SNG: Imagining a truly bike-friendly Uptown and South Lake Union
Lyle Bicknell from Seattle's Dept. of Planning and Development helped lead a bike tour of South Lake Union and Uptown in July.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The only thing worse than biking in South Lake Union is driving in South Lake Union. But unlike driving, there are some relatively easy and quickly-achievable ways to dramatically improve bike routes to and through our city's fastest-growing neighborhood.
Over the summer, I joined Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, local residents, city staff and City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw for a bike tour of South Lake Union and Lower Queen Anne/Uptown. It was eye-opening mostly because of how clear the solutions are. SNG has compiled the feedback from the ride into a report with specific suggestions the city, developers and major employers should take seriously.
Below is the report from the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways blog, republished here with permission. Thanks especially to Gordon Padelford and Cathy Tuttle for their work and offering us this post.
South Lake Union Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Scouting Ride July 2015
In July 2015, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways brought together a group of stakeholders to scout and recommend better east"west connections between the Cascade and Uptown neighborhoods for families and people of all ages and abilities to navigate the fastest growing part of Seattle by bike.
The scouting ride had representatives from the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, Seattle Parks, Seattle Parks Foundation, the Lake to Bay Loop Coalition, Seattle Bike Blog, Queen Anne Greenways, Cascade Bicycle Club, Lake Union Greenways, Central Seattle Greenways, and the Seattle City Council.
Top Four Recommendations- Roll Out the G"reen Carpet:"T"he Mercer Street Underpass is an excellent and important all ages and abilities route across Aurora. Extend the "green carpet" east, west, and south in order to connect South Lake Union, Uptown, and Seattle Center."
Top Four Recommendations
- Lake to Bay " Broad Street must be all ages and abilities. Sharrows on Broad Street are not an acceptable level of safety or comfort for this major redesign proposed by the Lake to Bay Planning effort. While confident adults may feel comfortable taking the lane on bicycles in traffic, the majority people do not.
- Upgrade the Thomas Green Street to neighborhood greenway standards. Thomas Street between Eastlake Ave E and 5th Ave N could be a world"class east"west bike route once the Aurora overpass is built.
- Build a Greenway from the Thomas St Overpass to the Seattle Center." How to get from the waterfront to Seattle Center by bike? The best route scouted between the beautiful Thomas Street Overpass and Seattle Center's August Wilson Way is a zig"zag route.
Scroll, zoom, and click the map recommendations below to learn more or view in a new window.
View our complete letter of all recommendations for people bike to and through South Lake Union below or view in a new window.