“Bicycle leaning rails” and other trail improvements you’ll love

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced that exciting bicycle and pedestrian improvements are coming soon to the Burke-Gilman Trail near the University Village Shopping Center. 

Bicycle leaning rails

At intersection of the Burke-Gilman Trail and 25th Avenue NE, SDOT will install the region’s first set of bicycle leaning rails. Leaning rails allow people on bikes to rest their foot and have something to hold onto for balance while waiting at a traffic light. Bicycle leaning rails have already implimented in Copenhagan and Chicago.

The new rails will be installed on each side of 25th Avenue NE intersection.

Besides being utterly awesome and convenient, SDOT’s press release states the leaning rails will help encourage bike riders to queue on one side of the trail, leaving the sidewalk clear for pedestrians to cross.

That’s not all. SDOT is bringing additional improvements to this intersection, including:

  • Upgraded curb ramps to bring the intersection into American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. 
  • Signal modifications to create a protected bicycle/pedestrian phase for the south crossing on the Burke-Gilman Trail with bicycle icon signal heads, push buttons and radar detection.
  • Signal modifications to reduce conflicts in the south crosswalk. A new right-turn only pocket and protected turning phase on the west side of the intersection will be installed for eastbound motorists on NE Blakeley Street. 

​Construction at 25th Ave NE and the Burke-Gilman Trail is scheduled to begin next week. ​

Raised crosswalk on Burke Gilman Trail at 30th Avenue NE

This intersection will be improved with a raised crosswalk. Raised crosswalks encourage slower vehicle speeds, improve visibility between motorists and pedestrians and maintain a level crossing for people biking, walking or with disabilities.

During construction, 30th Avenue NE and the Burke-Gilman Trail will be temporarily detoured to avoid the construction site.

This portion of the project is expected to start construction in January 2015.

You can learn more about the project, construction timeline and impacts at SDOT's webpage.

These are just two projects identified in the University Area Transportation Action Strategy. The Action Strategy was completed in 2008 to improve mobility and safety of the University Area and surrounding neighborhoods.

Stay tuned for project updates!

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