The oldest segments needed to be wider, drier and smoother to truly make the trail safe and accessible to the wide variety of users on this shared use trail.
Seattle Parks and Recreation has done some significant patching over the last 5 years. They have not addressed widening and better drainage at all. In fact, they haven’t even re-graveled the side path. It only gets new gravel for the length of the patch making the shoulder very inconsistent. The pavement repairs skipped portions of the trail that are cracked and rough. The choices feels random.
The photos that follow are just examples of the issues. A very thorough Find It/Fix ride documented most of the problems to Seattle and many of them were ignored. See the Fix the Burke-Gilman facebook page for more photos.
Wider
Ensuring the trail is wide enough to support the increased traffic. It is narrower than segments south and north of it.
Drier
The 50yr old segments have drainage issues that lead to additional narrowing and blocking of the trail. Puddles turn to ice in the winter.
Smoother
The patches that have applied over the last 10 years are not enough. There are cracks along the edge and too many seams. It needs a complete repaving in more areas and not just short patches.
Seattle Parks Assessment
Here is the overall assessment of the portions of the Burke-Gilman under Seattle Parks and Recreation Management.
