Written by City Council has recently been reviewing the Renton Trails and Bicycle Master Plan, as a start to implementing and funding a more unified system of trails for non-motorized transportation. Fr anyone who likes to ride a bike, this is a major step in improving the trail situation in our city.
Like in so many other pursuits, the funding is our next big hurdle. However, this Master Plan will make it easier for us to qualify for Federal, State, and regional non-motorized transit grants. That is, unless we have a unified plan with distinct projects, it is hard to get other agencies to send funding our way.
Our geographic situation, at the south end of the lake and the confluence of several valleys and transportations corridors improves our chances for regional funding. For instance, we have a good shot a getting a trail funded which would connect the Lake Washington trail system with the Green River trail system (to run parallel to 7th street through downtown, then near the railroad tracks, and connect near Fort Dent).
It’s funny – before I moved here, I didn’t even know about the cedar river trail. I would ride down, and sometimes through downtown, but the riverwalk is very bike unfriendly, so I never made it. At least now I know.
The connection to the green river trail would be excellent. When I would do round-the-like the rides, going through Renton was always the worst part. You pretty much have to take busy streets, and unless you’re familiar with Renton, it’s not clear how to get to the other trails from either Rainier or from Gene Coulon park.