Seahawk Michael Bennett recently joined Mayor Ed Murray and community members for a Bike to Work Day (May 15) ride. Seattle Police provided a loaner (SPD) bike for Michael as he and the group took a ride along the Lake Washington Ship Canal near Fremont on a gorgeous sunny Spring day in Seattle.
Please checkout out a video of the ride and Michael’s thoughts on healthy living and being active:
We were so glad to have Michael Bennett join us; as you probably know, Michael borrowed a Seattle Police bike and took a victory lap inside Century Link Field after the Seahawks won the NFC Championship game on the road to the Super Bowl last season.
Michael supports biking and recently launched the Michael Bennett Foundation to battle childhood obesity, he encouraged everyone to get out and ride because it’s a healthy and fun way to get out and enjoy the city. He bikes with his family and gets out at least twice a week.
Michael Bennett; Mayor Ed Murray; Elizabeth Kiker , Cascade Bicycle Club
Bike trips on Seattle’s major bike routes are up 12 percent during the first 4 months of 2015, compared the same period last year. On the 39th Ave NE greenway, which provides a bike friendly corridor through Seattle neighborhoods of Wedgewood and Bryant to the Burke-Gillman trail, bike traffic has increased 40 percent.
Fremont Bridge’s bike counter tallied more than one million riders in 2014. The Pronto! cycle share program now has 50 stations throughout Seattle, and will be adding two new stations this month.
SDOT continues to improve bicycle access and mobility enhancements throughout the city. Last year SDOT completed the 1.2 mile Second Avenue protected bike lane now used by more than 1,000 cyclists a day.
This year, SDOT begins construction of the permanent Roosevelt Way protected bike lane and the Westlake cycle track. The department will build a total of 12 miles of neighborhood greenways and seven miles of bike lanes in neighborhoods throughout Seattle in 2015.
Thanks to everyone that participated in the ride. For useful bicycling information and an online bike map, please visit SDOT’s biking webpage.