Fixing Seattle’s Premier Rail-Trail

by Bob Scheulen

I hardly remember my first ride on the Burke Gilman in the spring of 1982 other than I had no idea how new it was or how much controversy had gone into creating it.  I only knew that, however short it was, I thought it was really awesome.  Although I didn’t grow up here, I had joined REI about 4 years before moving here, and PCC almost immediately after moving.  I was an outsider, but for the first time in my life i felt at home.  If there was any outdoor community in the US, this had to be it and that’s where I wanted to be.  Although at the time I spent far more time hiking than riding, it wasn’t long before I bought a much nicer bike at REI and started riding–almost only in the winter! And almost always on the trail because I could get on it easily from my house in Queen Anne by riding down the hill and then across the Fremont bridge–although that was back when the section in Fremont was also a missing link..  We’ve sure come a long way… so much so that on summer weekends I try to avoid the trail so that I’m not adding to the congestion.  It must be strange for someone to ride down the trail these days and think about how it almost didn’t happen when there are now many tens of thousands of people on it every year.  If there was trail that was like an interstate highway, clearly the Burke Gilman would be one of them, except it’s condition is more like the old sections of route 66 than a major highway. On some level I get it: there are always more pressing needs, but given the size of the park’s department budget and the incredible high use the trail gets, it’s embarrassing how little effort goes into maintaining it.

I loved the trail so much I joined rails-to-trails in 1988, almost immediately dreaming of some day riding across the country on rail trails.  It’s unlikely I will live long enough to see that happen, but it’s in progress, so some day someone much younger than me will be able to.  And the success of the Burke Gilman was instrumental in the rail trail movement.

I’m 72 now and I hardly ever use my car, because I ride my bike everywhere (or walk)  I usually ride 5-6 days a week (actually pedaling), often utilizing at least a short section of the Burke Gilman trail.  I live only 3 blocks away, so it’s my lifeline to a lot of places. Keeps me out of traffic and off the hard hills.  One of my favorite destinations is still Golden Gardens park in spite of the missing link which really puts a damper on my desire to go out there.  A completed trail is something I (and probably many others) have been dreaming about even before it was called the missing link.  The thing is, Golden Gardens is the most spectacular city park I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to a lot of them).  Of course, I’m grateful for most of the new bike infrastructure– I couldn’t get around as well as I do without it.  I’m less enamored with some of it, but overall it’s good and getting better, which is great because I want to continue to ride my bike instead of driving my car — up until my body can no longer do it, and all the data says that as long as i keep doing it, my chances of that being a bunch more years is good. Saves health cares costs, it’s low carbon, it’s usually social–isn’t this what we want for each other?   It sure would be nice if I wasn’t riding over bumps so big that sometimes I feel like I’m going to get thrown off my bike.