Cascade Bicycle Club Position Paper on the Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (RTA)

I. BASIC PREMISE:

The RTA must be designed, constructed, and operated to allow bicyclists to easily use the entire system during all hours of operation.

A. Off-Site Access - The RTA should ensure that there are safe and attractive bicycle access routes to all of their stations, stops, and park-and-ride lots. This may require providing funds to develop or improve infrastructure not directly on any RTA right-of-way. We suggest that a two mile radius would be appropriate.

B. On-Site Access - The RTA should design all of its vehicles, stations and stops so that it is easy for a bicyclist to reach the vehicle and load/unload his or her bicycle.

C. RTA Corridors - Where feasible, bicycle facilities (e.g. mixed use paths and bridges) should be constructed along and across new and existing rights-of-way.

D. Transit Vehicles - The RTA should ensure that all of their transit vehicles (including light and commuter rail and buses) are designed to accommodate a reasonable number of bicycles.

E. Bicycle Parking - The RTA should provide sufficient high security bicycle parking (lockers or covered and attended) at all of their stations and major stops. Racks are not sufficient to meet this need. Station designs should provide for increasing bike parking in the future as demand grows.

A. The RTA should develop programs to encourage and promote the use of bicycles as an integral part of their marketing efforts.

B. The RTA should adopt operational principles that ensure that bicyclists are treated as valuable customers and welcomed throughout the system.

C. The RTA should monitor bicycle use and identify program elements that are successful (for expansion) and unsuccessful (for change).

D. Bicycle Advisory Group (BAG) - The RTA should establish a BAG made up of knowledgeable and interested citizens to review RTA plans and programs and work with the Agency to achieve the goals set forth above.

A. Interagency Agreements (IA's) - The RTA should ensure that all IA's entered into contain a strong bicycle component including the elements outlined above.

Consultants - The RTA should ensure that the consultant team charged with developing the EIS include people with demonstrated expertise in the planning and construction of bicycle facilities.

Approved by Cascade Bicycle Club Board of Directors, December 2, 1997

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