Seattle’s prowess as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the nation is well-documented and has bolstered the region’s reputation as a haven for cyclists and mountain bikers.
But with corridors planned to connect Bellevue’s miles trails in the coming years and a much improved route into Issaquah complete with new bike bridges and a focus on ecology, the Eastside’s bike scene will soon have function to match the scenery that defines it currently.
I got a first-hand look a week ago for National Bike to Work Day, when I rode from the Preston Park and Ride to the Reporter’s office on Richards Road in Bellevue. The environs provided the joy, the bike seat the pain.
The early part of the trip along the Issaquah-Preston Trail was most suitable for the mountain bike I was riding. The footbridges and freeway-hiding walls along the route are evidence of a population and civic leadership concerned with making the outdoors accessible.
As trails through the forest become downtown Issaquah, Lakemont and eventually Factoria, several stretches remain unconnected. But Bellevue Senior Transportation Manager Mike Ingram said that will be changing within a few years.
“This is work we’ve been doing for a couple of decades,” Ingram said, adding that after the design phase for connecting Lakemont to Factoria is complete, the city will be better positioned to secure the grant money that can make the project reality. “The vision for Mountains to Sound and for the region is a greenbelt from Seattle to the Cascade Mountains with a pedestrian and bicycle path.
The city of Bellevue counted around 600 residents and people who work in the city during peak morning commute times (6 a.m. to 9 a.m.) at two check-in stations located downtown and at the Enatai Beach Trailhead. Ingram said many more no doubt biked as well but took a route that did not pass through the stations or did so outside of the counting window.
Over 100 students and parents at Medina’s St. Thomas School took the two-wheel route as part of the school’s 6th Grade Green Team, a group that developed composting and recycling programs that helped St. Thomas become a certified Level I Green school.
The Green Team also researched and analyzed the school’s transportation policy for field trips and crafted a plan where all trips would be taken on public transit instead of in the cars of numerous parent volunteers.
“It’s wonderful to see that spark,” St. Thomas teacher and Green Team leader Andrew Mechling said. “They can see how these projects benefit the environment and the community.”
Perhaps the largest organized ride in the area was carried out by Microsoft, which invited employees from its Redmond campus to bike the 5.2 miles to a special event at Bellevue’s Lincoln Square Cinemas.
With the nearest Park and Ride still leaving me nearly 15 miles from work, it’s doubtful I will be joining the cycling masses anytime soon. But sitting on a bike seat for four hours certainly increased my appreciation for their pain tolerance.
For the Love of the Game is a Reporter column by sports and recreation reporter Josh Suman. Contact Josh at 425-453-5045 or jsuman@bellevuereporter.com
