Seattle is spinning its wheels with a new downtown bike lane.

As winter rains soak on, last week SDOT announced completing another segment of a second North-South downtown bike lane, this one on the west side of 4th Ave. stretching from Madison to Bell Streets.  It joins a dedicated bike lane on 2nd Ave, just two blocks away.

SDOT says “A complete bike network improves Seattle's health and quality of life for people of all ages and abilities.” But is that really true? 

In pre-pandemic years, annual bike ridership hovered steadily between 3-4% annually. It dipped below 3% in 2017 and rebounded the following year when the 2nd Ave. bike lane from Yesler to Vine opened. The most recent data from 2019 showed bike commuting at an all-time peak of 17,000 riders or 3.7% of Seattle commuters. 

The City says ridership is limited by lack of protected lanes but studies suggest otherwise. Rain, cold and darkness directly impact bike commuting and, with over 150 days of rain each year, Seattle may have a ridership ceiling.

Limited core demographics for bike riders is another issue. Statistics show Seattle bikers are predominantly affluent young urban males. And, while the City says bike lanes provide transportation equity, not everyone is able or willing to bike.

Further, SDOT reports 84% of Seattle households have access to a car and no local data suggests low income households would prefer to bike versus using public transportation or ride hailing services.  If so, building bike paths to downtown may be better than a second downtown bike lane.

Finally there are the costs. One is spending about $1 million per mile to further serve a small subsect of commuters when a parallel bike lane exists two blocks away. The second is the opportunity cost of diverting a limited public asset—a curbside traffic lane—from its best and highest use.

SDOT acknowledges bike lanes can interfere with buses but it isn’t even counting the impacts of removing curbside loading and parking when use of ride hailing and delivery vehicles are growing at double digits and businesses now require the curbside for pick-ups deliveries and outdoor dining.

According to SDOT, the fundamental challenge is moving more people and goods in the same amount of space.  If that’s the case it’s time to re-examine bike plans made in 2015 and allot limited transportation resources according to current data and the new reality downtown.  

The next segment of this lane may begin as soon as spring.  If you’d like to weigh in, email SDOT at ccbike@seattle.gov or call (206) 771-0481.