I am so happy to be back biking again in Seattle. There are so many different trails to explore and I have been enjoying getting back to all my favorite routes. I have tried biking in many different places in the world (although not as much as I would like to) but I really believe that Seattle has some of the most scenic routes in the world. There is such a mix of different types of riding and trails and you are never far from some kind of water- lake, slough, river or Puget Sound. I often think of stopping to take pictures until I realize I probably have already taken the same photo on previous rides years before.
I started this blog to write about my biking in Seattle. I wrote about the trails I ride on and all the connection improvements in the work all over Puget Sound. But, retirement changed my focus. We have been lucky enough to spend the cold and rainy months away from Seattle and the blog has been documenting those adventures. Now we are back in Seattle for the summer and I have gotten back into riding on my old routes again. Not having a job has allowed me to take the time to explore everything without deadlines or timetables. I have been going a little overboard on riding recently as you can see by my 2023 heatmap below.
After retiring last year, moving over the summer, and then taking off on our travel adventures, I didn’t really ride much in 2022. So I was excited to see all the trail improvements that have happened over the last couple of years. Seattle and King County have some great scenic trails but a lot of them don’t fully connect to each other quite yet. There are several areas where protected bike lanes end, but most of those locations have been identified as future trail connections. The city and country websites that report on trail project status haven’t been kept up, so it is hard to understand what has happened unless you get out on the trails. Here is what I found out…
The waterfront has been torn up for so long that it is easy to forget that this used to be the workhorse bike route for most people riding North and South through Seattle. After being out of Seattle for a while, the waterfront is always one of the first places I visit to see the new progress on our promised “waterfront park” now that the viaduct is gone. The new trail being built at the south end of the waterfront is almost done and looks really nice despite being built next to several lanes of traffic. North of the aquarium looks the same way it always has, but now they have released some plans on how they are going to connect the waterfront trail to Myrtle Edwards park. From the drawing above, you can see they have chosen to put the trail on the East side of Alaskan Way, so bikes won’t interfere with cruise ship loading and unloading. Frustrating that bikes have to cross the road twice… I think most riders will continue to ride in the road and avoid the protected bike lane. And traffic is still moving way too fast. See my post from 2021.
The rest of Seattle hasn’t seen much improvements. Rainier Ave is still crazy dangerous. MLK bike lanes have yet to be started. King street through the ID is still one of the most scary places to ride but it is the fastest way to get from Beacon Hill or the Rainier Valley to downtown. The Beacon Hill bike lanes are still in the design process (I think we are going on year 5). The Burke Gilman missing link is still stuck in perpetual litigation. The 520 lid near UW is still in work. There is still no East West route across Sodo. But they did improve some of the trails around Green Lake. This should help keep bikes off the way-too-busy walking and running trail around the lake.
The city also added a protected bike lane for a few blocks on West Marginal Way. It isn’t long but it is a necessary section in connecting the Auburn/Kent Valley to Seattle via the Green River Trail and Interurban. The last open section is between Cecil Moses park and South Park and it looks like it is still going to be a couple of years on that one.
I also road to Puyallup on the Interurban trail to see any improvements on my old commuting path. Not much to report. The interurban is getting some root bumps taken out South of Auburn and the trail was extended a few blocks through Algona and Pacific. But there is still an unsigned connection to the Sumner trail and an unsigned connection in Sumner that is really confusing unless you ride it every day. The Puyallup to Tacoma section will be done with the Highway 167 extension. All of this needs to be fixed before we can really say there is a safe Seattle to Tacoma bike trail.
I rode East of Seattle as well. The Eastrail (Bellevue to Woodinille) is still plodding alone slowly. Renton to Bellevue is built but the Southern half is STILL not paved and there is no connection to Coulon park in Renton. I think they are working on the bridge over 405 near the old Wilburton tunnel but I don’t think they have started on the bridge over I-90 or the eventual trestle in Bellevue. They are building a new bridge over NE 8th St as part of a light rail station in Bellevue but they haven’t started on the trail South of it so it is going to be a while before it is actually used.
I rode the Kirkland connector which now has been extended to connect to the Sammamish River trail in the Woodinville valley. Unfortunately it is still not paved and I don’t think they have any plans to do it soon. This is going to be a busy trail once they get it paved and finished. They are building the bridge over Totem Lake Blvd and it looks like it will be finished in the next month.
On another day I rode the I-90 trail to Issaquah to ride on the East side of Lake Sammamish to go Redmond and Woodinville. The I-90 trail has been extended from Eastgate but it ends before you get to 150th St without any signs telling you which way to go.
You need to get back on 36th to get to the bike overpass that crosses I-90 at 150th. The trail to Issaquah is fine but it isn’t signed very well so a lot of cyclists are still getting lost. I was hoping the East Lake Sammamish trail from Issaquah to Redmond would be complete but it looks like it is going to be another year. Lots of the old rail trail have been paved but there is still a lot of work to do. When you get to Redmond you still need to got through Marymoor park to get to the Sammamish river trail. Eventually you should be able to ride on a trail through Redmond but that will probably be open with the light rail station in 2025 or 2026.
Overall I was underwhelmed in the connection improvements I saw. Everything seems to take way longer than it should. I can still ride safely and I stick to those trails and roads where I am comfortable. But bike trails need to be designed so 7 year olds can ride them safely. I believe the politicians and transportation department people of King County and the various cities understand this now, and funding has become available for a lot of these missing sections, but the trails just aren’t getting completed in a timely manner. Maybe next year….