Burke-Gilman Trail to reopen, but still cyclists fume

Backpedaling is climbing higher on the list of things Seattle cyclists resent.

But bicyclists discovered Wednesday that if city officials backpedal hard enough, things can end up right back where they started.

At least, that's what cyclists gathered for a protest at Gas Works Park thought Wednesday afternoon after hearing that the Seattle Department of Transportation announced the Burke-Gilman Trail near the Fremont Bridge will reopen to bicyclists and other users in August.

The decision, revealed earlier Wednesday, cancels a July announcement that parts of the trail, near the bridge and along the Ship Canal, would be closed until the summer of 2008.

The trail was going to be closed because of a nearby construction project on land owned by the Fremont Dock Co. Transportation officials said pressure from bicycle activists was not the reason the trail would be reopened, but Fremont Dock Co. Vice President Michael Osterfelt wasn't convinced.

"The reason why they're deciding to open it is because the city is trying to get out of the way of the bicycle lobby," he said.

More than one bike-bound protester had the same idea.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Capitol Hill resident Nate Ellis-Brown said.

The decision to reopen the trail didn't stop hundreds of cyclists from swarming onto the streets of Fremont moments later in a Critical Mass-style demonstration. Cyclists have plenty more they're chagrined about, and they say everything falls under an umbrella labeled "broken promises."

The primary reason for Wednesday's protest was to send a message to city officials that bike lanes should be installed on the south part of Stone Way North regardless of what area businesses think the lane reduction will do to traffic. For the time being, that stretch of street has been painted with "sharrows" -- symbols intended to encourage drivers to share the road -- and transportation officials will review the need for bike lanes again in six months.

"The city said a year ago they were committed to this, that they were not going to bow to any irrational complaints," said David Hiller, advocacy director of the Cascade Bicycle Club. "And that's exactly what they did."

Mayor Greg Nickels announced his plan for making Seattle a more "bicycle-friendly" city earlier this year, but critics say his ambitious "bicycle master plan" is falling short of what it was originally touted to be: a revolutionary plan that would help Seattle surpass cities in Oregon and Colorado in terms of bicycle affability.

City officials say those allegations are unfair, that cyclists are looking for quick fixes for a situation that will take years to change.

"The mayor is committed to making Seattle the best place for biking in the country," spokesman Marty McOmber said, adding that the city government wants the same things cyclists want.

The city adopted a "complete streets" ordinance last spring, mandating that when most street repairs happen, the result should be a street more conducive to bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Cities that have adopted similar policies include Chicago, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Honolulu and San Diego.

In accordance with that ordinance and the city's bicycle master plan, sharrow symbols like those painted on Stone Way North are showing up on a number of streets around Seattle, including Beach Drive Southwest, parts of Beacon Avenue South, Eighth Avenue Northwest and 19th Avenue East. The symbols consists of a bicycle shape beneath two chevron signs, and are painted to the right side of a lane where cyclists are urged to ride when it's safe.

The lack of sharrows on California Avenue Southwest in West Seattle is another reason cyclists are cynical about the city's commitment to bike safety. The signs won't be painted until spring, and cyclists think businesses along that street are behind the delay.

"We're afraid this is going to snowball," Hiller said. "And it makes the city's commitment to this look doubtful."

There is also skepticism about how much good the chevron-shaped symbol will do. On the sloped surface of Stone Way North where cyclists tend to move slower, for example, some cyclists think it could be dangerous.

"One thing I've found is there really isn't a very high level of awareness or understanding of sharrows," said Garry Kehr, president of the Seattle Bicycle Club.

Michael Ronkin, an Oregon-based consultant who specializes in designing streets for pedestrian and cyclist use, said it's too soon in the history of sharrows to determine if they actually help decrease car-bicycle accidents. The symbols were pioneered in Denver about a decade ago, but little research has been done on them at this point. From a national perspective, friction over how cities implement bicycle-programs is fairly common, said Barbara McCann, coordinator for the Complete Streets Coalition in Washington, D.C.

"It takes a while to move the way things have been done in the past, but having the commitment is a wonderful first step."