City Meeting About Seattle Storm Grates Hazardous To Bicyclists

The Seattle City Council is going to hear a report on Tuesday about how the city should fix thousands of potential hazards for bicyclists.

Over the years, bicyclists have reported serious injuries, and some of have sued, over storm grates that are sunken or worn.

Seattle Public Utilities recently completed a survey of storm drains on bike routes and found more than 3,500 potential hazards.

They said the front wheel of a bike could become lodged in a sunken drain, causing the cyclist to be thrown off the bike.

Worn grates are also a danger because they are slippery.

“The potholes, sewer grates and the flooding of the sewer grates, because you don’t really know what’s under them, are the biggest hazards for bicyclists, said rider Betsy Troutman.

Some storm grates have already been fixed, but about 1,000 more old-style, sunken and broken drains are on a list to be replaced, which cyclists are happy to hear.

To get all the hazards fixed would likely cost more than $1 million.

The Cascade Bicycle Club has a website called bikewise.org that allows cyclists report problems to the city.