Seattle's Transportation Committee met today to discuss improvements to the City's bicycle network and support facilities.
The Committee plans to create a series of interconnected on- and off-road bicycling facilities, with the goal in mind of increasing ridership and improving safety.
The city added 26 miles of marked bicycle lanes and 67 miles of sharrow* lanes between 2007 and 2009, and plans to add 135 more combined miles between now and 2016. The total breaks down to about 13 miles of bicycle lanes and 6 miles of sharrow lanes per year.
The city completed 34 miles total of new bicycle facilities total over the last three years, which means the rate of completion will nearly triple over the next 6 years. **(See below for diagram of planned and completed facilities)
The plan also calls for improved safety on current facilities in the form of pavement repairs, crack sealing, control of vegetation overgrowth and street sweeping to name a few.
The current slated cost of the ongoing project is 240 million dollars over the next six years.
*Sharrow: Markings placed on streets known to be popular cycling paths, but too narrow for traditional, marked bicycle lanes
**(Below is a diagram of Seattle's bicycle facilities in 2000, 2009, and facilities slated for completion in 2017)
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