Commute cyclists – who seem to be all over the news currently (here’s a column by Danny Westneat from The Seattle Times yesterday) – will be out in force today, Friday, May 20.

May is National Bike to School Month, and today is our local Bike to Work/School Day, sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club.

The bike club is hosting 41 cycle commuter stations around the area, although the closest to Queen Anne are at the Olympic Sculpture Park, the DIY Salal Credit Union at 1515 Dexter Ave, and the Fremont Bridge. There’s an interactive map here.

Remember to give Queen Anne cyclists extra credit, as they commute up the second tallest hill in the city.

Anybody have plans for bicycling on Friday?

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) pushed ahead with the much debated Nickerson Street road diet back in August, decreasing the thoroughfare from four lanes to one in each direction, a center turn lane, with bike lanes on either side.

Despite support from a USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) study that found that rechannelizations in California, Washington and Iowa have not adversely affected roadway capacity, and data that indicates that the controversial Stone Way road diet improved safety and traffic, the decision to revamp Nickerson was met with split support and opposition. A survey we took back in June indicated that, of the 711 who participated, 48.4 percent were in support of the road diet, while 51.6 percent were against the plan.

Some of the major concerns opponents of the road diet argued is that, being one of only two east-west streets directly feeding Ballard industries, decreased lanes on Nickerson would be met with increased congestion and an inability to meet capacity demands. However preliminary data from the city indicates that the road diet is working as planned, according to a report from Publicola published Wednesday.

The city says that data collected three months after the implementation of the Nickerson rechannelization shows that the same number of cars have been able to use the street, and that speeds along the street have slowed somewhat since the restriping. From Publicola:

SDOT traffic manager Eric Widstrand says the data are still preliminary; the city will continue to do traffic counts through the rest of 2011 and release a full report after the end of the year. However, so far, the study shows that car and freight traffic haven’t been harmed by the lane reduction, and that traffic has slowed to be somewhat closer to the 30-mph speed limit on the road.

“Capacity has not decreased,” Widstrand says. “We’re still able to accommodate” between 15,000 and 18,000 vehicles a day.

Proponents of the project note that decreased speeding along Nickerson as a result of the rechannelization is a good thing. Since the road diet, the average speed along Nickerson has gone down from 40 to 44 miles per hour, to between 34 and 37 mph, according to Publicola. From the report:

“We aren’t slowing anyone down excessively,” Widstrand says. The new speeds remain higher than the 30 mph speed limit, but are still safer for cyclists and pedestrians. A pedestrian hit at 40 mph is about 85 percent likely to die; a pedestrian hit at 30 mph is about 40 percent likely to be killed.

Cascade Bicycle Club representative David Hiller says that neither the group nor the city has yet studied whether the number of cyclists using Nickerson has increased since the rechannelization (which was the case after the Stone Way road diet).

There’s a new twist today in the controversial plan to put Nickerson Street on a road diet. This morning, three state lawmakers from the 36th District (representing Magnolia, Queen Anne, Fremont and Ballard) went before the Seattle City Council’s Transportation Committee to voice their concerns. Representative Mary Lou Dickerson, Representative Reuven Carlyle, and Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles stopped short of calling for the project to be killed. But they urged the Council to wait on a WSDOT traffic analysis due out in early September before moving forward. However, Seattle DOT officials say they already have the information contained in that upcoming report and have used it in their own analysis.

The proposed rechannelization of Nickerson would eliminate a car lane in each direction of Nickerson Street while adding a bike lane and bike sharrow. The three state lawmakers want the Council to look at a more integrated and comprehensive approach to traffic in Northwest Seattle instead of taking on one road at a time. They worry about the impact not only to car traffic, but also freight traffic coming from Ballard and Interbay.

“We’re in real danger of losing a lot of our industry in the city and we can’t let that happen,” said Sen. Kohl-Welles. “It’s very difficult for industry to transport their goods to their port on a bicycle.”

One resident who lives on Nickerson said he sympathizes with cyclists, but believes the road is already pushed to its limits.

“In reality, that street is already at capacity with automobiles. You can’t reduce it more than that. During rush hour when the Fremont Bridge goes up, you have traffic going all the way back to SPU just sitting there.”

Cyclists and other supporters of the road diet also showed up at today’s hearing. They urged the committee to put safety first.

“We find it unconscionable that people would support configuration of a roadway that puts themselves and their neighbors at risk for any longer than possible,” said David Hiller of Cascade Bicycle Club.

Karlen Bere, who lives on north Queen Anne near Seattle Pacific University, shared a horror story with the committee. She says her roommate was hit by a dump truck on Nickerson Street while riding her bike.

“She was stuck in between parked cars on her right and the dump truck on her left,” said Bere. “The restriping of Nickerson is a faster and more efficient solution to our problem than the reworking of the Ship Canal trail which is deeply needed but would take more time, resources and many more meetings.”

The Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, which advises the Council on bicycle safety issues, also supports the road diet and is asking for monitoring prior to the project and after it is completed. Although supporters of the rechannelization say it will make Nickerson a “complete street” for all modes of transportation, those who oppose the plan say the diet will make things even worse when Nickerson becomes an alternative to access the new waterfront tunnel. The 36th District lawmakers also pointed to a letter from former mayor Greg Nickels who assured them that the city would provide all reasonable access for residents in North Seattle to the new tunnel.

