Bob Svercl (he/him)
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bobco85.bsky.social
Bob Svercl (he/him)
@bobco85.bsky.social
980 followers 1.5K following 470 posts
Love to explore, make bike vids at https://youtube.com/@bobco85 , lead history rides, enjoy outdoors. Co-Chair @bhsafestreets.org, organize @rvgreenways.bsky.social @seastreetfixers.bsky.social. Uncle & 🏳️‍🌈bi. Compassionate, curious, corny, smart-ass. He/him
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bobco85.bsky.social
I just finished reading “To Seattle by Trolley” by Warren W. Wing. It was recommended to me after I made my Interurban history bike ride video. It has a lot of historical photos and maps of the various interurbans run by the Stone & Webster Company. I never knew there were funeral train cars!
My hand holding the book which features a historical photo of the front of an interurban Train Book opened to pages featuring line maps of the Northern and Southern Divisions of the Pacific Northwest Traction Company with each station labeled on each map; the Northern Division is on left going between Mount Vernon, Bellingham, and Sedro-Wooley, and the Southern Division is on right going between Seattle and Everett Book page with a historical photo of a black painted train car described as a funeral car Book page with a historical photo of Interurban tracks running along Westlake in Seattle with the Aurora Bridge in the distance
November 7, 2025 at 12:09 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Had fun meeting & chatting with folks from cycling, safe streets, transit, & urbanist spheres before & after attending a talk by some of my favorite car-free advocates. Got my copy of the book

And yes, I biked to & from it!
@brooklynspoke.bsky.social @sgoodyear.bsky.social @nerd4cities.bsky.social
A speaker on stage in Town Hall Seattle introduces the talk with a screen displaying The War on Cars & CityNerd With Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon, and Ray Delahanty Doug Gordon, Sarah Goodyear, and Ray Delahanty stand on a stage and talk with each other about urbanism and the new book Panorama inside the main auditorium at Town Hall Seattle with every seat and pew full of people A red Town Hall Seattle tote bag with a book named “Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile”
November 6, 2025 at 6:52 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Hockey rumor via Kate Shefte (Seattle Times): Seattle women’s hockey team may have been revealed as the Torrent!

Unconfirmed but fits in line with our other women’s professional sports teams named after weather like Storm & Reign (homophone)

