Rainier Avenue: healing a sick street

In May, volunteers from Rainier Valley Greenways gathered signatures for a "get well card" as one piece of the Rainier Avenue Day of Action. 

Children flocked to the card featuring a chicken injured trying to cross the road, as well as actual images of multi-car crashes on Rainier Avenue South. The first children to sign the card were volunteers at Bike Works. They shared stories about how they remember these crashes and how the crashes made them feel afraid in their neighborhood. Of course these kids remember these violent crashes, they happen nearly every single day of the year. 

But it doesn't have to be this way. In March, Jim Curtin of Seattle Department of Transportation presented the initial plans for the Rainier Avenue Safety Corridor project. Curtin explained that two of the main causes for collisions along the corridor are speeding and left turns. As a result, all three proposed designs involve a rechannelization with a center turn lane and one travel lane in each direction to reduce speed and provide a safe space to turn left. However, only one design, option 1b, features a protected bike lane. The video below, created by several of our Advocacy Leadership Institute alumni, explains for how a protected bike lane benefits everyone. 

Show your support for bike lanes on Rainier Avenue & sign the petition today >>

If you bike on any of the side streets adjacent to Rainier Avenue, you will no doubt experience very hilly terrain at some point in your ride. You also are disconnected from the majority of your destinations–whether you are trying to get to the grocery store or the library, or drop your children off at daycare–the majority of services are located along the arterial street. Rainier Avenue South is the most flat and direct route to get you where you are going. Plus, having a safe space to bike will dramatically improve the walking environment for people walking and even makes crossing the street easier. 

If we are serious about achieving Vision Zero, we have one clear option - to choose safety over speeding!

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P.S. Many of the amazing activists working on this campaign learned how to organize through the Advocacy Leadership Institute. Apply today!