With more than 50 submissions and 280 votes cast, we now have our winners of the #HappyBikeLanePeople contest!
The “Community Choice Top Ten” were chosen by combining the votes for which submissions (A) people wanted to have happen, and (B) were their absolute favorite. All the decisions for the other categories were decided by Brock Howell.
All individuals whose submissions are listed in a bold font will receive a gift certificate to Peddler Brewing (thank you Haley & Dave of Peddler!). The #1 Community Choice winner will receive a $50 gift certificate, and all other individuals with receive a $15 gift certificate. Individuals whose submission(s) won multiple categories will receive just one gift certificate. Student winners will not receive gift certificates to Peddler, and appropriate award is still being figured out (let me know if you have ideas!).
Community Choice Top Ten
- Octopus
- Norm with dog & kid
- Axel the Ballard Biking Viking
- Tag-a-long / Safe Routes to School
- Sasquatch
- Dubs (UW Husky)
- Comicon Superwoman
- Ballard Fisherman
- Hi Viz Woman
- Go Dog Go! (to the dog park)
There was no containing the Octopus as no other submission came close to the octopus’s vote total. Two family-themed submissions placed a verty second and fourth, but even their combined votes would not have outwitted the octopus. Axel the Ballard Biking Viking led early in the voting, but even with his horned helmet, Ballard H.S. Red Letterman Jacket, and Scandinavian name, Axel proved to be no Norse god to match the smartest animal of the sea.
Best Mythical Creatures
- Sasquatch
- Mermaid #1
- Mermaid #2
The mermaids were beautiful, but the winner had to go to the mythical creature with the most Northwest lore.
Best Animal
- Octopus
- Like a Fish on a Bike
- Moose
- Go Dog Go!
- Salmon Captain
- Dubs the UW Husky
The Octopus of course won this category, too, but the psychedelic moose and biking fish were fun, too. And sorry Huskies, this contest judge is a Coug. #GoCougs!
Best Real People
- Mossback
- Bob with his cat
- Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks Defensive End
- Stefan Frei, Seattle Sounders Goalie
After researching and writing the history of bicycling in Seattle, local writer Knute “Mossback” Berger absolutely needs his own bike lane symbol. Even better, this submission by Mark Ostrow paid homage to the Fremont Solstice Naked Bike Ride Parade.
Best Sports People
- Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks Defensive End
- Stefan Frei, Seattle Sounders Goalie
- Russel Willows, Seattle Quidditch League, just past Platform 9 1/2
’nuff said. Congrats to Todd Voelker who drew the submission.
Best Place-Based People
- Queen Anne on Queen Anne Ave on Queen Anne Hill
- Pirate on Alki
- Axel the Ballard Viking
- Rockin’ Croc at The Crocodile
- Octopus at the Seattle Aquarium
- Unicyclist near Whittier Heights
- Go Dog Go! on route to dog parks
- Fisherman in Ballard
- Dubs the UW Husky in the U District
- Honorable Mention: “The Dystopia of Rainier Avenue”
There were many great ideas that matched bike people to specific places, but there was no match to the “meta” Queen Anne submission by Mark Ostrow.
Best Business People
- Rockin’ Croc for The Crocodile
- KUOW Listener for KUOW
- Comicon Superwoman for Comicon
- Federal Investigator for FBI & U.S. Marshalls
While there were actually two submissions for “KUOW Listener” (I only posted one for voting), I don’t think there could be anything better than a crocodile for The Crocodile, home to many historic rock shows, including all of Seattle’s most famous bands of the 1990s. With the new 2nd Avenue two-way protected bike lane coming to completion, we need to get SDOT to install a version of the Rockin’ Croc out front.
Best Other People
- Unicycler
- Roland Fish
- Hi Viz Woman
- AC/DC Grunge Hipster
- Candy Cane Person
There were so many other great #HappyBikeLanePeople that defy categorization. One of my favorite was the unicyclist, submitted by Melinda Mullins who commutes by unicycle in-part because she was inspired by the student unicycling program at Whittier Elementary School. Roland Fish was a creative concept for a sushi-themed person, and Hi Viz Woman was sparkly and empowering, too.