Seattle ”Torrent” 1st season game is Nov 21 (away game)
First part of a newspaper article about the potential leak of the team name for Seattle’s professional women’s hockey team as the Torrent Second part of a newspaper article about the potential leak of the team name for Seattle’s professional women’s hockey team as the Torrent with information on the inaugural season starting on November 21
November 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
2/2 This evening I did some route testing for a @cascade.org group ride I’m leading from Angle Lake to Federal Way on opening day of the Federal Way Extension of the light rail. December 6 is only a month away!
Night view of the Kent Des Moines light rail station looking nearly complete but still fenced off My e-bike sits on the side of a road with its lights on in front of the future Star Lake light rail station which has colorful murals on the elevated train platform Selfie smiling in front of a lit up metal sculpture of abstract hands in front of the elevated Federal Way Downtown light rail station as a light rail train undergoes a test run at the train platform My e-bike with its lights on sits on the ground in front of the southern end of the elevated light rail tracks where a concrete support ends
November 3, 2025 at 4:50 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
1/2 Autumn in the Pacific Northwest in 2 parts:
First time visiting the Seattle Japanese Garden at the Arboretum, and it was such a beautiful day to enjoy the autumnal scenery. It’s probably the best time to visit now, so get out there!
Selfie with my boyfriend in front of a lake reflecting bright yellow, orange, and red trees on a sunny day A small stream curves around green grass blades underneath red and orange leafed Japanese maple trees Looking up at the underside of bright yellow leaves on a tree Looking down at bright red leaves of a Japanese maple tree with the ground covered in the same color of leaves
November 3, 2025 at 4:50 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Happy National Cat Day with my kitties Foggy (5 yo) and Coraline (7 mo) who have been enjoying their new cat door. They have both learned how to enter/exit the balcony using it, and the door keeps the heat inside my apartment
My gray cat Foggy and tortie cat Coraline sit on a carpet each in a shape like a loaf of bread A cat door insert in a sliding glass door to a balcony Close up of the translucent plastic flap for the cat door My cats on each side of the cat door playing with each other
October 29, 2025 at 11:11 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
Had a fun Fall Foliage tour hosted by MEHVA (Metro Employees Historical Vehicle Association) in partnership with King County Metro. They couldn’t control rainy weather nor power outage at Black Diamond Bakery, but they gave us a wonderful tour of autumnal scenery around SE King Co on vintage buses
A vintage King County Metro Transit bus in cream, yellow, and grey sits at a bus stop in the rain Selfie with my boyfriend and my friend on board a vintage bus A line of people wait to purchase baked goodies with cash inside the Black Diamond Bakery which had no electricity due to a power outage View out the front window of a vintage bus as it drives on a road next to bright yellow trees
October 27, 2025 at 12:37 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Had a wonderful time celebrating completion of the north segment of East Marginal Way Corridor Improvements Project with 40 fellow cyclists on a bike ride organized by @bestsidecycling.com & @seattlebikeblog.com . We almost completely avoided the rain, with the sun even coming out for part of it!
Hanoch of Best Side Cycling speaks using a small megaphone outside the Seattle Ferry Terminal as Tom of Seattle Bike Blog stands nearby Cyclists ride on a new bike path separated from East Marginal Way by a concrete wall Cyclists ride on a bike path next to an elevated freeway towards a celebration site Selfie in front of a group of cyclists next to the South Park Bridge
October 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
Just finished “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do” by Tom Vanderbilt; as someone who rarely drives, I found it interesting. It covers many elements that affect driving, from how traffic congestion forms to differences in styles across cultures to overinflated biases of our individual driving skills
Book cover featuring a yellow diamond road sign for a curving road with the title & author text above it in black on a white background
October 22, 2025 at 8:28 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
I’m not sure, as I haven’t seen how these respond to being hit by vehicles. We’ve had issues with interconnected barriers folding into big messes when struck by vehicles (see pic of one barrier that’s been this way for weeks). Right now, I think anything less than poured concrete curb is inadequate
Interconnected Toronto style concrete mini jersey barrier is folded out of place and partially blocking a bike lane weeks after being hit by a driver
October 21, 2025 at 6:02 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
I finally checked these barriers out today. Info:
-EB Campus Pkwy from U Bridge to 12th
-WB Campus Pkwy from Brooklyn to U Bridge
-12 inches tall (for comparison, concrete curb stops are 7 inches tall)
-95% made from recycled tires
-made by Pretred
-possibly a custom design?
@seattlebikeblog.com
A bike lane has recycled rubber long barriers that look like the teeth of a zipper Close up of the recycled rubber barrier showing small reflective panels and the company name and logo of “Pretred” Measuring tape held vertically along the side of the barrier showing it is 12 inches tall End of the recycled rubber barrier in a bike lane ending at eastbound Campus Parkway and 12th Avenue
October 21, 2025 at 2:32 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
I bike, I vote. Hoping for both a mayor who won’t secretly sabotage safe streets projects by favoring wealthy donors & for city councilmembers who are ready to rise up to the issues facing our city. Let’s go
@wilsonforseattle.bsky.social @edclin.bsky.social @councilmember-amr.bsky.social & Dionne!
My orange chinook bicycle resting against the ballot drop box outside the Beacon Hill Library Selfie in my goldenrod bike lane hoodie as I place my ballot into the drop box
October 21, 2025 at 12:30 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Had a fun time leading a group through windy weather to check out some cool transit stuff with the occasional detour to see something interesting as we went from the CID to a lake overlook & eventually Mount Baker station. And no rain!
Another collab with @cascade.org @kingcountymetro.bsky.social
Group selfie with cyclists in a brick plaza above the International District/Chinatown light rail station Cyclists wait for a red light in a flexpost protected bike lane under trees on Dearborn Street Cyclists wait for a red light in a protected bike lane on MLK Way Group selfie with cyclists under the Mount Baker light rail station
October 19, 2025 at 9:39 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
No Kings, No Fascists, No ICE - we marched in solidarity in support of democracy here in Seattle
#NoKings
Crowd of people march on Pine Street over I-5 with protest signs Protestors hold signs like one shown reading “Insecure Cowardly Egomaniacs” Protestors marching under greenish yellow and orange leafed trees, one protester wears an American flag Selfie with my e-bike holding a protest sign that reads “Immigrants are: friends, neighbors, colleagues, veterans - welcome here”
October 18, 2025 at 9:18 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
I know the Mariners won a big game & are a win away from the World Series, but later in the evening, our Seattle Reign won 2-1 against the Utah Royals in their season finale & are going to the playoffs! Here’s the go-ahead goal that gave us the lead which we never gave up for the rest of the match.
October 18, 2025 at 6:06 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
I saw this photo shared on the Seattle Bike Discord back on October 7, but I haven’t biked through there recently
A bike lane on Campus Parkway has a unique black rubber barrier for protection. The barrier almost looks like a bicycle chain with its bumps
October 17, 2025 at 6:38 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
This is a separate incident. In the current case, the rebar linking the pieces was broken (see pic)
2 links of a mini jersey barrier have been broken apart, and the rebar embedded in the concrete is visibly broken
October 13, 2025 at 3:30 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
It’s been 4 years since I last did the Kitsap Color Classic, and I had a blast combining biking with light rail and ferry all through the day. The colors shone through with the flowers, trees, & cyclists. I took a detour to visit the Chief Sealth gravesite which I found meaningful
@cascade.org
An orange acoustic bicycle sits along a white picket fence next to a green acoustic bicycle in front of a view of a bay A garden of dahlias sits in front of cyclists wearing a variety of colors at a rest stop under colorful trees Selfie with Hanoch & Nick in front of a stone sculpture with 2 swords sticking out of it Gravesite of Chief Sealth featuring a round enclosure, a traditional white granite gravestone with a cross at top, and 2 wood carved panels on either side of the gravestone
October 13, 2025 at 3:23 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
/2 and for fun, here’s a bicycle-eye view timelapse of crossing Elliott Bay on the West Seattle Water Taxi
October 11, 2025 at 10:27 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
Wonderful time riding as a trio with our bikes on West Seattle Water Taxi & back to Waterfront via trails & brand new bike infrastructure along East Marginal Way on this crossover between @cascade.org & @kingcountymetro.bsky.social
We took a couple fun detours because we wanted to see more stuff
My orange chinook bike with buttons on a pannier for being a Cascade ride leader and a King County Metro one saying “Where to? Bike Transit” A yellow bike, an orange bike, and a Carolina blue e-bike sit at bike racks aboard the West Seattle Water Taxi Selfie with fellow cyclists aboard the West Seattle Water Taxi as it crosses Elliott Bay with the Seattle Waterfront in back Newly constructed bike path runs underneath a viaduct along East Marginal Way south of downtown Seattle
October 11, 2025 at 10:24 PM
bobco85.bsky.social
2/2 And bad news:
-pinch point, about 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, remains
-widening pinch point was part of the project, yet Port of Seattle scrubbed the design from its project page

