Completing the Link between the Interurban Trail and the I-5 Pedestrian Bridge

By Larry Lowary

Preliminary planning for a final shared-use path between the Interurban Trail and the 195th St I-5 Pedestrian Bridge in Shoreline will begin soon with construction to be completed within three years.

The one-block project between 5th Ave NE and the overpass bridge will be funded by a $500,000 Complete Streets Program grant from the Washington Transportation Improvement Board.

City transportation planner Nora Daley-Peng
Photo by Larry Lowary

City transportation planner Nora Daley-Peng says although the project has not been designed yet, the final elements will likely include an extra-wide sidewalk to accommodate pedestrians and bikes, signage, and bollards (to prevent cars and vehicles other than bikes from crossing the bridge.)

The new section will complete the link between the Interurban Trail and the pedestrian and bike bridge and will ultimately connect with the city’s “Trail Along the Rail” and perhaps, at some future date, the Burke Gilman Trail.

The link has been under development since 2011 when the first section --- a pedestrian and bike trail --- was built between Meridian Ave N and 1st Ave NE. In 2014 that section was expanded upon with construction of a shared use path between 1st Ave NE and 5th Ave NE.

In 2017 the link was extended west from Meridian to Ashworth with major sidewalk construction renovation as part of the Echo Lake Safe Routes to School program. At the same time a signalized pedestrian crossing was installed at Meridian Ave N and 195th St. And in 2018 a new sidewalk was built between the Interurban Trail and Ashworth.

Details of the project were unveiled earlier this week as Daley-Peng and other city officials, including mayor Will Hall, joined a group of 25 Shoreline residents and city and Sound Transit staff on a walking tour of a portion of the “Trail Along the Rail” alignment between the 185th Sound Transit Light Rail Station and the 195th pedestrian bridge.

The projects, among efforts to make the city more walkable, have earned praise by Feet First, a local organization that promotes walkable cities.

“The City of Shoreline’s proposed pedestrian improvements around the future 145th and 185th light rail stations are the most ambitious plans of any City in the Sound Transit area. 

"These improvements strive to make traveling by foot not only safe, but also pleasant and convenient. Inspired by Shoreline’s City Planner Nora Daley-Peng’s study trip to Finland this year, the City is working toward the goal of transforming from a suburb to a people-oriented community using a menu of policy transformation, creating a high-quality multi-modal network.

“What Shoreline has been able to accomplish and is planning to do sets the bar for other cities in the region. As Mountlake Terrace, Seattle, and Snohomish County solidify the plans for the streets around their stations, there is much to learn from the City of Shoreline and Daley-Peng’s examples in creating streets that put pedestrians’ safety, convenience, and experience first.”