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So I'm going to Seattle (well, Bellevue to be more exact) for work in a couple of weeks for about a month. I'm from Sweden and this will be my first time in the US. The first thing I got recommended was to rent a car at the airport but I don't really drive so... How easy is it to get around without one? I'm thinking mostly using public transport or just walking. I've heard some horror stories about how there are basically no sidewalks anywhere so this makes me kind of nervous as someone who is used to walk or bike everywhere I go. For busses, can you buy some kind of bus pass for unlimited trips for 30 days or so? If not, can you pay for the buss trip using credit card or do you need cash at hand? For walking, how friendly are the roads to pedestrians? I've made some experimental routes on Google Maps and sometimes it looks like Google decides to make a route over roads that are closed to pedestrians.
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Feb 22, 2015 19:05
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 01:03 |
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I'd say rent a bicycle. It's a nice spot between car and walking and the miles you'll be doing every day won't feel quite as long as they would on your feet.
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Feb 22, 2015 21:08
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Yeah I had been thinking about that, not sure where I'd be finding a bike rental though.
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Feb 22, 2015 22:49
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Seattle is one of the better US cities for getting around without a car. The bus system is fairly robust and there's a a lot more cycling infrastructure than in other parts of the country. Speed limits on most streets are 25-30 MPH and sidewalks are universal south of 85th Street. Bellevue is a little different. The downtown area is easy to navigate on foot and there is (relatively) decent bus service but the rest of the city is fairly suburban. You're a few decades too early for the rail line between Bellevue and Seattle. No matter where you are in the region, any journey longer than a mile is likely to involve at least one significant hill. Most of the transit agencies in the Seattle area use ORCA. It's an RFID card. You can get a monthly pass for a certain fare level or you can just have an "e-purse". King County Metro has two fare zones and peak fares are a little higher than off-peak fares. A benefit to ORCA is that you only have to pay the fare difference when transferring between different networks. With a cash fare, you can only transfer within a single network. Credit cards are only useful for reloading your ORCA card.
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Feb 23, 2015 08:03
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lavaca posted:Seattle is one of the better US cities for getting around without a car. The bus system is fairly robust and there's a a lot more cycling infrastructure than in other parts of the country. Speed limits on most streets are 25-30 MPH and sidewalks are universal south of 85th Street. Bellevue is a little different. The downtown area is easy to navigate on foot and there is (relatively) decent bus service but the rest of the city is fairly suburban. You're a few decades too early for the rail line between Bellevue and Seattle. No matter where you are in the region, any journey longer than a mile is likely to involve at least one significant hill. Alright, thanks! I might have to rent a car anyway for simplicity it sounds like, but it would be nice to skip on that expense.
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Feb 23, 2015 19:57
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I realize the Seattle bike share program offers helmets because there's a helmet law but am I correct in thinking I likely wouldn't get ticketed for not using one when I visit in a couple months?
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Feb 24, 2015 06:24
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It depends on where you want to go. How close is work to where you will be living? If you want to go to bars and enjoy nightlife or take a look around the Seattle area you'll want to have access to a car so you can get to Seattle or the mountains. Downtown Bellevue is basically malls and high rises. If all your traveling is going to be home->work->home the bus system will probably get you within short walking distance of where you want to get.
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Feb 24, 2015 08:42
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Keith Atherton posted:It depends on where you want to go. How close is work to where you will be living? I think there are busses going to/from work/hotel so that would work out, but I'll probably want to explore a bit so I guess I'll almost have to get a car. Hows parking in general? Is it expensive or are there free parking zones?
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Feb 24, 2015 10:22
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pig slut lisa posted:I realize the Seattle bike share program offers helmets because there's a helmet law but am I correct in thinking I likely wouldn't get ticketed for not using one when I visit in a couple months? No idea how common ticketing is in Seattle, but the fines are hefty (~$100) and in any case it's loving retarded not to wear a helmet if you're biking on the street.
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Feb 24, 2015 12:06
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Saladman posted:No idea how common ticketing is in Seattle, but the fines are hefty (~$100) and in any case it's loving retarded not to wear a helmet if you're biking on the street. Thanks for lecturing me without answering my question. Maybe I should just bring my bike helmet from home and wear it while I'm walking and riding in the taxi since head injuries occur more frequently with both of those travel modes?