1st image is archived version from July 2025, 2nd is current version

I will reach out for info
@seattlebikeblog.com
Screenshot of an archived version of the project page from July 2025 that has widening the pinch point in the work area Screenshot of the current version of the project page claiming the trail was widened in places but no longer refers to the pinch point A tape measure is laid across a pinch point on a trail made narrow by chain link fencing on each side Close up view of the tape measure showing the pinch point is roughly 5 feet or 1.5 meters wide
October 4, 2025 at 2:35 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
1/2 I heard that the Elliott Bay Trail near Terminal 91 had reopened, so I checked it out, and I have good news and bad news.

Good news:
-trail is open again
-awkward bridge has been replaced with a nice flat wide paved trail
Newly paved wide trail between chain link fencing where the north end of a narrow bridge used to stand Newly paved wide trail between chain link fencing where the south end of a narrow bridge used to stand A cyclist rides through a pinch point with a warning sign overhead as chain link fencing on both sides gets very narrow
October 4, 2025 at 2:35 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Had a wonderful bike commute during which I saw some familiar faces, pretty scenery, and even some rain that caught me at the end. Bike more equals happy more
@gordonofseattle.bsky.social
Up to 10 people on scooters, bikes, and e-bikes waiting in the new protected bike lane on Pike Street at Boren Avenue Selfie smiling on my e-bike in front of 2 fellow cyclists whom I know who are riding in the 12th Avenue bike lane on Capitol Hill Sun rays shine through rain clouds over T-Mobile Park as seen from the distant José Rizal Bridge Wide angle view of a rainbow in the sky over a new protected bike lane on Beacon Hill
October 2, 2025 at 2:15 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Awesome time leading a free bike ride with @cascade.org & @sngreenways.bsky.social
along new infrastructure connecting Chinatown with Georgetown & South Park en route to a celebration hosted by @seattledot.bsky.social & many others. A lot of folks advocated for this infrastructure for many years
Selfie in my yellow Cascade Ride Leader jersey in front of a large group of cyclists in the new 6th Avenue protected bike lanes in SODO Brass band performs on a closed street
September 29, 2025 at 2:52 AM
bobco85.bsky.social
Went on a bike ride for a haircut and to test out the route (uses the entire Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project) for a celebration bike ride in the Duwamish Valley coming this Sunday with @sngreenways.bsky.social @seattledot.bsky.social @cascade.org It feels so good to be able to ride again!
My e-bike sits in a 2-way bike lane protected by concrete mini jersey barriers as a King County Metro bus passes by with a view of the Seattle skyline at night Wide angle view of the 6th Avenue bike lane crossing at Spokane Street underneath a viaduct; the bike lane continues across the intersection passing under the viaduct A green painted flexpost protected bike lane extends on 6th Avenue near a tower lit with neon lights for Franz Bakery as a light rail train passes by on elevated tracks at night The intersection of 6th Avenue and Lander Street at night with diagonal crossbike markings and green bicycle signals
September 25, 2025 at 4:17 AM