Along NE 45th St, bikes and cars share the lane, except for one block in front of Dick’s.
A new bike lane has been installed on the biggest trouble spot in the city. According to the Seattle Bike Blog, this one block has had the highest number of car/bike accidents in the city. In an effort to curb such collisions the Seattle Department of Transportation added this lane.
December 14
Wallingford trouble spot gets bike lane
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Don't the majority of the collisions here happen from people who are turning left (either into Dick's or out of Dick's)? If so, I don't see how this would reduce collisions; it might, in fact, increase them.
It would certainly help if bikes SLOWED with the speed of traffic after coming down the hill from Sunnyside at 40 MPH. But of course, they are in the RIGHT. Remind yourself of this when you are being loading into Medic One!
This seems more dangerous to me- bikes going downhill should just take the lane to be more visible, and going downhill puts cyclists at about the same speed as cars anyway. I certainly wouldn't use it. There's a long discussion on the Seattle Bike Blog about it. http://seattlebikeblog.com/201…
…not to mention – i wonder how much this block of painted stripes cost the city? yeah WSDOT, earn that money.
A high-traffic area like Dick's coupled with the false sense of security created by a bike lane is an idiotic combination.