Mayor opens Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop Trail
New sections make trail more accessible, more improvements to come

SEATTLE - Mayor Greg Nickels and community members today officially opened the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop Trail, a six-mile loop around Lake Union for pedestrians and cyclists.

"This trail is a legacy for future generations of Seattle residents," Nickels said. "The trail creates a pathway for pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy access to neighborhoods and parks, and to explore some of our history along the shores of Lake Union."

Last year Nickels proposed, and the City Council approved, spending $1 million in 2008 to develop a six-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail around Lake Union. The loop trail creates a continuous pathway for pedestrians and cyclists to enjoy non-motorized access to six neighborhoods, Gas Works and Lake Union parks, and 35 street-end parks and waterways along the lake front.

The city made many improvements this year, including filling key gaps in the loop along Westlake Avenue south of the Fremont Bridge and at the eastbound approach to University Bridge.

In the past year, the city has:

• extended the path along Westlake Avenue 870 feet to meet the Fremont Bridge;
• built a new 500 foot pathway from the Burke-Gilman Trail to the University Bridge and Peace Park;
• designed and installed integrated directional loop signage;
• widened the corridor by realigning parking spaces and signs next to the Westlake sidewalk;
• engaged the community in the development of a Loop Master Plan;
• created a map for the loop; and
• held a cleanup event south of the Fremont Bridge.

Mayor Nickels chose the name for the Cheshiahud Lake Union Trail Loop to honor a Duwamish chief who led a village located on Lake Union. Cheshiahud was a travel guide to Lake Union, Lake Washington and Lake Sammimish in the days when waterways, not roadways, connected villages.

The loop serves walkers, runners and cyclists, improving the connection between lakefront neighborhoods, downtown, the University of Washington and the Burke-Gilman Trail.

The Lake Union Loop Trail fulfills a key recommendation of the Seattle Parks Foundation's "Bands of Green" Report, and completes an unfinished piece of the original Olmsted park plan for Seattle.

"'Bands of Green' promotes the idea that a network of connections is what really makes a park system," said Doug Walker, member of the Seattle Parks Foundation board of directors. "Destinations like the wonderful, new Lake Union Park are really important, but just as important are the paths that connect them."

The city is working with the Seattle Parks Foundation to leverage its investment, including "sweat equity" projects, such as removing invasive blackberries and stabilizing the slope south of the Fremont Bridge. The Foundation is raising funds to beautify the area with trailside plantings.

In 2009, an additional $1.6 million has been allocated for the loop through the 2007 King County Proposition 2 Park Levy. Projects under consideration as part of the Loop Master Plan include improvements to pathway sections and intersections along the loop; clean-up and safety improvements; additional wayfinding and interpretive signage around the lake; and enhanced public access around the loop at street ends and waterways.

The Loop Master Plan is nearing completion. In the past year, the city has held several public meetings and convened a citizen advisory committee to help develop the plan. The final meeting for the plan will be held on Thursday, Dec. 11 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Lake Union Park Armory, 860 Terry Ave. N.

In addition to Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop Trail, in 2009 the city will spend approximately $8 million for improvements to the Burke-Gilman Trail, Lake Union Ship Canal Trail and Chief Sealth Trail. In the next year, the city plans to be nearly finished with the Burke-Gilman segment from 11th to 17th Avenues Northwest and in construction on the second phase of the Lake Union Ship Canal Trail from Sixth Avenue West to West Emerson Street.

Get the Nickels Newsletter and the mayor's inside view on transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities at mayor.seattle.gov

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Office of the Mayor