2) Make improvements to Meyers Way (won’t even consider riding currently) No room for bikes. Nearly impossible to find a safe way to drop over the hill to 1st Ave bridge from (Arbor Heights, Shorewood, White Center, Highland Park, North Burien. There are a lot of options heading North from these areas but not East.

3) More East/West bike lanes and trails in SODO. Possible railroad underpasses???

2) Right now, the construction is a pain in the neck. But assuming this will get better … If you’re coming from W. Seattle and turning north on E. Marginal, that looks easy enough. If you’re going straight on Spokane from Marginal to 4th – it’s a mess. lots of train-track crossings (thank god they’re improved now), but I still need to get from the North side to the South side of Spokane St at some point, and waiting out lights at the Spokane St./Marginal intersection takes forever.

3) No. The light rail doesn’t go anywhere I go for my commute, but I might some time, for an … afterwork soccer game or something…. No concerns.

4) More, and more clearly signed bikes lanes (on existing road) &/or bike paths. The bike path along the light-rail lines running North from Forest is cool – but it’s not easy to find, and it’s too short – it should run south (to Georgetown!) as well. Otherwise – Roads are generally in BAD, BAD shape (pot-holes, train track Xing), and all of the trucks and traffic make this a SKETCHY ride at times.

1. I go down Dearborn St until Airport Way or 6th. Dearborn has been safe for me although I have seen other bikers taken out by turning vehicles. I cut over on Airport or 6th to the light rail line along 5th. Then I have to go on Holgate or Lander west past 1st to Utah Ave. I do the reverse heading home.

2. The barrier for me is safety because of rough pavement (not sure if you can call it even that) and unaware drivers since you have to use streets where no trails or good sidewalks exist.

3. I haven’t combined light rail when riding my bike, but definitely appreciate the trail that runs there. I am glad to see that the short lived gates at the tracks are gone.

4. I would suggest one good paved east-west path or bike lane in the area from light rail trail to 1st. I will go out of my way to find a safer route. A second would be connecting the light rail trail to Dearborn street bike lanes. Lastly, repaving the worst potholed and cracked roads (Holgate probably) would go a long way.

Thank you so much for seeking suggestions.

I do occasionally use the bike path that runs parallel with the Light Rail, but its abrupt end at Royal Brougham Way (which funnels riders onto the poor surface of 6th Ave) makes it not quite worth crossing unfriendly 4th Ave and several sets of very active train tracks.

My recommendations for bike improvements in SoDo are: improve the visibility and safety of the sharrow space on 1st Ave by the Viaduct off-ramp and the stadiums, extend the Light Rail bike path to run all the way into downtown and/or resurface 6th Ave and designate bike lanes on it.

I used to commute from Fremont, riding down 6th Ave S. That route, while easier and wider, was extremely rough pavement and frequently covered in glass along the shoulder.

Room for improvement, would be to improve the shoulders on 6th, as they are already wide, but not very smooth/clean/marked. Also accessing the 5th Ave trail was made more difficult when they closed the street next to Safeco, now you have to ride up the ramp, around the clover leaf, to get to 5th from the west.

Backed up and heavier than normal vehicle traffic with impatient drivers due to trains, closed roads etc and some crazy cyclists are making this a not so fun ride. This is in addition to the big trucks and potholes that have always been present.

I do find the bike arrows on first avenue and some of the other areas of the city to be misleading to cyclists. I don’t find some of these routes to be a safe route to travel on a bike and think it would lead a new or out of town cyclist to think these were preferred cycling routes.

Improvement – I think picking sixth or Utah and making it smoother in terms of potholes and adding bike lanes there would improve the commute for all.

2) Barriers to bike commuting: The whole of SODO is terrible to bike through. The streets are in terrible shape and the traffic moves fast and is generally large trucks that give you zero room. When I take my bike in for service at my local shop I always get astonished comments of how badly my bike gets beat up. I blow a lot of spokes and new wheels are not cheap.

3) Combined with light rail: No. It doesn’t do anything for me since the section I can use the light rail already has a trail next to it.

4) Three recommendations: 1st- Dedicated bike trails, the SODO trail is great, but it’s only 1 mile and I wish it extended all the way from downtown to the Interurban. I wish my whole commute was on a trail like that 2nd- Bike lanes, but an actual lane with a painted line, not just a painted bike symbol. If there is no line vehicles will not respect it. 3rd-Repave the roads as they are horrible. However unless you put in a lined bike lane to keep the truck traffic out, you’ll end up in the same boat again.

Even with 1 mile of safe trail to ride on I still consider myself lucky to survive the commute everyday. I’ve been pulled out in front of, cut off, brushed aside and one time hit a pothole that took me down so hard I cracked my helmet. SODO is an unsafe place to ride period and I am excited that this feedback is being asked for so changes can be made.

My issues are essentially the same as most on here:

1. With the exception of re-paved Airport the roads are rough, potholed, and poorly marked. I’ve switched to mountain bike to avoid re-truing my wheels every week after the ride.

2. The Sodo trail as it stands is inconvenient, inefficient, and unconnected to travel routes. A full bike lane on major arterial (not the wimpy 6th ave lane below the railroad tracks) is needed.

3. The bridge on 4th over the track by Costco is constantly covered in glass and debris and is only on one side of the road. Riding in the street makes you hard to see on top of the bridge. The Airport crossing is slightly better, but if you ride the sidewalk, you need to watch out to not get nailed by right turning cars or trucks at the Georgetown intersection. And of course the truckyard exit which is always good for a few heart attacks when the trucks burst out without looking.

4. Marginal is a nightmare to ride on.

In short, without using very busy Airport, there’s no way to efficiently get through SODO and the surrounding area. Adding bike lanes to Ellis is a part of the solution, but I think one on Airport or another street should be strongly considered.