Cascade Urges Seattle Leaders to Speed up Completion of Crucial Bike Network Safety Projects

Dear Mayor Wilson and SDOT Director Brady,

In 2024, Seattle voters resoundingly approved the Levy to Keep Seattle Moving and its historic $133.5 million investment in bike infrastructure and programs. Now, 18 months after its passage, we are writing to urge you to move forward faster in the construction of key Bike Network projects funded by, and promised to, Seattle voters.

Delays to safety projects costs lives. This point was sadly driven home again last week by the death of Christian Salyer, who was hit while biking on 12th Avenue. The need for bike improvements in this area was identified over a decade ago. But there has not been a consistent commitment to funding and follow-through from the City. 

To date, there is no visible progress from the City on large cornerstone Levy projects that are needed to transform our patchwork of bike lanes into a connected and easily navigable network. This lack of progress is demonstrated in dollars and cents spent: 

• Last year, the Seattle Transportation Levy's Bicycle Safety Program spent just shy of 50% of its planned budget – $8.5 million of the $17.3 million available. 

Projects in this program often require years of planning, outreach and construction. Only when completed do they become on-the-ground safety improvements.

Bike projects were similarly slow to move forward in the early years of the 2015 Move Seattle Levy. Looking at how delays played out in the prior levy, we know that delays in the early years will compound during the entire lifetime of the Keep Seattle Moving levy. Delays are not acceptable to us, and should not be acceptable to you.

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Cascade Bicycle Club urges the City to advance progress in the following priority corridors where money is allotted in the voter-approved levy: 

• 12th Avenue Vision Zero Project: Filling this gap will complete a bicycle route connecting Capitol Hill to Rainier Valley (via Beacon Ave). As stated above, this project was identified for improvements over a decade ago. It was a funded project in the Move Seattle Levy that was subsequently cut.
• Beacon Avenue (Middle and Southern Segments): A protected bike route through Beacon Hill, connecting Jefferson Park, Mercer Middle School, and the Chief Sealth Trail. This 3.75 miles from Spokane Street to 39th Ave South will complete a seven-mile span of bike lanes in neighborhoods that have experienced systemic under-investment, and see the highest rate of traffic deaths in Seattle.
• 14th Avenue South Reimagined: This six-block project in South Park will extend the Georgetown to South Park Trail and link it to the Green River Trail that King County is extending northward. Filling this gap will link over 20 miles of bike routes. Adjacent projects are scheduled to be completed in 2027.
• Aurora Avenue North: Build protected bike lanes on one of Seattle’s busiest and most dangerous roadways, connecting Aurora from City limits to the Aurora Bridge. $50 million in state funding is available now.

To be clear, all bike projects promised in the Seattle Transportation Levy are needed to make our bike network safe and accessible. We need the City to show urgency by spending the dollars allocated. Anyone who bikes in Seattle knows that our streets can be and need to be safer. Every dollar left unspent and every project delayed erodes the safety – and trust – of everyone biking, walking, or rolling.

There are bright spots in Levy implementation that are making a positive impact: SDOT has been quick to move forward on improving the safety and comfort of the bike network by rapidly hardening existing bike lane protection in locations across the city. One example (shown in the photo atop this post) is the addition of concrete barriers on Ravenna Avenue to connect Green Lake to the University District. 

SDOT has also filled small gaps in the network that have long hampered connectivity. These include the two-block Yesler Way project that now connects the waterfront to the 2nd Avenue bike lanes, and the 4th Avenue bike lanes that now reach Seattle Center. We are excited to see these improvements. Thank you.

Research shows that a large percentage of Seattle residents want to bike or to bike more but don’t because they feel unsafe. Completing bike corridor projects is what Seattle voters want, it’s what they voted for, and it’s vital to our city’s efforts to end traffic fatalities, protect vulnerable road users, advance our climate goals, and make Seattle more equitable, prosperous and sustainable.

We stand ready to work alongside the Mayor, City Council, and SDOT to get spending back on track. People in Seattle who bike – or want to – are counting on all of us.

Sincerely,
Lee Lambert
Executive Director 
Cascade Bicycle Club

Editor's Note: Take action by signing our letter urging faster completion of crucial Seattle Bike Network projects funded in the Levy to Keep Seattle Moving.