Tag: cascade bicycle club

Community encouraged to review site improvement plan for Magnuson Park’s Building 11

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the community to discuss the site improvements proposed by Cascade Bicycle Club near Building 11 in Magnuson Park during a public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. The meeting will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Belvedere Terrace Room at The Brig in Magnuson Park, 6344 NE 74th St.

The Cascade Bicycle Club is a long-term partner in Magnuson Park. The group is proposing to construct:

  • Wood post and beam canopies on the east and west sides of Building 11.
  • Building 40 (Paint Shop) renovations for bicycle repair and storage.
  • A planter wall to capture groundwater seepage from a hillside retaining wall.
  • A traffic garden layout for conducting safety classes in a portion of the west alley.

Almost 15 years ago the North Shore Recreation Area Master Plan proposed habitat and boating facilities. Those were constructed in 2006 and included a pedestrian-bicycle path to Sand Point Way NE. Between 2011-2013 major improvements were constructed in Building 11, including an upgraded electrical system, ADA ramps, fire hydrants and a boat trailer turnaround. Since then long-term partners Seattle Waldorf High School, CBC, and Sail Sand Point have completed major renovations.

For more information on the project, please contact Seattle Parks and Recreation Senior Planning and Development Specialist Kevin Bergsrud at 206-684-5831 or kevin.bergsrud@seattle.gov.

Seattle Parks invites community to take the Bike Month Challenge

Celebrate Bike Month this May and commute or recreate on two wheels.

May is Bike to Work Month and Seattle Parks and Recreation staff would like the community to join them on their mission to commute more on two wheels.

Bike Month is a 31-day push for people to ride their bikes to work, on errands or just for fun. Biking is a low-cost, eco-friendly way to travel. It’s been proven to reduce stress and provides low-impact exercise.

Cascade Bicycle Club hosts a Bike Month Challenge website where individuals, companies and teams can compete against one another in a free, online trip-tracking contest. According to the website, more than 2,400 people started riding for the first time during Bike Month in 2014, and this year, joining the effort is even easier.

Pronto! Cycle Share has 50 stations throughout the city, and new bicycle infrastructure has made commuting safer and more convenient. Plus, Bicycle Sundays start Sunday, May 3.

Seattle Parks has many parks with bike trails and maintains the Burke-Gilman Trail in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation and the University of Washington.

In 2014, Seattle Parks’ participating staff logged 266 bike trips and pedaled 4,132.8 miles during the Bike Month Challenge. This year, the department hopes to travel even farther.

Ready to pedal? Share your Bike Month adventures, photos, favorite rides and tips with us on Twitter at @seattleparks.

Seattle Parks staff end Bike Month with 4,000+ miles under their belts

Seattle Parks Bike Month participant Chloe Wallace

 

May was Bike Month, a 31-day push for people to ride their bikes to work, on errands and for fun. So naturally, this May Seattle saw about a 160 percent increase in average monthly rainfall. Good thing we Pacific Northwesterners are tough.

Seattle Parks and Recreation had three teams participate in Bike Month’s Adobe Commute Challenge presented by F5. Employees signed up and tracked their trip mileage online competing against teams from other City departments and businesses for top mileage.

The three Seattle Parks teams logged 266 trips and 4,132.8 miles total.

Management Systems Analyst Supervisor Eric Asp claimed nearly 850 miles, topping the chart for the department. He said he looks forward to the Commute Challenge every year and sees it as a way to get in shape for summer bicycling. “I have been riding for many years,” Asp said. “I like passing cars in rush hour traffic.”

Spin, Pedal, and Ride Team Captain and Community Center Coordinator Kyle Griggs logged the most trips for the department totaling 21. Griggs has ridden his bike to work consistently since January 2013 and has served as a team captain for Bike Month for the past three years.

Adobe Commute Challenge Seattle Parks team captain Kyle Griggs

“I really enjoy talking with either new bike commuters or individuals that are getting back on the bike for the first time in a while,” Griggs said. “Their excitement is infectious and it is awesome to see people enjoying themselves getting to work.”

Parks Naturalist Anne Bentley returned to regular riding after getting out of the habit. Bentley rode her bike to and from work every day in May.

“This month is the most consistent riding I’ve done since 1997 when I was training for a triathalon,” Bentley said. “Riding my bike to and from work is a mini vacation, and I liked secretly competing with my teammates to see who made the most trips.”

Environmental Communications Intern Chloe Wallace also overcame some challenges to participate in her first Bike Month. She spent May biking to and from the University of Washington and from the university to the Westbridge Parks facility in West Seattle. “The weather was pretty nice this month, but there was one day that I kept waiting for the rain to stop and it wouldn’t,” Wallace said. “So I put on all my rain gear and went for it anyway. Those are the days I’m most proud of biking. Even if I go at a slow pace, at least I’m out there.”

To learn more about Bike Month and to check out the 2014 results, visit http://commutechallenge.cascade.org/.

Bicycle Sundays start May 4

Dig out your helmet. Dust off your training wheels. A new series of Bicycle Sundays begins on May 4, 2014.

Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized vehicles 10 a.m.-6 p.m. during Bicycle Sundays. Come bike, jog or stroll along the boulevard between the Seward Park entrance and Mount Baker Park’s beach.

Event dates are:

  • May 4, 11 and 18
  • June 1, 15 and 29
  • July 6 and 13
  • August 10 and 24
  • September 14 and 21

Every Bicycle Sunday event the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation will sell helmets in Seward Park for $15 from 1-4 p.m. and offer professional helmet fittings. Seattle law requires all cyclists to wear helmets. Wearing a properly fitted helmet reduces the risk of severe head injury by 85 percent.

Bicycle Sundays are sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation, Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Department of Transportation with the support of the Seattle Police Department.

For more information, including bicycle trail etiquette and traffic codes, please click HERE.