The Seattle City Council unanimously approved the 10-year Bicycle Master Plan on Monday that one local bike activist called the best in the nation.
Mayor Greg Nickels, who just finished hosting the US Conference of Mayors on Climate Change, says he hopes to triple the number of people who ride bicycles in the city. The most recent figures from September show 2,300 cyclists rode their bikes into downtown.
The plan calls for spending about $240 million over the life of the plan to build a network of bike lanes, bike routes and multi-use trails criss-crossing the city.
Maybe this will resolve the “Portland envy” that many cyclists are feeling. (The New York Times reported on Portland's progress over the weekend.)
The improvements include 295 miles of bicycle facilities on Seattle's arterials, another 230 miles of signed bike routes, and an additional 19 miles trails. The plans starts with increasing Seattle's 67 miles of bike lanes to 135 miles in three years.
A property tax levy — Bridging the Gap — is slated to pay for about $27 million of the improvements, but the city plans to seek federal grant to help pay for other upgrades.
Gordon Black, executive director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, told the council members:
“Seattle has truly stepped forward and made a commitment to investing in a sustainable form of transportation. Your decision … will undoubtedly help towards making cycling more appealing to a greater number of people. That, in turn, will help ensure that Seattle continues to exceed its targets in reducing (greenhouse gas) emissions.”
More at the Seattle Times and the Seattle PI.
The Seattle Bicycle Master Plan is available online. The city's website has the plan in its entirety, by chapter and by map.
Here are the highlights of the master plan that should be finished in the next three years:
Ship Canal Trail: Build a link from Interbay to Seattle Pacific University, going under south end of Ballard Bridge.
Golden Gardens Park: Finish the last mile of Burke-Gilman Trail from Ballard to the beach park.
Street markings: A total of 64 miles of bike lanes by 2009, and 54 miles of “sharrows,” icons that remind drivers to share the streets with cyclists.
Education campaign: Safety messages and stepped-up enforcement (for bicyclists and motorists).
Queen Anne bridge: To be built in 2009-10 from Myrtle Edwards Park to West Thomas Street, reaching Lower Queen Anne and Seattle Center.
“Bike boulevards”: Eight miles of side streets marked for bike travel as an alternative to riding on heavily used arterials.
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