Not only would the Harvard Ave path connect the Roanoke Lid and 520 Trail along a safer and less steep route, it would also restore a small piece of Seattle’s first ever bike paths.

You can support a Central Seattle Greenways effort to protect the proposed path from budget cuts on the freeway megaproject.

The 1895 Lake Union Bike Path cannot be accurately restored because, well, it’s now the path of I-5 between downtown and SR-520. But photos from the turn of the 20th century show the crossroads where the Lake Union path connected to the 1896 Lake Washington Bike Path that lead folks east through the forest now known as Interlaken Park. That old crossroads would most likely be located somewhere within the I-5/520 interchange on land that was excavated for freeway construction, and the Lake Washington path hugged the hillside as it curved to the east. The closest existing land to this historic path would be the proposed Harvard Connection path that has been planned as part of the Roanoke Lid of the SR-520 replacement project.

Like the old path, the Harvard Connection would hug the hillside to follow the least-steep route as it turns east toward the lid and Interlaken Blvd. The only surviving engineering plot of the old Lake Washington path (that I was able to find, anyway) ends on top of the proposed Montlake Lid on the northeast corner of what is now 10th Ave E and E Roanoke Street, and the early design for the lid already includes a path that follows a similar path. The proposed Harvard Connection would meet up nicely with the historic route, creating opportunities for heritage markers or public art connecting the past to the present. With the freeway interchange roaring in the background, it could be an opportunity for folks to reflect on the marks we leave on this land, how an innocent-looking bike path through the forest was a harbinger of white colonial land theft and settlement that in just a few short decades grew into a freeway.

Here’s the text of the action alert you can sign from Central Seattle Greenways:

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is planning to delete a key bike and pedestrian connection from the future Roanoke Lid over SR 520 between Capitol Hill and Eastlake. Tell WSDOT that removing this community-supported connection to the SR 520 Trail is unacceptable.

The Harvard Connection, the dashed yellow path pictured in the image above, would offer a vital lower-incline and safer connection towards Capitol Hill for users of all ages and abilities via a tunnel under 10th Ave E and a gently sloping path from the Roanoke Lid up to E Miller St.

Cutting the Harvard Connection would only save about 1% ($10-15 million) of the car-centric megaproject’s $1.4 billion budget. WSDOT has justified their shortsighted decision by asserting that the path wouldn’t provide a meaningful connection. This is not accurate: it would provide a valuable alternative for southbound trips from the Roanoke Lid with gentler (6%) grades and lower traffic stress than navigating the busy intersection of 10th Ave E and E Roanoke St and the block south of it, which has a 10% slope.

With the future Roanoke Lid likely to become a community destination for events and other activities, the Harvard Connection would offer accessibility not only for bicyclists but also pedestrians using wheelchairs and other mobility devices. Removing it would leave parkgoers without an alternative to the prohibitively steep slopes on 10th Ave E, Federal Ave E, and 11th Ave E

TELL STATE AND CITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS AND ELECTED LEADERS: Please restore the Harvard Connection and keep your promise to people bicycling, rolling, and walking on the future Roanoke Lid over SR 520.