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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

The Worst Bike Lane in the City

Opinion, The C is for Crank   August 6, 2010 at 4:40 pm Erica C. Barnett

The bike lane along Second Avenue in downtown Seattle—shown above, with a truck blocking the entire lane just feet from a newly installed “yield to bicyclists” sign—is on the left side of a downhill road, sandwiched between fast-moving one-way traffic and a row of parked cars. Here are some of the many things that could happen to you as a cyclist on Second:

A passenger in a parked car could open his or her door into your path, knocking you down;

A driver could decide to turn in to a parking space, hitting you from the left;

A driver could turn out of a parking space, hitting you from the right;

A driver could decide the bike lane is their own personal driving lane;

A driver could decide to turn left and fail to yield to you, forcing you to stop abruptly or slamming in to you from the right.

The fear of all those outcomes is one reason I never, ever use the Second Ave. bike lane—unless I’m turning left, in which case I ride very slowly and take care to look behind me, because there’s almost always a driver there who thinks he or she has the right-of-way over me.

Surprisingly, the Bikewise accident map shows only one recent accident on Second—a crash in which a driver turned in to a cyclist’s path and the cyclist “got cut off and crashed into the rear of the car.

Anecdotally, I know crashes and near-crashes happen far more often than that. And, speaking of, here’s an anecdote: A friend of mine was once hit by a cop in the Second Ave. bike lane. After he got up and dusted himself and his bike off, the cop called him over and gave him a ticket—for damaging his car.

This city has a long way to go.




  • http://43rddemocrats.org Michael M.

    And your proposal to fix this issue is…what, exactly? A rant is fine, and all (and I wholeheartedly agree that the 2nd ave bike lane sucks, from the POV of a driver), but I know you can do better. How do you think the city can/should fix this hot mess?

  • Comment

    Come on man! You've been here before. You're even a registered user! The answer is almost too obvious to point out, but I will go ahead and save you the time of perusing the archives: ROAD DIET!

  • Jon Scholes

    Erica, you forgot

    - you could run into the back of a Food Services of America Truck who decided to make the bike lane their very own Load/Unload zone.

    We need a cycle track through Downtown.

  • even e cars…

    eliminate cars.

    that's where this is going…

  • Some Dude

    the burden of being a living martyr must be exhausting

  • http://spifflines.blogspot.com/ John Bailo
  • DOUG.

    2nd Avenue is the best southbound bike route through downtown. Very wide and all downhill. But never, EVER take the bike lane!

  • joshuajeff7

    @Roger, Sorry to hear about your friend, What your friend needs is a free consultation with a personaly injury lawyer, here is the one that I know of http://bit.ly/aK73S0 hope he feels better soon

  • mike archambault

    Contraflow cycle track! On 2nd & 4th ave
    http://www.streetfilms.org/the-capitols-colossa…

  • Matt_the_Engineer

    Or not run into them, but have to stop and wait and somehow merge into a fast moving lane from a stop from the left without a bike lane.

  • doug_in_seattle

    I hope they don't put in a contraflow bike route here, because I really do love riding on 2nd. The key is to take the lane and keep up with traffic, which never seems to be going much more than 20mph (not that I ride downtown very often), easy as pie for a moderately fit person on the gentle downhill grade of 2nd.

  • anotherneighborhoodactivist

    I speak from decades of experience, including commuting from Fremont to the Broderick Bldg in Pioneer Square. I don't avoid 2nd, but you have to be careful, and fast, from Stewart down. During rush hour, you have to slow down, but other times you can go at least as fast as the petro traffic. I often take the middle lane at 25. Just watch for turners and signal your own intentions and I find that drivers are fine with my presence. I'm c. 60 and obey the rules. Doug is spot on.

    p.s. I also believe we need a totally separate bike trail system.

  • mike archambault

    A contraflow bike lane here wouldn't keep you from travelling in the main car lanes if that is what you choose to do anyways…

  • tedb310

    I just ride 3rd Avenue instead. It's great during rush hour, no cars at all. Just Metro buses and they stay mainly in the right lane, so you have the left lane virtually to yourself. I have to admit it did take a little while getting use to being around all the buses, but the average metro driver seems much more aware of bikes that the average car driver.

  • BombasticMo

    I agree. I bike down that road, but I take a “car” lane. The bike lane is horrid.

  • waltinseattle

    At least not illegalized yet!!!!!

  • waltinseattle

    No, just keep them in their place. For inst, the truck in the photo seems to be hanging beyond the bike lane into the left traffic lane…

    As for elim cars? You should be glad this is not Londonistan and its very propper no cars in the center city rules. Good bussing (and we both know we are soooo far from that) would save us the congenstion and get us close in. We don't need to park at the door we are going to. Just in an easy short distance. Park all over the “dome zone” for instance….but we still are paying the old dome, the one we exploded and replaces….so I guess its not gonna be city parking for a long while

  • http://twitter.com/DJStroky DJStroky

    Oh man, that 2nd ave bike lane is quite dangerous. I was once riding down it and a truck abruptly turned left into a driveway. I braked hard, took out his rear-view mirror but still managed to stay up on my bike. I rarely ride in that bike lane now, as it's much safer and faster to ride downhill with traffic in the green wave.