The Seattle Bicycle Master Plan seeks to double the miles of bicycle lanes and marked bike routes in the city within the next two years and begin work on the "final mile" of the Burke-Gilman Trail in Ballard.
The document was posted online at the city's transportation department website in conjunction with Mayor Greg Nickel's press conference Wednesday morning.
The document calls for adding 136 miles of bicycle lanes and marked bike routes to the city's existing 67-mile network in the next two years. Most of this work will be accomplished as part of street upgrades funded by last fall's transportation levy.
Within the next 10 years, Seattle plans to add 452 miles of marked or separated bicycle routes criss-crossing the city. These too will be added while other street upgrades are underway.
Burke-Gilman
One of the highlights of the first stage of the plan is completion of the final mile of the Burke-Gilman Trail between Northwest 60th Street and Golden Gardens Park. In addition, the city plans to open the Sealth Trail on Beacon Hill this spring and build a bridge over railroad tracks from Lower Queen Anne to the waterfront.
According to a press release:
"Riders will soon see new features in Seattle’s growing bike network, including “sharrows,” which are uniquely marked roadways alerting motorists that cyclists may be in the area. The markings also let cyclists know where they should ride within the lane.
"A new street sign system along bike routes will make it easier for riders to get around the city using the most efficient and safest routes."
Sharrow
Those sharrows, a new pavement marking for Seattle, will be placed on parts of Wallingford Avenue North, Northeast 45th Street, Seneca Street, South Henderson Street and Third Avenue West.
The first round of projects also includes bike lanes for Avalon Way Southwest, 16th Avenue Southwest near South Seattle Community College, Eighth Avenue Northwest and Eighth Avenue downtown.
A press conference was scheduled for Wednesday morning at Sturgis Park to release the bicycle master plan, which the city has been developing for 18 months.
Nickels said the goal of the bike master plan is to make Seattle the safest city in the nation for bicycling.
“Every day, thousands of people across this city use bikes to commute to work, exercise or run errands - and the numbers are growing. Encouraging more people to ride is one important way we can reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.”
The $27 million for the first round of bike improvements comes from the $365 million transportation levy that Seattle voters approved last fall. City officials will have to fish to cover the total price tag of $240 million for all the bicycling improvements.
Early reaction to the bike plan was mixed.
Dave Hiller of the Cascade Bicycle Club, which worked on the project, told the Seattle Times, "In my opinion, this is the best plan in the country."
Commenting online at the Seattle Times, one reader sarcastically suggested adding roller-skating lanes, while another would rather time-travel back to 1975 when the streets were less congested. There were also comments about prosecuting motorists who kill and injure cyclists and the need to reduce bike riders' bus fare to take a one-stop ride over the Highway 520 bridge, which doesn't have bike lanes.
