SDOT is hard at work building a major improvement to bicycle access on Beacon Hill: Protected bike lanes on 15th Ave S and Beacon Ave S. When completed, this will be one of Seattle’s most important bike route improvements in years. But first, folks need to get through construction.

The city’s official bicycle detour points folks biking southbound up 14th Ave S, which is also the designated route for most buses and cars. You can ride this route, but the bike lanes are incomplete and the construction detours mean it will be even busier than usual. That’s why community group Beacon Hill Safe Streets has put together a set of different options for folks trying to avoid car traffic between Jefferson Park and the Jose Rizal Bridge. One stays to the east of the closure, and the other stays to the west.

The east route is probably the best option for most trips. It follows the Mountains to Sound Trail and the Beacon Hill Neighborhood Greenway on 18th Ave S, which already has signage and traffic calming. If you are heading to the business district near Beacon Hill Station, Jefferson Park or beyond, I’d recommend this route. This is definitely the route to take if you are heading to or from the Mountains to Sound Trail further east.

But for many North Beacon Hill trips, the east route is too indirect. Fortunately, there’s a decently low-traffic west option via 12th Ave S. Unfortunately it is very steep, especially the blocks closest to the Jose Rizal Bridge. There is a low-quality door zone bike lane in the uphill direction, but mixed traffic lanes for flat and downhill sections. Thanks to Safe Route to School projects around Beacon Ave S near 13th and 14th Avenues S, there are path connections and an extra-wide sidewalk along with improved crosswalks for connecting across busy Beacon Ave at 14th.

Bob Svercl of Beacon Hill Safe Streets made a helpful set of video guides for the routes: