Category: Bike trails
An historic auto road that goes deep into the Mount Rainier National Park will be permanently converted into a trail for bicyclists and hikers under a plan announced by the park service on Friday.
The Carbon River Road in the northwest end of the park has been closed to auto traffic since 2006 because of a series of damaging floods. It has remained open, when possible, as far as the Isput Creek Campground for hikers and bikers.
Under the new plan, an effort will be made to retain as much of the historic road as possible. Trails that connect those old road sections along the Carbon River will be upgraded for bicycle use.
That 5-mile-long road was originally built in 1921. It connected the park entrance ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/12/mount-rainiers-carbon-river-road-to-become-bike-hike-trail/
Another missing link in an off-road bicycling route between Seattle and the Cascades has been closed.
The state transportation and parks departments completed a 1.2-mile connector trail between the Issaquah-High Point Trail and the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail in December.
The trail, which cost $4.7 million, eliminates one of the gaps in the Mountains to Sound Greenway that runs from the Seattle waterfront to Central Washington generally along the Interstate 90 corridor.
I rolled up there last month to check it out. It starts across the street …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2011/02/04/high-point-preston-trail-another-gap-closed-in-the-mountains-to-sound-greenway/
Mt. Baker
tunnel suspectAfter the attacks on four women in Seattle parks and trails the past few weeks, police are urging women to take measures to ensure their safety.
All of the attacks have occurred after dark against women who were jogging or running alone. The locations — Colman Park, Seward Park and Mt. Baker tunnel area — are all along the western shore of Lake Washington.
Although none of the assaults involved women on bicycles, a Nov. 16 attack occurred near the east entrance of the Mount Baker tunnel, an area used by many bicycle commuters.
When a half dozen bicyclists were pulled off their bikes and mugged in the Mount Baker tunnel area during a period in 2008 and 2009, police and bike advocates urged that bicyclists ride in groups through the area. Riding with a pal or in a group…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/13/police-urge-women-to-use-caution-in-seattle-parks-and-trails/
A new section of trail that connects the High Point Trail and the Preston-Snoqualmie Trail in eastern King County is complete and will be unveiled this week.
State highway crews started on the project in June, and officials will mark the completion of the 1.2-mile packed-gravel trail at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the west end of the connector trail.
The regional trail is the latest addition in the Mountains to Sound Greenway. It will be maintained as part of the King County Regional Trails system.
The trail closes a gap in the network of bicycle trails that connect Golden Gardens Park on Puget Sound to an overlook for Snoqualmie Falls. These trails include the Burke Gilman ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/12/missing-link-completed-for-bikers-and-hikers-near-issaquah/
By most accounts, the Greenbelt trail that runs along the north side of the Boise River in Garden City was conceived as a bicycle path.
Now a group of Idaho bicyclists has gone to court to regain their rights to ride their bikes on a 1.5-mile section of the trail that has been marked as a dismount zone in Garden City for about 3 years.
As you can see from a regional trail map, the Greenbelt is part of a network of paths running in fits and starts along both sides of the river in Eagle, Garden City and Boise. But walking your bike for a mile-and-a-half is like having no trail at all, especially for those who need it for commuting ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/11/20/bicyclists-sue-over-bike-path-dismount-zone-in-idaho-city/
A bicycle industry association whose mission is to encourage more people to ride their bikes awarded $30,000 this fall to bike trails in Massachusetts, West Virginia, South Carolina, Nebraska and Missouri.
The grants from the Bikes Belong Coalition will help make repairs and improvements to bike trails in some cases, while helping to get others “shovel ready.”
A prime example is the $10,000 awarded for repairs in Morgantown, West Virginia, to the Decker Creek Trail, part of a 48-mile network of trails. The grant to the Monongahela River Trails Conservancy …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/11/18/bikes-belong-issues-grants-for-5-bicycle-trails/
It's in the fall when the weeds dry up and leaves fall from the trees that the true nature of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail in western Washington reveals itself as an old railroad route.
The trail runs some 100 miles from near North Bend to the Columbia River. It slices through the deep evergreen woods of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, but grasses, weeds, shrubs and deciduous trees grow along the abandoned right-of-way.
When those leaves fall and the weeds die off, remnants of the old railroad days are easier to see ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/10/08/fall-bike-ride-on-the-john-wayne-pioneer-trail/
Are you a member of the American Automobile Association? It's OK. Lots of bicyclists, myself included, are members.
We own cars and like the security of the roadside assistance that the club offers, as well as the travel and insurance coverage services.
Now the Rails to Trails Conservancy is concerned about a position taken by the AAA's Mid-Atlantic Chapter to remove funding for trails, and other biking and walking projects, from the federal Highway Trust Fund. That segment of the transportation budget has been the source of funding for such balanced transportation projects since 1991.
RTC is asking bicyclists and pedestrians to sign a petition to AAA seeking the auto club's support
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/09/28/rails-to-trails-petitions-aaa-on-bicycle-and-pedestrian-projects/
After I noticed this past weekend that Renton had lowered speed limits on the Cedar River Trail to 10 mph and imposed a $101 fine [see Monday's article], I contacted the Cascade Bicycle Club to see if they had an opinion about the city's action.
Here's the response from David Hiller, advocacy director for the Seattle-based bike club:
“We find Renton’s response to be unsound and grossly disproportionate. Though we promptly reached out to staff at the city following the tragic circumstances that led a pedestrian to die from a collision, none of our guidance was taken and, with the exception of one phone call from an apologetic staffer, the promised coordination never materialized.
“We continue to discuss mounting a full scale campaign to get Renton to reverse the course it has taken ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/08/25/cascade-bicycle-club-responds-to-10-mph-speed-limit-on-rentons-cedar-river-rail-trail/
The City of Renton has lowered the speed limit for bicycles to 10 mph on most of the Cedar River Trail. Bicyclists must dismount on the remaining sections. [See maps below]
Violation of the speed limit carries a $101 fine, according to signs posted on the path.
The Cedar River Trail is a rail-trail that runs from the mouth of Lake Washington to Landsburg, a distance of about 17 miles. The restrictions of bicycle riders target only the western 4.5 miles of the trail in Renton.
The measures are a reaction to the death of an 83-year-old woman this spring after she stepped in front of a moving bicycle about a quarter-mile from where the trail passes under I-405.
Both the woman and the 57-year-old bicyclist fell to the ground and were knocked unconcious, according to news reports. The cyclist recovered at the scene, but the woman later died of her injuries at the hospital.
No charges were ever filed in that case. Renton's mayor and city council set about limiting or restricting bicycle use on the multi-use trail at its next meeting
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/08/23/rentons-new-10-mph-bicycle-speed-limit-on-cedar-river-trail-carries-101-fine/
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