What is now the Bradford Street Connector used to be a steep, dirt trail, shown in this “before” photo, from 43rd Avenue South to Genesee Park in the Mount Baker neighborhood.
The Bradford Street Connector, a BTG project, is a smoothly paved trail with a switchback to reduce the grade, providing easy access to Genesee Park and Lake Washington.
One essential element of making it easier to move around in Seattle is the installation and maintenance of the bicycle and pedestrian trail system across the city. Thanks to the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative approved by Seattle voters in 2006, more than four miles of new trail have been constructed and annual trail maintenance performed by the Seattle Department of Transportation.
Trail segments constructed include: the Burke Gilman Extension along Shilshole, the Duwamish Trail in West Seattle, the Lake Union Ship Canal Trail on the south side of the canal, the Bradford Street Connector in the Mount Baker neighborhood, and the Burke Gilman-Magnuson Park Spur. These segments help make connections to the larger network of trails in the city and across the region providing key links between neighborhoods.
While building the trail system is the first step, maintaining it is the second step! Bridging the Gap provides funding to help inspect the trails and make necessary spot improvements to keep them in working order. Since 2007, SDOT has inspected more than 176 miles of trail and made more than 173 spot improvements. Spot improvements include things like patching broken pavement, restoring missing signs, trimming trees, landscaping and general trail repair. In 2014, SDOT crews will inspect 40 miles of trail and make 10 spot improvements to keep us moving along smoothly!
Bridging the Gap is making Seattle a more vibrant city through improvements to roads, sidewalks, bike facilities and key improvements to key transit routes, all of which make it easier to navigate from one place to another using a variety of modes. For more information on Bridging the Gap, please visit SDOT’s Bridging the Gap Web page.