Let's Finish Work on the Seven-Mile Bike Corridor that Links Capitol Hill to South Seattle

Cascade urges the Seattle Department of Transportation to speed up completion of bike safety projects that link Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill along a seven-mile corridor where two people biking have been killed in the past 10 months, and where car crashes and speeding are problematic. 

Large gaps remain in this corridor that links Beacon Avenue South, a 25 mph street where city data shows that people driving average 34 mph, and 12th Avenue, where Christian Salyer was run over while biking in June.

Salyer’s death came 10 months after a hit-and-run driver killed Allie Rodriguez while they biked on Beacon Avenue South, where people reported 242 crashes between 2021 and 2025.

Beacon Avenue South and 12th Avenue need to be safer because they are the most direct way to bike between Capitol Hill and South Beacon Hill. The good news is that design work was completed this fall on a bike route connection between the two neighborhoods.

When the Seattle Levy-funded projects on 12th Avenue and Beacon Avenue South are built, they'll add about five miles of protected bike lanes and traffic calming to the two miles already completed, creating a continuous seven-mile route from East Madison Street to 39th Avenue South. 

This route crosses the José Rizal Bridge, continues past Beacon Hill Station and Jefferson Park, and connects to the Chief Sealth Trail as well as routes leading to Columbia City, the Rainier Valley, and Georgetown.

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Progress is coming. In August, Mayor Katie Wilson's Vision Zero executive order fast-tracked protected bike lanes on 12th Avenue South between Yesler Way and King Street, the stretch where Christian Salyer was killed. Construction could start in spring. 

Work on the remaining section of 12th Avenue, from Yesler to Madison, has not been scheduled. We will continue pushing until it is.

At the south end of Beacon Avenue South, the Seattle Department of Transportation has begun designing about four miles of safety improvements between South Spokane Street and 39th Avenue South. Cascade encourages the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to build a bike path in the median that is wide enough to create separate spaces for people walking and biking. 

If that is not possible due to design constraints, Cascade would like a separate bike lane that segregates people walking and biking.

Do you live in Beacon Hill or bike through the neighborhood? We urge you to complete an SDOT survey that will inform what type of safety infrastructure the city builds on Beacon Avenue South.

Share your experience traveling on Beacon Avenue South and whether you’ve had a close call with a motor vehicle or felt unsafe while biking.

The deadline for taking the survey is Oct. 31. We urge you to fill it out now, so that the city hears your voice and takes your concerns into consideration. 

Tell SDOT About Your Experience Biking on Beacon Avenue South

Bike lanes get built when people demand them. Sadly, it often takes a fatality to get the city to act. Let’s work together to ensure no more people are killed while biking in this crucial corridor in Seattle’s bike network.

Learn more about the Beacon Ave Central Segment, Beacon Ave South Segment, and 12th Ave S projects from SDOT. And read Cascade’s open letter to Mayor Wilson urging the city to speed up its completion of important bike safety projects.