This summer SDOT will make bicycling easier and safer in Green Lake by installing bike lanes and sharrows to connect the bike lanes on East Green Lake Way N to the bike lanes on NE Ravenna Blvd. This will connect homes, Green Lake Elementary and the shops along NE 65th St to Green Lake Park and the network of bike lanes in the area.
Let’s take a look at the route. Starting at East Green Lake Way N along the lake and heading east, SDOT will add sharrows and bike lanes on one block of N 65th St., on Woodlawn Ave N for two blocks and on N/NE 65th St to NE Ravenna Blvd. Why don’t we add bike lanes on both sides? Like many streets in Seattle, these roads simply aren’t wide enough for that. In these cases, we make the most of our limited space by installing bike lanes on the uphill side of the street so cyclists have space to climb the hill as cars pass.
The city’s “Complete Streets” policy makes sure we consider all types of transportation and design our streets to accommodate as many modes as possible. What did we find out? Bus service will not be affected here and this corridor is not a designated freight route. About twelve parking spots will be removed on the north side of the street near Green Lake Elementary. Part of this parking is already restricted on weekdays, and our studies indicate the parking can be accommodated on the other side of the street and on side streets.
If you’d like more details, click here.
SDOT continues adding bicycle facilities all over town. One day these many bicycle facilities will become one, interconnected bicycle network connecting every neighborhood to every other neighborhood.