Nov. 21
Just Checking: Hope everyone out there is OK and was thoroughly battened down. But that seemed to be not enough in some places, where this week’s storm impacts were awful. Looking at you, Sudden Valley, just for starters.
Meanwhile Just Asking: Would it make everybody in the room feel better to learn that Our Fair City isn’t the only one in the country with perpetual bike-lane bickering? Or might even pale in comparative rancor?
Sad But True: Over in the Lesser Washington — AKA D.C. — “road diets” that reduce auto lanes for bike lane construction are bitterly contentious, in ways involving race and culture that make our local disputes seem limp.
More on That: In D.C., where 88% of bike riders are white, some traffic lanes reportedly are being sacrificed in largely nonwhite neighborhoods, putting the issue of discriminatory gentrification in the midst of it all, The Washington Post’s Marc Fisher relates in a column.
And You Thought We Had it Tough: Fisher writes: “… though they might seem a narrow concern, bike lanes have proved an enduring and powerful symbol of Washington’s central divide: Who is the city for? Is it forever Chocolate City, proud capital of Black America, or is it a fast-morphing magnet for hyper-educated young people — most of them white — who migrate to the city to populate think tanks, law firms, nonprofits, and government and its contractors? Can it be both?”
Related (Familiar) Factoid: The city is rapidly adding bike lanes even though data shows numbers of cycling commuters declining from about 5% to around 3% since 2017. Those numbers are close to Bellingham’s rate, which appears to be holding steady or slightly rising.
That Writer’s Conclusion: “It’s obviously healthy to provide bicyclists with safe lanes where it makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is to hand car lanes over to cyclists when your real motive is to gum up traffic to discourage people from driving. That’s not an honest way for government to push its goals. It’s just trickery, targeting the very residents whose taxes pay for such high-handed manipulation.”
Hammer Thinks: Best to leave that right there for the moment, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and all.
However: We would be remiss in not throwing in the clever retort of loyal Hammer reader Gus, who in the wake of ongoing spats here suggests the City of Bellingham adopt a modified U2 theme song for its realigned roadways: “Where the Streets Have No Lanes.”
Meanwhile, Down South: BREAKING NEWS via email from The Seattle Times: “Why your spatula could be toxic,” which is a tease to a story explaining, “These everyday items could contain toxic chemicals.”
Apparently, This Is True: Here’s the lede from the L.A. Times piece: “Go to your kitchen, grab your black spatula and throw it in the trash. Immediately.” This applies to black plastic which they suggest replacing with gadgets made of stainless steel or wood.
For the Record: Hammer uses only spatulas lathed in the traditional frontier way — from individual old-growth firs.
Hammer is Just Passing Things Along Here: But it does bring to mind the classic George Carlin fake-newscast headline: “Saliva has been shown to cause cancer. But only if swallowed in small amounts over a long period of time.”
Big News from the POB: The deservedly maligned Port of Bellingham dropped a whopper this week. Bellingham Intergalactic might not be much good for air travel, but the general area might prove useful after all: A local group has proposed a lease to build a rather large pickleball emporium, “Pickleball Acres,” on port property nearby.
Sadly: We can’t show you the exact site from the sky as there’s a chance the CDN drone might pose a navigation threat to one of the runway’s biweekly crop duster flights.
Key to Success: Of said Acres, in Hammer’s humble opinion: Two-drink minimum, and next-door knee-replacement clinic.
Nov. 12
Hot Off the Press: At Bellingham City Hall is what unfortunately looks like and smells a lot like a draft midterm report on the now-infamous Holly Street bike lane project, which, in any other world outside civic bureaucracy, would carry the honest modifier: “ill-fated.”
What the Report Says: Nearly everyone hates the !#$)*#/ bike lanes. Quoting here: “The Holly Street Bike Lane Pilot Project has received significant negative feedback from the community. Key concerns raised include safety hazards, increased traffic congestion and ineffective design.”
It Gets Worse: Complaints from citizens — more than 1,100 of whom reached out to the city — included: safety concerns for cyclists and motorists alike; notable traffic congestion, design problems and general heightened public perception of city fecklessness.
Note: While the report does acknowledge traffic tie-ups on Holly, it somehow ignores other critical impacts such as the new daily backups on downtown cross streets to Holly, causing road-rage mayhem between traffic lights and crosswalks — clearly in direct contrast to one of the project’s stated goals of improving “the safety and comfort for people walking downtown.”
Quoting Here: “The project is widely perceived as a waste of taxpayer money. Many question the decision-making process and lack of public input.”
What the City Appears Ready to Do About This: Double down!
Seriously: Based on the report, rather than just write it off as some planner’s particularly bad year, Public Works appears poised to leave the bike lanes and further dither with the layout, likely increasing the public angst at untold public expense. This after consulting further with project “stakeholder” groups, none of which include the guy trying to get down State Street southbound at 4:30 p.m. with his landscaping trailer.
At Any Rate: The matter is supposed to go back into city council hands “this winter.” Have at it, folks.
What’s Happening at Bellingham Intergalactic Airport? Well, something, at least: Alaska Airlines is adding a fourth “near-daily” (no Saturdays) flight from BLI to SEA starting in early January with Embraer 175 jets.
Which Makes Us Wonder: Where is the news release from newly hired Port PR guru Peter Frazier proclaiming a 25% increase in BLI’s global connections?
And We’re Still Wondering: Who’s actually in charge of BLI?
This Just In: Hammer is trying to shy away from federal news in the tumult over the election. And to be honest there are more immediately pressing national concerns, including injuries sustained in the thundering herd of Vanishing West cliches spewed in the new “Yellowstone” episodes. But it seems like a bad sign that possible new Health Secretary RFK Jr. is rumored to be poised to ban the harmful chemical compound H2O from the nation’s public water systems.
The Hammer, posted monthly and updated somewhat regularly, is the alter-ego and collective consciousness of CDN’s executive editor and staff, informed and inspired by the feisty, humor-capable readers of Cascadia Daily News. Don’t take him too seriously. Send comments, complaints or ideas for Hammer items to ronjudd@cascadiadaily.com.
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