If you're looking for a fresh bicycle trail to ride this weekend, you might want to head over to the just-completed Lake Washington Trail – South Lake Connector trail in Renton (see map below).
At less than a mile long, the multi-use trail fills the missing link on the Lake Washington bike route and connects the Cedar River Trail to a network of bicycling trails and bike lanes in King County.
I discovered that cyclists could use the trail on Friday as I poked around on my bicycle in Renton. Although crews are still working on landscaping and no signs have been installed, the trail is clearly in use.
The official opening of the trail, also named the Sam Chastain Trail, is 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 8.
I wrote earlier about the bike trail — “History of flight remembered in Renton bike trail” — because it pays homage to the city's place in the aviation history.
Located near the municipal airport and the Boeing facilities, the trail contains some 70 castings that reflect the history of flight in the region. Not all are uncovered, but the ones that are show airplanes manufactured by Boeing and aircraft that frequent the nearby airport. The plaque above reads:
“Beginning in 1942, Boeing built the B-29 Superfortress at the new 95 acre Renton plant, which rolled out 1,119 of the huge bombers by 1946.”
The castings are the creation of Judith and Daniel Caldwell, artists at the Art Community in White Center.
At the south end, the trail connects with the Cedar River Trail at the bridge on Logan Avenue North. Instead of taking the old narrow river trail (popular with walkers) up to Sixth Street, cyclists can veer off onto the new path and head up to Sixth Street along Logan Avenue.
At the intersection, cyclists can make a left turn onto Logan and follow the bike lane to a left turn toward Coulon Park, or continue on Sixth Street to Garden Avenue then proceed past the Paccar plant to get onto Lake Washington Boulevard at Coulon Park.
As you can see at left, a yellow center line splits the trail into northbound and southbound lanes. It's an attempt to keep everyone to the right to make it easier for cyclists to pass groups of people out for a walk.
By the way, Mother's Day is Sunday, and it's also the first a dozen
Bicycle Sundays that will be held on Lake Washington Boulevard in
Seattle this summer. The 2-1/2 mile scenic stretch of Lake Washington
Boulevard will be closed to motor vehicle traffic from Mount Baker
Beach to Seward Park between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Cyclists can incorporate the car-free section of Lake Washington Blvd. and this trail in Renton into a 25-mile loop ride around south Lake Washington
View South Lake Connector – Phase II in a larger map
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