In response to a recent bicycle mugging at the west end of the I-90 bike tunnel in Sam Smith Park, the Cascade Bicycle Club and the Seattle Police hosted a ‘meet and greet’ yesterday to provide interested cyclists with safety information, snacks, and a place where interested folks could discuss ways to address the problem.
Although Ryan Harrison’s February 27 mugging prompted the gathering, there are probably many others who have been affected but haven’t reported trouble. Last week High Performance Cycling buddy Tom Meloy saw four big guys block the tunnel as he entered the tunnel from the east. In light of recent events, he turned around and took an alternate route home. (Read Tom’s account.)
About 40 people were in attendance between 4-5 PM. I think there were more media folks than cyclists. There were ample police officers available to answer questions.
If you haven’t already done so, you may want to check out the comments posted in the Cascade community forum. Proposed solutions range from packing a handgun to casting magic spells. I can imagine velcro-ing bear spray to a top tube, but I question how quickly you could fire it off if you were getting attacked. And who knows whether that might escalate things if the muggers have firearms.
Maybe this sign could also advise cyclists and pedestrians to group up before passing through the tunnel?
According to the officers I spoke with, to date all of the reported incidents occurred between noon and sunset. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to the muggings. The tunnel has 3 monitored cameras, and there is a call box at the west end of the tunnel. One officer said that if they get an “urgent” 911 call, they try to get to the scene within 7 minutes.
7 minutes could feel like an eternity if you were getting attacked, but it’s difficult to imagine a faster response time.
The stoplight at the intersection of the bike path and MLK is a perfect place to hang out until you can form a group.
Here are a couple of the most reasonable suggestions I heard:
1. Wait for other cyclists and form a group before you enter the tunnel. It would be great for us to cultivate this as a regular practice for everyone who rides through the tunnel and park. Maybe WSBA team leaders, SIR, and CBC ride leaders can remind folks to do this? And maybe unaffiliated cycling activists can make the effort to stop and form a group before heading into the tunnel and park.
2. Be aware of who you see in and around the tunnel, which might be difficult if you are spacing out after a long commute or hard training ride. If the people you see look unsavory, do like Tom Meloy: Turn around and take another route.
I think we will be more likely to reduce muggings at this location if we take it upon ourselves to change our behaviors to ones that make us less attractive targets.
View this post (including video) at the Central District News.
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