The war on cars continues:

Mayor Mike McGinn is pushing a road safety initiative aimed at making Seattle streets safer for everyone - and that includes lowering speed limits in some neighborhoods.

"We need to start think about each other's frustrations, each other's concerns, and how we can help make it easier to get home safely," McGinn says.

As part of the initiative, state lawmakers are being asked to make it easier for cities to drop their speed limits.

McGinn says that goes for everyone who uses the streets - but at the top of his mind are the deaths of three bicyclists in Seattle this summer alone - including Michael Wang, a father of two.

Already this year, there have been a total of 10 cycling-related deaths statewide.

The Cascade Bicycle Club's Craig Benjamin says speed is often the killer, which is why he hopes lawmakers will make it easier to slash speed limits.

"House Bill 1217 is to give cities the freedom to lower the speed limits on non-arterials to 20 mph," Benjamin says.

Cities can reduce speed limits now, but it's a cumbersome and expensive process. Municipalities who currently want to reduce speed limits have to fund costly engineering studies first.

The proposed measure would eliminate that red tape and open up the possiblity of lower speed limits in cities statewide, including Seattle.

"The data on this is really powerful," says McGinn. "A collision between a car and individual at 40 miles per hour, there is about an 80 percent chance of death; 30 mph, 50 percent, 20 mph, 5 percent chance."

Adds Benjamin: "Twenty miles per hour is the magic number. Your chance of dying if hit by a car, you start dropping below 5 percent and your chance of a collision are significantly lower."

Benjamin says he doesn't anticipate every city and every non arterial would be considered for a speed reduction, just the streets that make sense.

"It's really sad that people have to die in order for people to start paying attention, but as a city we have a long way to go," says Benjamin. "We've fallen way behind what other cities are doing in terms of allowing people to ride their bikes safely and allow people to walk and drive safely."

Bike advocates say speed reduction is just one option. They also want more speed bumps, signage and education.
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Glad I don't live in Seattle but, IMO, I think it's time they prohibited bikes.

20 mph??? Ridiculous!

Nothing against bikes, but if they are going to be given preference then let them be licensed like cars. And if they are to be ridden in the streets, require the riders to be licenced just like motorcycle riders.

Don't even get me started on this.....

Big road trip from Harstine Island is the weekly run into the sprawling metropolis of Shelton, or if you are really getting wild, heading north to Bel Fair.

Seattle is one f'd up city... this proposal will probably kill more bicyclist than it will save just by putting a bigger target on thier back...

If you poll the average bicyclist what they think - I bet more of them would against it than for it

I would rather take my chances in Seattle than either one of those roads

This isn't about children it's about the Cascade Cycle Club and their no car utopian dream where everyone commutes by bike.

I'm ready to start an anti bike campagn and sell little bumper stickers of wrecked bikes we can all add like notches to our bumpers.

Hey, something we agree on!

No Hank, McSchwinn is a card carrying member of the Cascade Bicycle Club. The Mayor has been carrying his personal agenda for bike riders in Seattle ever since he took office. This isn't about the kids this time AM, this is about adults that ride the streets of Downtown Seattle.

IMO Adult Bicycle riders should have to pay for tabs and either have a numbered plate or a visible decal That would take away some of the argument about Bicyclists not paying their share of the road taxes and they can be held accountable, like automobile drivers.

It doesn't look like that fat a$$ McSchwinn as ever been on any exercise equipment much less a bike in his life.

I believe the asshat rides an electric assisted bicycle....that would explain the weight.

Kind of like Moochelle as the spokes person for obesity.

My comment relates directly to the lack of shoulders on the roads between shelton-harstine-belfair-bremerton... you will never see me on anything less than 1450 cc's on those roads.

Having commuted on foot, bike, motorcycle & car from bremerton to seattle for 13 years now I will say without a doubt the quickest commute by far is by two wheels (motorcycle followed by bicycle a close second - except on game days)

Ah don't get me started on subsidized ferries. No offense Hankster.

dont get me started either... If they ferry system went with my proposal there would be no more subsidies...

Fuk the bikes.Make'em ride on the sidewalk @ 5 mph and fight with the ped's and wheel chairs.Stay the fuk off the road as they were built to move vehicle traffic not bike traffic.Moving on.............Good luck,
SZ

Riding bikes on major roads.......insane......period.

A lot of these bicyclists get hit because they don't obey the rules of the road. They don't stop for stop signs, they pass traffic on the right side, they don't use the bike lanes, and down here we have all these lovely round a bouts that they don't use correctly either.