Bike Meets Track, Then goes SMACK

As much as I love bicycling, I get aggravated reading articles like this because all the thought and hard work that went into the Lake Union Trolley project is downplayed for the presumed "neglect" of one group - bike commuters. The tracks were aligned on the street in a way that people are now discovering to be dangerous if bicyclists aren't careful. Future tracks will be aligned differently, but unfortunately that's not enough for those who disagree with what's already in the ground.

Me? I just want them to get back on their bikes and ride away.

Don't get me wrong; I am also a bicyclist. I've taken a header on obstacles like tracks and such; it's no fun. Frankly, it's even more dangerous on a motorcycle. But to say that the rights of bicyclists were trampled - a notion alluded to by a local "think tank" (a phrase that scares me enough on its own) - is self-centered and pathetic. It gives no consideration to all the different levels of complication, bureaucracy, and activism that hindered the project from the get-go. Yes, activism. The same people who push for rapid change on whatever subject they bellow about are also the ones who delay any effort to make it right, because of their protests and legal action. I contend that the ordered structure of Western society is getting trampled by those who are not willing to live within that order, for they seem to scream the loudest. The protest banners come out, the bull horns get new batteries, and a small group of entitled citizens pat themselves on the back for stickin' it to The Man.

My solution? It's simple. Be friggin' careful around tracks. Not every road will be perfect - especially in Seattle - and no tracks are safe for peds or bikes. And not every road can stay the same either. Progress means exactly what it says, and sometimes it's not entirely accepted.

Anyway, my soap box is put away now. Read the article for yourself and decide on your own terms. Comments welcome.