Modernization

Making Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail Safe, Enjoyable, and Accessible for Everyone

The original Burke-Gilman Trail segment in Northeast Seattle has served our community for nearly 50 years, but it’s time for critical upgrades to ensure everyone can enjoy this treasured resource.

The Challenge: This historic section faces serious accessibility barriers that prevent many community members from safely using the trail. Narrow passages force wheelchair users and families with strollers into dangerous situations. Uneven surfaces create hazards for those with mobility devices. Poor drainage leads to flooding and icy conditions during Seattle’s rainy months.

Our Vision: Transform this segment into a fully ADA-compliant pathway that welcomes all users regardless of age, ability, or mobility needs. Your support will fund essential improvements including:

  • Widening narrow bottlenecks to accommodate wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and side-by-side use
  • Leveling uneven surfaces to eliminate dangerous gaps and bumps
  • Upgrading drainage systems to prevent flooding and maintain year-round accessibility

The Impact: These improvements will open the trail to thousands of Seattle residents who currently cannot safely access this vital transportation and recreation corridor. Parents with strollers, seniors with walkers, wheelchair users, and anyone with mobility challenges will finally have equal access to one of our city’s most beloved public spaces.

Join Us: As we approach the trail’s 50th anniversary, help us create a legacy of inclusion and accessibility. Your donation directly supports construction costs for widening, leveling, and drainage improvements that will serve our community for the next 50 years.

Together, we can make the Burke-Gilman Trail truly accessible for everyone.

Addressing ADA Barriers

Physical obstacles like the narrow split trails with poor drainage centered on the Princeton Bridge need to be fixed.

Improving Drainage on Burke-Gilman Trail

Explore the challenges of the original Burke-Gilman Trail segment and learn how our project wants to get the drainage fixed to make this a better all year trail.

Keeping it dry

The trail needs to be kept drier so that the narrow right of way is not further reduced by edge and middle of the trail puddles.

Keep it ice free

Keeping the trail drier will prevent the puddles from freezing and creating ice hazards in the winter.

Large edge puddle