The City of Bothell is working to restore habitat along the Sammamish River just beyond the Burke-Gilman Trail, and that means temporary closures of the Sammamish River Trail.
Starting August 10, plan for delays when biking through the area. Flaggers will be on site to control trail traffic. Users may also need to detour via nearby streets or paths. But note that the sidewalk next to 102nd Ave NE is very skinny, and there will be no temporary trail or bike lanes.
Details from Bothell (emphasis theirs):
Beginning around August 10, there will be brief trail interruptions on the Sammamish River Trail, near the pedestrian footbridge leading to downtown Bothell. The interruption will affect traffic in both directions.
The contractor will be placing sandbag protection in the Sammamish River. In order to keep the public and work crew safe, spotters will be on the trail temporarily halting pedestrian and bicycle traffic (up to 20 minutes) as equipment and sandbags are moved to the work area along the trail. Bike and pedestrian commuters please allow some additional travel time.
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After moving to the Burke Gilman/West Riverside Trail, eastbound cyclists have a bike lane along E. Riverside Drive, and a pedestrian actuated crosswalk to connect back to the Sammamish River Trail. The westbound cyclists along E. Riverside Drive may use the same general route. The street is marked with sharrows in the westbound direction. Then connect to the main Burke Gilman/West Riverside Trail.
If cyclists want to connect to the bridge or the parking lot trail spur via the sidewalk, please dismount for pedestrians. It is a narrow 5-foot sidewalk and heavily used by seniors, families, and those with disabilities. Please make their safe passage your responsibility during this detour.
While I certainly agree that people biking need to make the safety of people walking their responsibility, it’s rather frustrating that Bothell has not made the safety of people biking their responsibility by creating a temporary trail or bikeway during this closure. Trails like the Sammamish River and Burke-Gilman Trails attract kids and other people who don’t feel comfortable biking on busy streets or skinny sidewalks. As a rule, all detours should be of comparable safety and comfort level to the trail.
Comments
6 responses to “Habitat work will disrupt Sammamish River Trail starting August 10”
Does this also apply to the little bit of the BGT beyond the start of the SRT? You know, the part that runs along the edge of Blythe Park for a tiny bit.
I usually use that instead as the little switchback at the bridge across the river isn’t to my liking.
What will all the Sammamish trail “I can only ride fast on the flats” weekend warrior trail heroes do?
is this part of RSVP??
You only have to go on the sidewalk or street for a short distance to follow the various detours on bike. It’s hard to see how anyone that had a real problem with this detour could even get to the trail in the first place. And, unusually, if 102nd were closed to general traffic the detours for drivers would send people pretty far out of the way. This was almost certainly the right way to handle the detour.
I bike this section a lot and sometimes use Riverside drive as a fun detour. Because it is straight, its actually faster to take Riverside rather than the trail. Riverside Drive is flat, straight, and fairly low traffic (most of the residents are residents of an elderly home who don’t drive). Plus, the trail actually extends all the way to Riverside Drive, you don’t end up on the road at all. In some ways its better so you don’t have the awkward turns onto Sammamish River Trail bridge. The only tricky part is 102nd Avenue, which has a very narrow sidewalk on a narrow, moderate traffic road. However, 102nd Avenue is sometimes closed as it was the site of the large Bothell fire, so it may be lower traffic than normal. IF you have kids or new cyclists, walk on the west side of 102 Avenue, its a short two blocks back to the trail.
If you are an experienced cyclist, I recommend taking Riverside to the gravel trail, which puts you right next to the bridge crossing near UW Bothell.
When will there be a WALKERS ONLY dedicated portion of the Burke Gilman Trail?
Bikes go way too fast for the safety of people walking, families, children.
A painted lane for “feet only” (similar to Green Lake) would be a great first step!
Burke Gilman is for everyone, not just for bikes to travel at 20-25 mph!