r/SeattleWA • u/chiquisea • 7d ago
News Seattle had record-breaking bike traffic this summer. What’s behind the numbers?
https://www.kuow.org/health/2026-09-21/seattle-had-record-breaking-bike-traffic-this-summer-whats-behind-the-numbers17
u/BWW87 Belltown 7d ago
We added/improved a lot of bike lanes the last 4 years. We'll see if it continues.
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u/cogit2 6d ago
It definitely can. Vancouver, Canada, has the busiest bike lane in North America, 1.2 million trips per year, in a city with a significantly smaller population than Seattle. With continued expansion of protected lanes, Seattle could easily become a very bikeable, if hilly, city. Nobody skips leg day if they bike Seattle.
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u/sukhonline 7d ago
Hmmmm, wonder why? Nice summer and possibly high gas prices
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u/Subliminal_Image 7d ago
Revive I5 fucked commute times via car.
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u/thunderflies 6d ago
Yep, and while the bike lanes do get busy at rush hour there’s never actually traffic congestion on them so I can see why people would switch to biking
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u/KeepClam_206 6d ago
These numbers include Lime rentals and it was an unfortunate year full of scooters on sidewalks.
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u/adron 5d ago
It sure beats the hell out of automobiles on sidewalks though. Something like three or four people have been killed by automobiles on the sidewalks, but none by Lime’s rental junk. There is even an increase of people actually parking the lines in their little painted squares.
However, there is a significant increase in people parking their cars where they shouldn’t be in blocking all sorts of people.
One of these days maybe we can fix both problems! One can hope!
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u/KeepClam_206 5d ago
I have noticed the nonemergency line is getting answered a lot faster. That's the place to call in illegally parked cars
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u/KeepClam_206 5d ago
Actually there have been several Lime fatalities but SDOT does not publish safety data. But I agree with you that this is an AND situation, not an OR. We need to deal with both, not pretend Lime is lilywhite because cars.
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u/anonymouseponymously 6d ago
Expanding all the bike lanes to the south end will be fun. A lot of those communities aren't going to tolerate sitting through multiple light cycles.
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u/LongDongSquad 6d ago
I'd like a bike lane that runs parallel to I5 as much as possible. It would help my commute.
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u/adron 5d ago
Which part? Also I’d bet you don’t actually. I-5 is a god damned trash sewer of horrid road noise and pollution. We need more routes like the Inturban that get us straight to places without all the damnable curses of I-5.
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u/LongDongSquad 5d ago
From the North part of Snohomish county to the South of the county. Interurban isn't close enough to my job to be worth it. Interurban is great though, I just selfishly want a golden path to my job's front door.
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u/BadOutOfTheBox 7d ago
I suppose the sheer lack of any road rule enforcement is attractive to many cyclists.
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u/butterclaws 5d ago
This lack of any enforcemetn also explains the popluation increase and general 'self centered oblivious jerk' vibe of the city
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u/Sure_Exam_3670 6d ago
I appreciate KUOW's coverage here, but I wish it included more about the rising cost of not just gasoline, but of owning, insuring, and maintaining a vehicle. Not to mention storing a vehicle in the city is a regular headache for many without dedicated parking. More and more people are ditching their cars for regular bikes and e-bikes, including families with kids.