Watch: Touring the remade Eastlake Ave from REI to Lakeview Blvd

Hanoch from Best Side Cycling recently published a quick tour of the remade section of Eastlake Avenue E that runs next to I-5 from the REI flagship store to the Lakeview Boulevard bridge. Work on the project, a partnership between King County Metro and SDOT, wrapped up over the winter and includes protected bike lanes, a new section of trail and a lot of extra layover spaces for buses.

This is not the part of Eastlake Ave that is getting a redesign as part of the RapidRide J project. That's an entirely separate project that will be under construction for a while longer.

This section of Eastlake Ave serves several different roles in the city's bike network. Because of the hilly terrain and the lack of local street connectivity due to I-5 and the massive Mercer Street freeway interchange, a lot of different bike trips end up on this stretch of Eastlake Ave. For folks coming from parts of Capitol Hill, it connects the Lakeview Blvd overpass to Stewart Street and South Lake Union. For folks in a hurry, it is also secretly the fastest southbound bike route from Lakeview Blvd or the Eastake neighborhood to the heart of downtown because it bypasses a lot of the congested areas of South Lake Union and utilizes Stewart Street's diagonal alignment to cut across the street grid (though biking on Stewart is not for the faint of heart). The Lakeview Blvd overpass is the only I-5 crossing option for the 1.2 miles between Denny Way and the I-5 Colonnade Park. I-5 is a pox on these neighborhoods.

Most of the project area is now far better than it used to be, which was awful. A dangerous road with multiple lanes in the same direction and sporadic on-street parking, biking this stretch was often a white-knuckle experience. Buy adding the bus layover space and protected bike lanes, it is a much calmer street. The biking experience on the street is dramatically better.

However, the project unfortunately ended before addressing the many safety problems at the complex intersection with Stewart and John Streets, which also includes multiple freeway off-ramps. Perhaps the worst part of the design is that there is no bike signal for crossing from John Street and REI to the new northbound bike lane. Instead, folks are left to either bike on the west sidewalk or cut across the street during a break in traffic. Neither of these are great options. This intersection desperately needs a full rethink because it does not make any sense for anyone. It's not even good for people driving cars since they are often routed into lanes that leave them on the wrong side of the road just a block from popular Denny Way turn lanes, forcing all kinds of high-stress merges. Meanwhile, people on bikes are supposed to somehow find their own ways through it all.

Longtime readers know where I'm going with this: Let's build a Stewart Street bikeway! Stewart Street is a rare through-street that climbs gradually and runs diagonal to the grid, making it an especially good candidate for walking and biking improvements. It is also far too wide, creating all kinds of dangerous situations for all road users. Its outdated design encourages speeding, requires far too many lane merges and has no dedicated safe space for its many bike riders. While it is a one-way street for driving, it could be a fantastic two-way bike route that travels in a straight line between REI and Pike Place Market. Before the Center City Connector Streetcar, Stewart was designated for bike lanes. The only reason downtown sections of those bike lanes were removed from the city's bike plan was to accommodate the streetcar tracks, which would not include bike lanes for the section along Stewart Street. But that streetcar line is (probably) dead, which means SDOT should put the Stewart Street bikeway back in the plan. A Stewart Street bikeway could be integrated into an intersection redesign that makes this area much more comfortable for everyone.

One Seattle Bike Blog reader has also voiced concerns about the signal at Lakeview Blvd where the new trail" for folks biking northbound crosses in front of right-turning traffic. There is a No Turn On Red" sign, but the reader said compliance at least initially was low, leading to some close calls. I made a note to go observe the area myself to see if this is still an issue, but I have not yet done so. Part of the issue may be that because the northbound bike route here is designed as a shared-use path" instead of a bike lane, it just looks like a regular sidewalk, which it basically is. So perhaps drivers won't be expecting faster-moving bikes. If everyone follows the law, then there shouldn't be any issues. But if folks are regularly ignoring the turn restriction, it can become dangerous. Do you ride through here regularly? Let us know in the comments below how it has been working for you.