Officials who want to build a commuter railway and bicycle trail on the abandoned BNSF railroad in Seattle's Eastside suburbs might be suffering sticker shock today.

A report estimates the cost for the 42-mile corridor at between $1 billion to $1.2 billion for the railway alone between Renton and Woodinville.

The cost of the 34.4-mile parallel bicycle / pedestrian trail is put at between $245 million to $359 million, or $7.1 million to $10.4 million per mile.

That's too much, says the Cascadia Center in its response, pointing out that the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy estimates rail-trail conversions cost between $227,000 and $1 million per mile. Cascadia says the commuter railway could be built for one-third the cost ...   more »

A short-lived attempt to ban nudity in public parks in Seattle raised the issue of the legality of public nudity here.

The city has a tradition of painted bicyclists taking to the streets for the Summer Solstice Parade in the Fremont neighborhood, right, and for World Naked Bike Rides.

Those traditions are safe.

The city doesn't have a law regulating nudity, and Washington state law says that public nudity is not illegal unless it is an affront to someone else or causes alarm ...   more »

Many media outlets reported anecdotes over the summer about how the soaring price of gasoline was putting more people on their bicycles to commute and run errands.

It's good to finally get some meat on that story.

The city of Portland reports a 28% increase in overall bicycle use for 2008; the biggest increase ever recorded. In fact, bicycling in Portland has increased threefold since 2001. ....   more »

About a year ago the Seattle city council endorsed a 10-year Bicycle Master Plan. Now three of its neighbors on the east side of Lake Washington are in the midst of reviewing bicycle plans for their communities.

Kirkland and Renton are looking for comments on their plans for active transportation at meetings Wednesday night. Bellevue will be reviewing a comprehensive plan, which will have an effect on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

The Cascade Bicycle Club is asking for citizen cyclists to show up at the those meetings to review the plans and "help them get it right."

These cities appear to be making a good faith effort to provide upgrades for the bicycling on city streets. You can check out their efforts online and offer your suggestions at their meetings ....   more »

Pro cyclist Tyler Farrar will lead a community bike ride around Wenatchee, Washington, on Sunday in support of his father, Dr. Ed Farrar, left.

Dr. Farrar is hospitalized with a spinal injury after being struck head-on by a car the morning of Oct. 22 while riding his bicycle to work. He's still listed in serious condition.

An orthopedic surgeon and cycling enthusiast, Dr. Farrar helped form Wenatchee Valley Velo and encourage many people to get into cycling as a form of rehabilitation and exercise. People in the community came up with the "Rally for Ed" to show their support ...   more »

There are hectic days when the weather is nice, but I just can't get out for a long bike ride. That's when I jump on my mountain bike to ride some trails and finish up with a stop at a local grocery to pick up something for dinner -- all in under an hour.

Part of the bicycle route is on an unassuming dirt path that veers into a second-growth forest behind some homes in neighboring Newcastle.

I never thought much about this dirt trail that dead-ends at a stairway high above May Creek until recently. That's when I found out that this is no ordinary dirt trail.

Merely 1.7 miles long, the May Creek Trail is the abandoned route of a narrow-gauge railroad of the 1800s that connected the lucrative old coalfields of old Newcastle to docks in Seattle. ...   more »