm glad to see that this one is more toward the center.

Re: Bicyclist injured in collision with car

MichaelSnyder — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:45:49 -0000

Name,
I've heard of a cyclist doing something similar in retaliation to a car driver who nearly ran them off of the road.

That type of thing is illegal, stupid, and counter productive, but when someone is suffering from the "you nearly killed me" rage, they tend to not think straight.

I'd be curious what happened in the 2 miles prior to the cyclist ripping your mirror off.

...or it might not be explainable.