Cars parked in bike lane at expo?

[porkchop37]

Anybody else concerned with all of the cars parked in the bike lane across the street from the bike expo on Saturday?http://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/frown.gif Seemed kida wierd.

[Old_Fart]

Lots of SUV and Subaru drivers came back out to find tickets on their windshields. Just because you go to a bike show doesn't mean you have any common sense, I guess.

I ride through that area a lot and there were more illegally parked cars there than from any stadium event or cruise ship traffic Ive seen. I kind of expected better.

[Aemmer]

I thought it was a gutsy move. Seemed like if the wrong train went by it would have done some serious body damage.

[Gimble_Shivers]

yeah, that was a bit disconcerting riding home... struggling to stay out of the huge cracks in the street all the while passing all that smooth pavement in the cycle lane under all those Washington Bike supporter license plates.....

[mattm]

I rode past that mess on the way back from Vashon Island on Saturday - oh the irony! Some of us actually ride our bicycles, and like to ride on nifty bike lanes like that.

Then again, Cascade is known for having huge car-turnouts for some of their "events." Makes you wonder if cycling is a lifestyle or a hobby for some of them. (Nothing wrong with doing it as a hobby, but there is something wrong with driving to a bike expo unless you live 50+ miles away, sorry).

If I was running it I'd ban cars from it altogether!

[East Hill]

Yes, my husband dropped me off on Sunday, and I was quite annoyed riding home to have to ride through the minefield of big cracks. I couldn't believe that people would go to a cycling event and then park in a bike lane.

Still, I enjoyed the Expo!

East Hill

[Old_Fart]

Wow, I'm rather surprised Cascade didn't make any effort to avoid the problem the second day. After it was a problem and dozens (at least) of cars got tickets Saturday, I would think they would send a volunteer out there to redirect illegal parkers, or at least make announcements over the p.a. through the day letting people know they were being dumb.

[Aemmer]

Mattm quote says:

I rode past that mess on the way back from Vashon Island on Saturday - oh the irony! Some of us actually ride our bicycles, and like to ride on nifty bike lanes like that.

Then again, Cascade is known for having huge car-turnouts for some of their "events." Makes you wonder if cycling is a lifestyle or a hobby for some of them. (Nothing wrong with doing it as a hobby, but there is something wrong with driving to a bike expo unless you live 50+ miles away, sorry).

If I was running it I'd ban cars from it altogether!



I drove to the bike expo and enjoyed myself just the same thanks.

Left Lake Tapps in the morn with my son (12)and drove to Mercer Island to pick up my Sigificant other who was finishing up a half marathon (she had carpooled up with another runner earlier). Then went to the Expo. Halfway through the Expo my Ex dropped off my other son (10) as they were returning from his lacrosse game on Bainbridge.
Now I suppose with a little planning we could have ridden the tandem to MI to pick up my girlfriend who could have put her bike in her friends trunk (what the heck it was only a half marathon not a whole) and we could have all rode to Seattle together. My ex could have then put dropped my youngest sons bmx bike off with him. We could have all then rode home together after the Expo. My youngest would have had a heck of a time balancing his lacrosse gear on his handlebars though (safety above all).

I would have taken the ferry like you but as you can see it wasn"t an option (or did you paddle?).

We did find free parking about a mile away from the expo and no it wasn't in a bike lane.

Good for you for making it a lifestyle but as you can see, for me it is just a hobby.

Tailwinds to ya,
T

[Catgrrl70]

I posted this elsewhere, but thought I'd follow up here as I was too busy with yardwork to head to the expo! Welcome to my daily commute route - isn't it grand? ;)

Which side were they parked on, the west side? That's not a bike lane, it's a dual use parking/shoulder. I ride that road every day on my commute and have complained to no end about it - no dice, it's not a bike lane so they don't do anything. The situation with more autos has increased in the past several years, ever since the cruise ship terminal opened. The semis are usually ok - it's the tour buses and impatient autos you've got to watch out for! It's all an adventure...

BTW: the bike lane on the east side of the street (heading north bound only) is not well marked - there's no signs and many of the "bike path" symbols are worn off. There's no "no parking - bike path" signs.

The city constantly puts off bicycle improvements in this area, pending the Viaduct issue...

[mattm]

Aemmer: didn't mean to come off too snarky, but you have to admit that a bike expo w/ car-parking issues is a bit ironic! at least it wasn't you parked on the bike lane, and kudos to you for that.

Catgrrl70: cars were parked on both the west & east sides on saturday when i came through. shame on them all!

[Aemmer]

mattm,

No worries at all, and yes it is ironic.
T

[Catgrrl70]

Ok - I see the problem - BOTH sides of the street. I noticed that strip southbound on my ride home tonight, quite forgot about it really (the whole street is a menace so I rarely look at the signs)! Nope, not a bike lane southbound, but a no parking shoulder. The east side IS a bike lane but the markings are very, very poor. I am not surprised people parked there. There's no signage along the east side due to the trains. If you aren't familiar with that bike lane, it's very easy to assume it's a shoulder.

Was there a lack of parking for autos - did the lots in the area charge event parking (thus making street parking more attractive)? I was wondering what they were going to do with all the cars...it's not exactly an "event area" even though the Port of Seattle is sure trying to make it one.