New parallel bike path to Nickerson

[JimE]

In all the discussion for the Nickerson road diet I have not noticed
anyone mention the brand new bike path along the ship canal that runs
parallel to it. The city just finished construction about a month ago
and it is great. It runs from Fremont Bridge past SPU and all the way
to KAVU before you have to jump back onto Nickerson for the 1 block
before Ballard bridge. I take this every day for work. More peaceful
than the roadway, no hill to climb, and it was built for us so lets
use it.

I am a daily commuter on either 8th Ave NW or Stone Way, so know the
safety advantages of the road diet. I just want to be sure people
realize the existence of a parallel bike route 1 block north of
Nickerson.

[Charles Redell]

Hey Jim,

Thanks for sharing your experiences on that path. It is a good one and will hopefully be even better when it is finally completed under the Ballard Bridge and connected to the trail at Fisherman's Terminal and into Magnolia.

Unfortunately, opponents of the road diet on Nickerson often mention the trail as an alternative that is good enough for bike riders and pedestrians. The trail, they say, makes the road diet unneeded. That is not a viable argument though. The trail itself is nice but since it does not extend all the way to the Ballard Bridge, it requires that riders heading east stop in the left hand lane and wait for a break in two lanes of westbound traffic to turn left to get to it. Of course, even more problematic is the work a pedestrian on the South side of Nickerson has to go through to cross four lanes of traffic that travels well above the speed limit on average.

Not of this is to knock the trail. It's a nice trail but it is not an alternative to Nickerson if getting across Nickerson and to it means these very dangerous moves.

c 

[JimE]

I totally agree with the danger of crossing that street. I do it every
day.
I'm for the diet. just wanted to spread the word about this
underutilized trail.

On Jun 7, 2:18 pm, Charles Redell <char...@charlesredell.com> wrote:
> Hey Jim,
> Thanks for sharing your experiences on that path. It is a good one and will
> hopefully be even better when it is finally completed under the Ballard
> Bridge and connected to the trail at Fisherman's Terminal and into Magnolia.
>
> Unfortunately, opponents of the road diet on Nickerson often mention the
> trail as an alternative that is good enough for bike riders and pedestrians.
> The trail, they say, makes the road diet unneeded. That is not a viable
> argument though. The trail itself is nice but since it does not extend all
> the way to the Ballard Bridge, it requires that riders heading east stop in
> the left hand lane and wait for a break in two lanes of westbound traffic to
> turn left to get to it. Of course, even more problematic is the work a
> pedestrian on the South side of Nickerson has to go through to cross four
> lanes of traffic that travels well above the speed limit on average.
>
> Not of this is to knock the trail. It's a nice trail but it is not an
> alternative to Nickerson if getting across Nickerson and to it means these
> very dangerous moves.
>