If you've ever ridden around the lake, you know it all kind of goes to shit in Factoria (if riding counterclockwise) or Kirkland (if clockwise), unless you take the double lake loop through Marymoor, Issaquah, and back along I-90. Which is not a bad ride, but sometimes you just want to get through Bellevue.
Cascade Bicycle Club (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Joby Lafky Corporation, or is the other way around?) announced yesterday that Bellevue committed to the moneys they needed to cough up to do the Bellevue, mostly related to the Wilburton trestle high over the Lake Hills Connector, on the NE side of the Mercer Slough. Which we will get to ride on someday. https://cascade.org/blog/2016/12/10-million-secured-eastside-rail-corridor-trail It also sounds like they're waiting on design help (and probably money) from Sound Transit, which is planning a light rail station near the existing trailbed near NE 8th in Bellevue.
Anyway, reading the King County page, I learn that the section north of Renton is supposed to be an interim trail by Spring 2017. As in, a few months. I assume it ends up looking like the gravel Cross Kirkland Corridor, and stops dead at the former I 405 crossing north of Factoria - the crossing was torn out when they widened 405 a few years ago, and it's gonna take some serious $ and time to replace.
So Bellevue remains a problem, but at least you won't have to ride on the eastside Lake Washington Blvd from Coulon Park to Factoria. And if it's as good as the CKC, that's nothing to sneeze at.
Shortly after that section gets built, the weak link moves to 520, where there are currently two disconnected trails, neither of which connects with the CKC, even though the current connection on Northrup passes right over it. WSDOT claims to be working on it with Bellevue http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/About/bikeped.htm , but I don't see any concrete plans, and they don't mention the CKC/ERC at all. Once the 520 west trail opens up to Montlake late next year, this is going to become more important, as cyclists start commuting across 520 and find a bike trail that just ends near the South Kirkland P&R, with either a sketchy ride on Northrup to go east or a ride up a steep hill to the CKC.
I'm also bemused that they're not working on the north end; this seems to be Woodinville's fault. I can understand the problems near 175th near Wilmot Gateway Park, but the section from Kirkland to there doesn't seem problematic at all, and building it would allow you to cycle almost all the way to the Lake Sammammish trail, whereas now it just up and dies near a terrible spot by the Totem Lake mall.
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langston
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 9:54 am
Joined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 5547Location: Columbia City
great news! That leg from the South Kirkland P&R to the 520 trail is indeed hairy balls, it's part of my regular commute. Very very excited for this, also for the 520 trail to open so the massive (20+ min wait is not abnormal) bottleneck to bus hop over the bridge clears
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Joined: 25 Jul 2005
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