Most Whimsical
- Russel Willows
- Bob with his cat
- Mossback
- Trump Tweets
- Traffic Light Person (student submission)
- Venus, Goddess of Love (student submission)
There were lots of whimsy in all the submissions, but Stefan Hock created an entire underground (above air?) Harry Potter Quidditch World in Seattle’s midst.
While the Emerald City sleeps, there is an underground Quidditch league that takes place. Ever wondered why there are so many cranes in Seattle? Well, it is because they hold the hoops while great Quidditch players such as Russel Willows and Clint Diggory zoom around the sky as top-tier Quidditch chasers. This Happy Bike Lane Person reminds us to open our eyes while biking and see the magic that happens in our city.
Best Story
- Bob with his cat
- Axel the Ballard Viking
- Story of father & son picking up a dog in the U District (student submission)
- Russel Willows, Seattle Quidditch League, just past Platform 9 1/2
I loved all these stories, some real, some fictional. Bob won it for me. Here’s what the submitter, Jessica Alano, wrote:
The bike person that I designed is my former coworker Bob Smith and his cat. Regardless of the rain, Bob used to ride his bike to and from work everyday. He is special to me because he was the one that made me fall in love with riding bikes for both pleasure and regular transportation needs. I chosen, I think this should be placed in somewhere in Beacon Hill; maybe near the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Medical Center since he’s always going that direction.
Best Safe Routes to School
- Norm with dog & kid
- Tag-a-long / Safe Routes to School
- Story of father & son picking up a dog in the U District (student submission)
- Honorable Mention: Go Dog Go! on route to a dog park
With a kid in the front and an adorable Snoopy in the back basket, Jackson Brown’s submission was a clear community favorite. It’s easy to image all the bike symbols in school zones across the city being updated with the dog and kid.
(some people didn’t like how the original description of the symbol as being of a “normal person” that doesn’t wear spandex, so I’ve take the liberty to update the name of this submission to “Norm” instead.)
Best of the Student Submissions
- Girl wearing a hijab
- Mermaid
- Story of father & son picking up a dog in the U District
- The Dystopia of Rainier Avenue
- Girls Riding Free (both)
- Traffic Light Person
- Different Colors Show I’m in a Good Mood!
In the voting, the girl wearing the hijab, the mermaid, and the “Dystopia of Rainier Avenue” tied.
The student who drew the girl biking while wearing the hijab wrote that she wanted such a bike symbol because she never sees any art that represents her. That’s just too compelling, she gets the grand prize. I hope we can find a way to install such a bike symbol in her Rainier Valley neighborhood.
The mermaid — wow! It was such an amazing drawing that I also included it with the main voting sections, too. The mermaid placed fourteenth overall in the Community Choice scoring.
Although completely impractical for SDOT to install, many people felt the “Dystopia of Rainier Avenue” accurately reflected their experience of biking on Rainier Avenue (or what their experience would be like if they biked on Rainier).
Finally, I must add-in the drawing and fictional story that a student submitted about how his dad “Bob” was biking through the U District, pulling him in a trailer, when they spot a dog and he successfully convinces his dad to take the dog home with them. So sweet.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their ideas for the #HappyBikeLanePeople contest and who voted!
On Tuesday, December 26, I will submit nearly all* of the submissions to Dongho Chang, Seattle’s Chief Traffic Engineer, for SDOT’s consideration to install them. The City has made no promises that they’ll do this, but we remain hopeful.
I will happily include in my package to SDOT any additional #HappyBikeLanePeople drawings that folks send to me prior to Tuesday, December 26. You can download a template here, and then email it to brock@bikehappycascadia.com.
* Some submissions will not be forwarded because (A) the drawings were meant strictly to be tongue-in-cheek satire (these were not included in the voting); the drawings were stick figures , which would make it difficult for SDOT to successfully implement (these were also not included in the voting); or (C) the drawings were considered by many voters to raise potential concerns of cultural appropriation. With regard to the “C” drawings, I believe the submitters had the best of intentions, but I’d agree that actual implementation would necessitate significant engagement and support from key representative organizations and likely would need to be modified or drawn by an artist from with their community.
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