(Or: Why letting our roads crumble hurts cyclists too).

Cyclists get a bad rap around these parts for our alleged opposition to road maintenance. For example, Crosscut columnist Judy Lightfoot recently asked rhetorically whether Mayor Mike McGinn, a cycling advocate, would support maintaining city streets if it would also "make driving cars more pleasant." (The implied answer being: Probably not.)

I can't speak for the mayor, of course, but I sure as hell would support spending more to maintain our crumbling streets (and less on big transportation projects like the tunnel, but that's another matter) if it meant the city would actually improve my cycling (and transit-riding) experience.

Here's how the latter part of my commute goes: Head south on Jackson, in a city-designated sharrow, between the Central District and downtown. Traverse six blocks of tooth-rattling, cracked-beyond-repair pavement. Try to avoid the many potholes while dodging cars that speed out of blind alleys. Also be on the lookout for pavement that's raised several inches along a seam in the middle of the lane. Scoot carefully around four-inch-deep manholes that will send you flying. If you manage to make it that far without falling or being hit, the only thing you'll have to worry about between Pioneer Square and Belltown is being hit by left-turning cars in the bike lane on Fourth Ave.

Sometimes, though, it doesn't work that way, and you go flying. A map of bike accidents produced by the Seattle Times shows a broad band of bike accidents running along Jackson toward downtown, and the accompanying story called the street one of the eight most dangerous areas for cyclists in the city. I had an accident here, too. Heading downhill on my way to work, I swerved to avoid a car that had pulled partway into the road and ran right up against a piece of raised pavement. I got away from that one with a broken wrist, but I'm sure others haven't been so lucky.

The discussion over things like road diets, as BikeNerd Josh Cohen has pointed out, is often framed as a battle between cars and bikes. But it's worth noting that road maintenance (which, yes, cyclists pay for) benefits all road users, not just those behind the wheel.