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Time to get out for a spin – rain or shine!

The month of May has ushered in Bike Month!  While things started off quite nice with a 90 degree day, things have since turned a little damp, but that’s no excuse!   It’s time to dust off the bike, pump up the tires and get outside for a ride.  Thanks to the  Seattle Transportation Initiative – Bridging the Gap (BTG) – riding your bike to work or for play has gotten easier.

In seven years, 156 miles of bike route signage has been installed, over four miles of new trail has been constructed and more than173 improvements have been made to Seattle’s urban trails and bikeways. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is taking big steps to increase the number of on-street bike facilities.  Before BTG, the city had fewer than 20 miles of bike lanes and sharrows. Today we have more than 150 miles of new bike lanes and sharrows and have restriped more than 220 miles.

Wallingford Greenway.

Wallingford Greenway.

Last year saw a big ramp-up in the neighborhood greenways program with more than seven miles installed. Greenways offer a safer and more comfortable place to walk and ride a bike for everyone from kids to grandparents and include improvements like speed humps, sidewalk improvements and wayfinding signs. For more information on the green way to travel visit SDOT’s program web page.

This spring also saw the adoption of the updated Bicycle Master Plan (BMP).  The BMP provides a bold vision for making needed investments in Seattle’s bicycle infrastructure and is supported by five goals which articulate the plan’s future achievements. The goals set the basis for the plan’s performance measures and frame the prioritization criteria that help define which projects should be built first:

Bike improvements on Othello Street.

Bike improvements on Othello Street.

  • Ridership – Increase amount and mode share of bicycle riding in Seattle for all trip purposes.
  • Safety – Improve safety for bicycle riders in Seattle.
  • Connectivity – Create a high-quality bicycle network that connects to places people want to go and provides a time-competitive travel option.
  • Equity – Improve bicycle riding for all through equity in public engagement, program delivery, and capital investments.
  • Livability – Build vibrant communities by creating a welcoming environment for bicycle riding.

SDOT is committed to making Seattle a place for all cyclists.  With the help of funding from BTG we have made steady progress.  There is more work to do and through the remaining two years of the BTG program we will continue making Seattle a more bikeable city.  For more information on BTG please visit the web page.