Burke-Gilman Trail's history celebrated on 30th anniversary

By Jessica Blanchard
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Nearly 150 people turned out to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Burke-Gilman Trail yesterday by breaking ground for one of the trail's final segments along Shilshole Bay.

The roughly 12-mile-long bike and pedestrian pathway now runs from Ballard to Kenmore and is the most heavily used trail in Seattle.

Planners hope to eventually connect the new trail segment to the current trail end near 11th Avenue Northwest in Ballard, and to extend it north to Golden Gardens in Seattle's Sunset Hill neighborhood.

As a cold drizzle fell, a crowd of bicyclists, politicians and community activists huddled around a white tent set up on a patch of land between the railroad tracks and Seaview Avenue Northwest to hear speakers discuss the challenges they faced, the triumph of finally being able to break ground for the new segment, and their plans.

Jim Todd, one of the original Burke-Gilman Trail committee members who attended the groundbreaking, said the group has often met with resistance, usually from residents who don't want the trail coming through their neighborhoods.

"Everything you're seeing today, we had to fight for," he said. "This did not come easy."

City Councilman Richard Conlin, who rode to the event on his bike, noted that it took a lot of political pressure to finally get approval for the latest trail section.

"The real story today is the persistence of people who have been working to get this trail built," he said, adding that the trail promotes a healthy, active lifestyle, and the additional bike and pedestrian traffic through the area could boost local businesses.

Advocates say the Burke-Gilman is a key part of a network of trails around the region, has the potential to help alleviate some of the city's traffic congestion and ought to be expanded.

The new segment of the trail will likely take about eight months to complete once construction is started, said project manager Stuart Goldsmith. He said the city is meeting with contractors, and work is tentatively scheduled to begin in November.
 
Project planners estimate the trail segment will cost nearly $3.5 million, with the bulk of the money coming from the city's general fund.

Down the line, supporters hope to complete the "missing link," which would connect the current trail end at 11th Avenue Northwest with the beginning of this latest segment, about one block east of 32nd Avenue Northwest.

The aim is to have the trail follow Shilshole Avenue Northwest, but planners say they've met with resistance from several Ballard industrial companies, which raised concerns about safety and the potential for increased crime if the trail were to pass through their area.

Davidya Kasperzyk, an architect who designed a plan for the trail called the Missing Link Study, said the real issue is sharing the land. "It's kind of a sandbox thing," he said.

Barbara Culp, the director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, agreed.

"The important thing to think about is to provide access to this great corridor for all users," she said. "This trail is a treasure."

Jessica Blanchard: 206-464-3896 or jblanchard@seattletimes.com