Downtown Basic Bike Network advances; time to build a network for the rest of the city

Thanks to your advocacy, much of the Basic Bike Network will be completed this year. Now it’s time to create a citywide network, so that biking is a safe and accessible option for all, across Seattle. Join us on April 2nd to tell council that safe places to bike, from Northgate to Rainier Beach and from Ballard to West Seattle, are a must-have, not a nice-to-have.

Your Voice Helped Advance the Basic Bike Network

Remember when we rallied at city hall last May in the wake of yet another delay to the long-awaited Basic Bike Network?  And the swift follow up of council’s unanimously backed timeline to complete the Basic Bike Network? So do we. And so does SDOT. 

At a recent presentation to council, SDOT staff shared progress on building all ages and abilities connections from the “spine” – the 2nd Avenue protected bike lane – to neighborhoods north, south and east. Many of those connections are scheduled to be in place by the end of the year, and appear to have stayed on track thanks to public demand and council support. It’s a testament to what’s possible when we come together and tell city leaders that safe and accessible streets matter. 

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Above: SDOT’s latest plan and timeline for the Basic Bike Network, presented to council March 19th

Time to Come Together Again for Citywide Action

Next comes the city plan (the 2019-2023 Bike Master Plan Implementation Plan) for what protected bikeways and greenways we can expect to see completed over the next few years. It’s time to highlight what’s at stake: During the lifetime of the plan we must aggressively re-imagine our streets to meet everyone’s needs – including those who bike, walk, and roll. A safe connected network is necessary to increase trips by bike. Our goal is 1 in 10 trips by bike by 2021, and we have a plan to get there. 

Last year Cascade launched the Connect Seattle campaign: 14 projects which, if completed by 2021, will create a minimum grid of connected bikeways across the city just as Link Light Rail in Roosevelt and Northgate opens. We’ve been advocating that the Connect Seattle projects be included in the new Bike Master Plan Implementation Plan. Seattleites know that when the streets we use feel safe to bike on, more of us choose to bike – to work, to the store, to a restaurant. That’s why, as the top priority, we want the city to follow through on Connect Seattle projects by 2021. The map doesn’t encompass every route, but will go a long way to get more people throughout Seattle on bikes. 

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Join us April 2nd to tell city leaders that we need them to act; that safe places to bike across the city are long overdue.