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Feb 24, 2015 14:45
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pig slut lisa posted:Thanks for lecturing me without answering my question. Maybe I should just bring my bike helmet from home and wear it while I'm walking and riding in the taxi since head injuries occur more frequently with both of those travel modes? I'm not sure how showing that pedestrians could reduce head injuries if they all wore helmets means that you shouldn't wear a helmet while cycling, but that's cool. I guess either you'll die or get a bunch of $100 tickets, based on what I can find out by Googling it: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ticket+for+not+wearing+a+helmet+while+bicycling+seattle
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Feb 24, 2015 15:04
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Still interested in hearing from actual Seattle cyclists instead of the guy who admits he has no idea how common enforcement of the helmet law is.
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Feb 24, 2015 16:41
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pig slut lisa posted:I realize the Seattle bike share program offers helmets because there's a helmet law but am I correct in thinking I likely wouldn't get ticketed for not using one when I visit in a couple months? Anecdotal but I know a guy who has no car and gets around Seattle only on his bike and he refuses to wear a helmet. He's been doing this for years and he's never been stopped. netcat posted:I think there are busses going to/from work/hotel so that would work out, but I'll probably want to explore a bit so I guess I'll almost have to get a car. Hows parking in general? Is it expensive or are there free parking zones? It's hard to say. I imagine your hotel would let you park for free there. In terms of elsewhere parking varies in Seattle. Downtown you can pay for metered parking, or look around for a street without meters and do some extra walking. There are tons of pay lots and parking garages - you won't have to pay much. Like, last time I went to a concert on 1st Avenue downtown I parked in a pay lot 1/2 block from the club and I think it was $15 for the evening. YMMV and all that, of course. Of course there are buses from the Eastside (Bellevue) to Seattle and vice versa but it will likely be time consuming and involve planning transfers. Like, if you want to go from Bellevue's city center to Seattle's downtown core that's fairly straightforward. But anything involving getting across the lake to less popular destinations would be a hassle and a car would be your best bet. You can always get a taxi or Über car if you don't mind paying extra. That could run you upwards of $50 going across the lake.
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Feb 25, 2015 03:50
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Keith Atherton posted:It's hard to say. I imagine your hotel would let you park for free there. In terms of elsewhere parking varies in Seattle. Downtown you can pay for metered parking, or look around for a street without meters and do some extra walking. There are tons of pay lots and parking garages - you won't have to pay much. Like, last time I went to a concert on 1st Avenue downtown I parked in a pay lot 1/2 block from the club and I think it was $15 for the evening. YMMV and all that, of course. Thanks. Unfortunately the hotel I got recommended seems to take ridic prices / day for parking but not sure what I can do about that.
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Feb 25, 2015 14:26
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netcat posted:Yeah I had been thinking about that, not sure where I'd be finding a bike rental though. You could just buy a used beater bike on Craigslist for under $100, use it for the month and then turn around and sell it before you leave.
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Feb 25, 2015 19:27
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Buy an Orca card. It's much better than riding a bicycle on hills, worn out roads, through rain and at the mercy of bad drivers. King Metro will get you around. Like seriously these people are wrong. You don't want a bike to be your only option when you actually need to be somewhere.
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Feb 28, 2015 21:12
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pig slut lisa posted:Still interested in hearing from actual Seattle cyclists instead of the guy who admits he has no idea how common enforcement of the helmet law is. I've only once ever had a cop mention anything about not wearing a helmet to me (when I was younger... I wear a helmet now). He didn't even give me a ticket... he just told me to get a helmet. As far as cycling around Bellevue, I can't say since I've never rode on that side of the lake. I will say that commuting between Seattle and Bellevue by bike is a long haul if you don't make use of the bus system. You can't bike over on the 520 bridge so you either go all the way around the lake to the north or go south and take the 90 crossing. If I worked in Bellevue on a short assignment I would get a place as close possible to work and then use zipcar/car2go/uber/lyft to get into the city when I want to have fun.
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Mar 27, 2015 16:06
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Bucket Joneses posted:I've only once ever had a cop mention anything about not wearing a helmet to me (when I was younger... I wear a helmet now). He didn't even give me a ticket... he just told me to get a helmet. I live in Seattle and commute to Bellevue for work. I have coworkers who take the bus across from Seattle to Bellevue and back every day. It's doable. Just takes a bit more time. And if you want to get to one part of the city to the other that would take forever via bus (like say, downtown Seattle to Discovery Park near Magnolia) you can always get an Uber. Seattle also just recently started a bike-sharing/renting program that you can get for a day when you're in town. Its called Pronto and rental includes helmet.  http://www.prontocycleshare.com/Late nights on the bus are always a bit sketch so I recommend doing day trips and getting a taxi/uber back for a long haul trip...
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Mar 28, 2015 05:36
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 01:03 |
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I ended up renting a car to get to/from work and then buying an Orca card to ride the bus everywhere else. All around a very nice city when it's not raining.
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Mar 28, 2015 06:58
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