Olympia pedals toward a more bike-friendly future

A collection of proposed “bike corridors” reflect Olympia’s movement in a more bicycle-friendly direction.

The routes are meant to maximize safety and streamline travel for bicyclists in Olympia, including those who commute into the downtown core on two wheels. Intersections along the corridors have a bright white crosswalk, and while vehicles can travel on the routes, they do so at a slower speed and in lower numbers compared with busier thoroughfares.

Bicyclists can ride on just about every street in the city, “but not every street can be a bike corridor,” said senior city planner Sophie Stimson at an informal open house Thursday at City Hall to collect public feedback on bike corridors.

The concept is typically embraced by local bicyclists, including those who use bicycles as a primary mode of transportation. Bike corridors also factor into every conversation about the future of transportation and nonmotorized traffic in Olympia over the next 20 years — especially when the population is expected to grow by 20,000.

The city’s first bike corridor is a 2-mile route that runs east-west along Fifth and Seventh avenues between Lions Park on Wilson Street Southeast and Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia. The route is well-marked with signs, and a crosswalk at the Plum Street intersection has flashing signals for pedestrians, along with bike paths that cut through the median. It’s part of a test project that costs about $346,000.

Not everyone is optimistic about the corridors. Joe Ford, who serves on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said the proposed bike corridors are dangerous because they end abruptly in downtown Olympia without connecting to another route or destination.

In a 10-page report, Ford cites Olympia Police Department statistics that show nearly one-third of all reported bicycle accidents occur downtown. The incomplete bicycle infrastructure, Ford said, will increase the likelihood of bicycle accidents in the downtown core.

Alternative ideas to bike corridors include protected bike lanes that meet the criteria for “safe and comfortable” and could connect across the downtown “danger zone,” according to Ford’s report.

“There’s a serious public safety issue,” Ford told The Olympian.

Many of the city’s proposed bike corridors, such as one on Olympia’s west side, would run north-south along Thomas Street and link to downtown. They already are prime routes for riders.

Jonathan Gottlieb lives on the west side and regularly rides the route, which includes Madison Avenue and Sherman Street. Other proposed corridors branch north or south from Fifth and Seventh avenues, running along Tullis Street on the east side or Washington Street near downtown.

“This is a good step in the right direction,” Gottlieb said of the corridor plan, adding that he would like to see the bike corridors connect to major trails.

The bike corridors are part of a larger effort to promote alternate modes of transportation. Olympia has joined other Thurston County entities in tracking data on the Woodland Trail and Chehalis-Western Trail, both of which are used by thousands of bicyclists and pedestrians every year.

This story was originally published September 4, 2016 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Olympia pedals toward a more bike-friendly future."