Beacon Hill Bike Route

Updated October 13, 2021

Project Description

SDOT is building a bike route in segments, from the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to the intersection of Beacon Ave S and 39th Ave S. Segment 1 will extend from Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to S Spokane St, Segment 2 will cover S Spokane St to S Myrtle St, and Segment 3 will be from S Myrtle to S 39th St. The city is considering a variety of bike improvements, including protected bike lanes and neighborhood greenways. Construction is expected to begin in 2023.  

Project Overview

In 2019, SDOT partnered with the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) to conduct outreach around the City to find out about the community’s priorities to having places to bike in their community. This outreach effort provided an avenue to listen to community members, understand how the implementation plan was perceived, and collect ideas on how we could improve the plan. We also learned about how future work can be more responsive to community needs.

We heard clearly that it was important to have more routes in Southeast Seattle to connect people to the neighborhood and job centers, specifically on Beacon Hill. The Beacon Hill Bike Route Project was created in response to what we heard. The purpose of this project is to create a safe and comfortable bike route that connects people to businesses and community destinations in Beacon Hill.

This bike project continues to build out the bike network connecting to the new bike lanes on S Columbian Way, S Myrtle St, and the Chief Sealth Trail.

We’re planning a bike route in Beacon Hill as we’ve identified the area as a high-priority corridor for meeting the following transportation and community needs:

• This project will contribute to the City’s Vision Zero goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries.
• Provide a better north/south bike connection in southeast Seattle.
• Improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and connections to transit.

Though there are other existing bike routes nearby, these other routes do not connect to the same vital community destinations.

Project Timeline

Project Details

Segment 1

Segment 1 extends from Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to S Spokane St and connects the North Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Segment 2

Segment 2 is located along Beacon Ave S from S Spokane St to S Myrtle St. It goes by Jefferson Park and connects along the center median trail through central Beacon Hill.

SEGMENT 3

Segment 3 will be between S Myrtle St and S 39th St in South Beacon Hill. This area is much more residential.

Community Engagement

During the planning, design, and construction phases of our project, we conduct inclusive community engagement and strive to balance varying needs presented by public comments that we receive at each step of our outreach processes. The below table summarizes our upcoming outreach activities.

Summer 2021: Neighborhood and public meetings - gather community feedback and ideas about about the use of this busy corridor
November 2020: Online drop-in session - share Segment 2 and 3 options, answer questions and gather feedback from the community
August 2020: Online drop-in session - introduce the project, share Segment 1 route options, answer questions and gather feedback from the community
Ongoing: Business outreach - discuss project impacts, provide project information and updates and gather feedback
Ongoing: Stakeholder outreach - provide project updates and gather community feedback
Ongoing: Email updates - project updates

Bike Network Prioritization Process

The Beacon Hill Bike Route project was prioritized based on public feedback and City Council actions over the past several years. In 2019, SDOT and DON held four community meetings across the city to learn about people's priorities for building out the bike network. In that outreach, as well as engagement with the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, it was strongly recommended to build a bike connection not only on 12th Ave S between Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill, but within Beacon Hill itself to create a greater connection between southeast Seattle and downtown.  

Beacon Hill was specifically recognized during that outreach as a priority of community and transportation safety advocates (see pages 13-14 of the 2019 Bicycle Master Plan Implementation Plan for summaries.) In addition, during the 2019 budget process, the City Council allocated funding to prioritize building a bike connection in southeast Seattle. 

Funding

The Mayor's Office committed an additional $10.33M from the Mercer Megablock sale to building bike facilities prioritized by the community, including a connection Beacon Hill to Downtown. This project will be partially funded by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015. Learn more about the Levy to Move Seattle.

Materials

 November 2020 Outreach Summary

 November 2020 Drop-in Session Q&A

 August 2020 Outreach Summary 

 August 2020 Drop-in Session Q&A

 Project Fact Sheet (English)

 Project Fact Sheet (Spanish)

 Project Fact Sheet (Simplified Chinese)

 Project Fact Sheet (Traditional Chinese)

 Project Fact Sheet (Tagolog)

 Project Fact Sheet (Vietnamese)

 Project Map (All Segments)

 Segment 1 Map

 Segment 2 Map

 Segment 3 Map

Background Materials

2019 Bike Master Plan Implementation Plan Outreach Summary

2019 Bicycle Master Plan Implementation Plan

2019 Beacon Hill Station Access and Mobility Plan

2014 Bicycle Master Plan  

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Contact Us

Sign up for email updates here.

Email us with your questions and concerns at BeaconHillBike@seattle.gov.