A recent poll on the Nickerson issue conducted on Magnolia Voice, Queen Anne View, and MyBallard showed the community is almost evenly divided. The Magnolia Community Club and the Queen Anne Community Council oppose the plan. A newly formed group called Support the Nickerson Street Road Diet is now on Facebook and Google.

The Transportation Committee did not take any action today, but Councilman Mike O’Brien said he’s ready to move the project forward while keeping a close eye on it.

Queen Anne’s Via Tribunali, located at 317 W Galer, will be giving away free margherita pizzas and selling $3 Peroni Beer to anyone who rides their bike to the restaurant between 5 and 7 p.m. today, Wednesday, May 26, as part of the “5@5″ promotion, offering the cycling deal each week at a different one of Via Trib’s five Seattle locations.

The “5@5″ campaign was put together by Via Tribunali, Caffe Vita, Peroni Beer, The Stranger and the City of Seattle’s Bicycle Program to raise funds of the Seattle biking community. Each week proceeds from the event (i.e. $3 Peroni Beer sales) will go toward a different community bicycling organization. Today it’s the Cascade Bicycle Club‘s Trips for Kids program.

Can’t make it to tonight’s event. There are still two more chances to bike your way to free pizza glory:

• Wednesday, June 2, 5-7 p.m.
  Belltown, Bicycle Alliance of Washington
• Wednesday, June 9, 5-7 p.m.
  Fremont 5, The Bikery

Seattle’s annual Bike to Work Day is tomorrow, Friday, May 21, and cyclists are expected to come out of the woodwork, pounding–or pedaling, rather–the pavement all around town to showcase their bicycling skills, celebrate Bike Month, and pick up a few treats and goodies along the way.

Join the Cascade Bicycle Club and event sponsor F5 for a day of cycling festivities, and work to make Seattle a more bicycle friendly community. From 6 to 9 a.m. on Friday, bicycling commuters are invited to stop by one of the 44 designated commute stations set up throughout King, Snohomish and Kitsap counties, where they will find commuting information, snacks, CBC materials and free swag. Participants will also be able to enter the F5 Bike to Work Day drawing for prizes ranging from a brand new bicycle to fun biking gear! Bike shop station sponsors will also be on hand to spot-check bikes and help everything run smoothly.

The F5 Bike to Work Day Rally will be kicking off at 7:30 a.m. outside Seattle City Hall. Several City of Seattle officials are expected to join other VIP speakers. There will also be music, and free water bottles and maps.

The City of Seattle is expecting about 10,000 cyclists to participate during both the morning and afternoon commutes (last year there were 20,000 cycling participants!), so drivers are cautioned to watch out and share the road. The commute stations closest to Queen Anne are the Fremont Bridge, South Lake Union Park, Olympic Sculpture Park/Myrtle Edwards Park and Burke-Gilman Trail. See the full list here.

Bike to Work Day will also be ending with a huge after party and Summer Streets celebration in Ballard. Check out the schedule of festivities here. Check out the schedule of other Bike Month events here. Happy bicycling!

Cyclists–both those who bike regularly and those who haven’t dusted off their wheels in awhile–are invited to Via Tribunali to partake in free pizza in return for using pedal power to get to the weekly pick of the popular pie-maker’s five Seattle locations for the next 5 Wednesdays between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., starting May 12.

Via Tribunali, in association with Caffe Vita, Peroni Beer, The Stranger and The City of Seattle’s Bicycle Program, present “5@5,” a campaign focused on raising funds for the Seattle biking community.

The restaurant will be giving away free margherita pizzas and selling $3 Peroni Beer to anyone who rides their bike to the Tribunali participating in the program from 5 to 7 p.m. on the given Wednesday. The $3 from beer sales will be donated to the selected biking community partner that week.

Queen Anne’s Via Tribunali outpost, located at 317 W Galer, will be participating on Wednesday, May 26. Luckily, for all you cycling enthusiasts who don’t feel like waiting that long for free pizza, Queen Anne is centrally located and has access to many citywide pedaling paths!

Each week “5@5” will take place at a different Via Tribunali location (the biking community partner for each week is also listed below):

• Wednesday, May 12, 5-7 p.m.
  Georgetown, Bike Works
• Wednesday, May 19, 5-7 p.m.
  Capitol Hill, The Garage Cycling Team
• Wednesday, May 26, 5-7 p.m.
  Queen Anne, Trips for Kids Seattle–a Cascade Bicycle Club Program
• Wednesday, June 2, 5-7 p.m.
  Belltown, Bicycle Alliance of Washington
• Wednesday, June 9, 5-7 p.m.
  Fremont 5, The Bikery

We have a lot of cyclists in Queen Anne who enjoy their bike time.  Don’t forget that between now and September 7, Sundays are reserved for Bicycle Sunday, presented by Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Cascade Bicycle Club. Click for a printable .pdf file of the map and other information.

Bicycle along Lake Washington Boulevard south of Mount Baker Beach to Seward Park’s entrance.

Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized traffic 
from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.