After five months in a state of partial completion, the city made substantial progress toward completing the temporary Burke-Gilman Missing Link improvements between Shilshole and Fred Meyer Sunday.

The two-way bikeway on NW 45th Street is an attempt to increase safety on a notoriously dangerous stretch of road that has resulted in a huge number of injuries over the years. Train tracks that can easily grab bike tires combined with high bike volumes have led to many broken bones and a lot of road rash.

Michael F. Marian owns Marian Built Fine Hardwoods and Furnishings, located near a particularly crash-prone area near the Ballard Bridge. At this point, people on bikes need to cross the tracks, and people who naturally head straight instead of making a sharp turn to cross perpendicular to the tracks unknowingly run a high risk of crashing.

After witnessing far too many injuries outside his business, Marian started documenting them. He sent a justifiably fiery email to the city and local media (including Seattle Bike Blog) that included his photos. It’s a reminder that while the trail remains held up in the courts, going through an endless number of studies (including a full Environmental Impact Study, happening now), people are getting hurt. It’s exciting to see any kind of improvement in the area, but this is far too high a price to pay for safe streets. It shouldn’t take this many injuries before something is finally done about them. And the Missing Link is still very far from complete.

Here’s what Marian sent: (more…)