Seattle Bike Blog

City Light project will close Burke-Gilman Trail from U Bridge to I-5

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 13, 2015

Seattle City Light is moving work on their trial-aligned power upgrade project west to connect to the power station under I-5. This means anyone using the trail should be prepared for a detour starting January 17 and continuing through mid-February.

The good news is that City Light has changed its mind and will create a temporary trail detour on NE Pacific and NE 40th Streets. As we reported previously, the original plan was to just detour trail users into the general traffic lanes on these sometimes busy streets. We argued that it was irresponsible to send trail users — many of whom are new to biking or are children — into shared traffic lanes. It’s great to see the project planners change their minds and create a smart detour concept.

However, be ready to go extra slow and bike single file. Some sections of the detour trail will only be eight feet wide, which will be a tight fit when passing people biking in the other direction. People walking will have their own detour, so that should help with the squeeze.

Details from Seattle City Light: (more…)

tags: burke-gilman trail, seattle city light

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Burke-Gilman Trail closed in Lake Forest Park today for emergency tree removal

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 13, 2015

King County Parks sent out a notice Tuesday morning warning of an emergency closure of the Burke-Gilman Trail near Ballinger Way in Lake Forest Park. A tree has become unstable near the trail bridge, and crews expect to work through most of the daylight hours Tuesday to remove it.

Work should be wrapped up by 4 p.m. for the evening rush. If you are using the trail before then, expect delays.

Details from King County Parks:

A short stretch of King County’s Burke-Gilman Trail through Lake Forest Park will be closed today, Jan. 13, as crews remove a large cottonwood tree that is suddenly leaning across the trail near the pedestrian bridge on the 17100 block of Ballinger Way NE.

No detour is available while this emergency tree removal operation is underway, which is expected to begin between 8 and 8:30 a.m. this morning and last until 4 p.m. this afternoon.

tags: burke-gilman trail, king county parks, lake forest park

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Study: Recreation cycling in Washington generates $3.1 billion for state’s economy

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 12, 2015

WSDOT Director Lynn Peterson talks bike tourism at the 2014 WA Bikes Gala and Auction

Biking is good for the state’s economy. It’s one of those ideas that seems fairly obvious, but we haven’t really had much solid data to know exactly how much cycling helps. Until now.

It turns out, it helps maybe even more than many thought. According to a report commissioned by the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office, recreation cycling generates $3.1 billion every year in Washington State. But most importantly, nearly all (96 percent) of that economic activity goes to “trip-related expenditures,” which basically means money spent locally on stuff like lodging, eating, shopping, transportation, etc.

As a comparison, motor boating generates $3.8 billion, but a whopping 57 percent of that goes to “equipment costs,” leaving only $1.7 billion for “trip-related expenditures.” That means that unless you are boat dealer, bicycling generates nearly twice as much money for local economies around the state as motor boating. (more…)

tags: bike touring, bikenomics, bikepacking, washington bikes, washington recreation and conservation office

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Terrible person attacks Seattle’s favorite cycling patriot after Seahawks game

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 12, 2015

Image from Alvin’s facebook page

No doubt you have seen Alvin Graham Jr. cycling around town or biking on his roller trainer on his iconic USA-themed bike and matching kit. You may even have donated to support US veterans, a cause he tirelessly supports.

For years he has set up his stationary roller trainer on city sidewalks or at big events to raise funds, and he has become a fixture outside major sporting events. So of course he was outside CenturyLink Field raising money during the Seahawks’ playoff game against the Panthers.

Unfortunately, some awful jerk leaving the game early did not appreciate Alvin’s work and attacked him, seriously injuring Alvin’s eye socket with a punch, King 5 reports.

We wish Alvin a fast recovery. It’s inspiring to see someone so dedicated to his cause, and so upsetting that someone would want to attack him.

Here’s the King 5 report: (more…)

tags: alvin graham jr, crime, seahawks

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Roosevelt bike lane will get safety upgrade from U Bridge to NE 65th

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 9, 2015

One of the most dangerous streets in the city for people on bikes will get a big bike lane upgrade when the city repaves Roosevelt Way from NE 65th Street to the University Bridge.

Around 20 people on bikes have been injured in collisions on this street in the past four years. Though the street has a bike lane, it is a skinny, paint-only lane squeezed too close to parked cars. As you can see in this current conditions diagram, someone opening a car door can easily hit someone on a bike if they are not paying attention:

To solve this serious safety problem and create a more comfortable and inviting space for biking on this vital bike route, the city will move the bike lane to the curb lane and install a barrier separating people biking from the general travel lanes. Here’s what that will look like in general, from SDOT:
(more…)

tags: protected bike lanes, roosevelt

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How amazing would this West Seattle flyover trail be?

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

January 8, 2015

It’s one of the most infamous intersections in West Seattle. It sucks for everyone, whether you’re driving a freight truck to the Port or driving a car home from work. But it especially sucks for anyone walking or biking (remember that video of a bike commuter cooking a breakfast burrito in the time it took for the light to change?).

I’m talking about the five-way intersection at W Marginal Way, SW Spokane St, Delridge Way SW, Chelan Ave SW and the Port of Seattle Terminal 5 access road. In addition to all those streets, this is also the location of the West Seattle bike route brain stem. All trails lead here.

There are no easy solutions, but there is an awesome one: SDOT is in the early stages of a design concept for an elevated trail connecting the west end of the lower West Seattle Bridge/Duwamish Trail/Delridge Trail to the Alki Trail.

By cantilevering a trail onto the side of an existing bridge structure, the trail would allow people walking or biking to completely bypass the giant intersection via a gradually-graded and direct connection:

Images from an SDOT presentation to the Bike Advisory Board

(more…)

tags: alki trail, lower west seattle bridge, west seattle

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