A new Portage Bay bridge is coming as part of the 520 replacement project. The bridges that we build today will shape how people get around the region and our city for the next 60-75 years. When we built the I-90 bridge, we created brand new links across the lake and enabled people to get from one side to the other on foot or bike. The success of that link is partly because we made the choice to maximize the benefit of that investment by building bike and pedestrian tunnels that made getting to downtown and the central Seattle neighborhoods easy and direct. Today, we are in the process of deciding whether or not we want to maximize the investment being made in the new link across the lake  on the 520 bridge by connecting it with the rest of Seattle with a multi-use trail on the new Portage Bay bridge.

Recently, we asked for your support in asking the city to ask WSDOT to include the multi-use trail as part of the Portage Bay Replacement. We quickly collected 346 signatures from regular people all across the city, including long time residents of Montlake who will be neighbors to the new bridge and are interested in what is best for their community and for Seattle. Since then, the Seattle Design Commission has come out in support of the multi-use trail and the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board is expected to follow suit. While we have had broad support, we have also seen concerns from some members of the community who are concerned about the additional width of the bridge that the multi-use trail would cause.

Continue reading →

If you want a bike and pedestrian shared use path on the Portage Bay bridge, add your name to our letter to WSDOT and SDOT!

The multi-use trail on the 520 bridge is a new, important link in the regional bike and pedestrian network, but the current plan is for the trail to end in Montlake. We see this as a half-built trail and have, along with other greenway and community advocates, been active in pushing for WSDOT to complete the trail by building the final link on the Portage Bay bridge. We believe that the neighborhoods of Seattle would be best served by a simple, safe and direct connection between Montlake and the Delmar lid (where I-5 and 520 meet), and are happy that we have been able to help put this back in the spotlight where it needs to be.

The current plan calls for people trying to reach Downtown, Capitol Hill, or Eastlake to wind through the neighborhood after the trail ends by Montlake Blvd. The problem is that these routes all have either steep hills, busy streets with high-speed traffic, or circuitous routes that can be up to double the length that the portage bay multi-use trail would be. While these routes serve local connections inside Montlake well, they don’t foster inter-neighborhood connections that are dramatically different from what we have today. A multi-use trail on Portage Bay would do that and if it is going to be done, now is the time to do it. If it is not built with the replacement now, the cost and hassle of jury rigging something later is going to make sure it never happens.

Continue reading →

Next week is the last Community Design Process public meeting for the 520 bridge project. We need your help to ensure that the project links our communities together with high-quality and family-friendly pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. If done poorly, this massive construction project could make it even more difficult for people ages 8-80 to get around on foot or on bike. Our largest ask of WSDOT is the continuation of the multi-use trail from Montlake to Roanoake. Building this trail will better connect all of the surrounding neighborhoods and the region.

Continue reading →

Last night, several members of Central Seattle Greenways and other Seattle Neighborhood Greenways groups attended a meeting in the Montlake Community Center on the Portage Bay Bridge section of the 520 bridge replacement program. We checked in with WSDOT to see what changes will be coming to our inter-neighborhood connections at the north end of Capitol Hill, and provide feedback on their proposals for active transportation facilities on the 520 lids and the Portage Bay Bridge.

As a greenways advocate, three connections stood out as being especially important in the new renderings and designs of the Roanoke area and the Delmar Lid, which will be between 10th Avenue East and Delmar Drive East. A bike/pedestrian connection on the Portage Bay Bridge, a new connection between Delmar Drive East and Boyer Ave E, and a link over I-5 on E Roanoke.

Continue reading →