The new underpass is much nicer than the grade crossing bikes used to have to do. There is still a dangerous intersection to be survived. Coming back yesterday, we had the walk signal, and someone ran a red turn signal. If we didn't hold up for a couple of seconds, he would have hit us. People are crazy. Here is the underpass. To the left is the new round about, and the elevated road over the wetlands that goes to Costco.
The trail is still not complete. There is a 3.6 mile stretch of hard pack with a little gravel sprinkled over it. It's doable on skinny tires, but not really enjoyable. Why, you wonder is it not complete after all these years; it's the homeowners along the trail. Even though their title insurance clearly stated they did not own the rail bed, they built on it. For years they blockaded it with large concrete blocks. They have been in court for years, as well as the city of Sammamish who also hates bicyclists. There is a good summary of what's happening here.
More on the subject can be found here. This paragraph is just amazing to me.
King County won the lawsuit filed in 2015 in State Superior Court by a small group of trail side property owners seeking quiet title relief for their homes and other property that King County stated are on public land. Eight of those owners have homes either partially or completely located in the former rail corridor. On December 21, 2018, Judge Shaffer granted King County’s motion for summary judgement. She indicated that King County owns the corridor adjacent to the plaintiffs, that the plaintiffs lack standing to challenge King County’s ownership because their deeds exclude the corridor and that King County has full authority to eject encroachments. (Bold print added by me.)Apparently they are planning to appeal this to the Supreme Court, but I would be surprised if they would take this case.
We spent a little time watching racing at the Marymoor velodrome. They have quite the racing schedule in the summer. We were there for women's Keirin. It's a track sport originated in Japan in 1948, to provide people a sport to bet on. The Japanese version had two riders, that has increased to more riders in other venues. Here we see the women lining up for the race. The men are holding them up while they wait.
The woman on the front is pacing the group. She's riding an electric mountain bike. The riders have to stay behind her until the bell lap. She pulls off and the pack sprints for the line. In the past, mopeds were used as the pacing vehicle.
There is an article on BBC Sport about it, as well as a wiki. Track racing is so interesting, it's all tactics and fast-twitch muscle.
People are so arrogant/stupid. My township has road right of ways, marked on maps and specified in deeds. They are there for the road to become wider, if necessary, and for the snow plow drivers to make the turn in cul-de-sacs.
ReplyDeleteThe three homeowners at the end of one cul-de-sac didn't like the turn the snow plows made on "their" property, so each of them added giant boulders and plantings at the ends of their drives. Our drivers couldn't make a turn. Now they dump the first load on one boulder patch, back out, dump the second load on another. I don't work there any more, so I don't know how it ended, if it has.
The use of electric bikes as pacers is a vast improvement over the old 2 stroke powered bikes. I remember going to an indoor velodrome when they used the old pacers and the fumes were horrendous.
ReplyDeleteSo what happens to the homeowners whose houses are completely on the right of way? Someone made a big mistake there!!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen velodrome racing. How fun would that be!! I of course would be on the electric pacing bike! LOL
so when they lose every appeal available with they have to demolish their houses? there is a similar situation in Galveston with people who build vacation homes on the beach. the law says the dune line marks the end of private property/the beginning of the public beach (no privately owned beach allowed in Texas. so a hurricane comes along, eats away the beach on the Gulf side of the barrier island and the dune line moves back and people's houses are on public property. they will fight in court forever to 'own' that public property.
ReplyDeleteFrom what we have seen, I'd be surprised if houses had to go. There will be demolition of some very expensive fences and hedges. The actual rail corridor is 100 feet wide, the county wants 12 feet of it for the trail, but they're within their rights to take all 100. At one point the neighbors have narrowed the trail to about 8 or so feet, so those fences are toast.
ReplyDelete