KING

Bike to Work Day 2006

SEATTLE - Seattle is about to become a bigger, better bicycle town. 

On Wednesday, Mayor Greg Nickels unveiled "Seattle's Bicycle Master Plan," which details the city's two-year plan to expand the network of bike lanes by 136 miles, tripling the number of current bike lanes. 

Nickels' goal is to make Seattle the best and safest city in the nation for bicycling.

"Every day, thousands of people across this city use bikes to commute to work, exercise or run errands - and the numbers are growing," Nickels said in a press release Wednesday. "Encouraging more people to ride is one important way we can reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming."

Projects will include work started on the section of the popular Burke-Gilman Trail between NW 60th Street and Golden Gardens Park, and the opening of the Chief Sealth Trail on Beacon Hill this spring. 

Some new features bike riders can expect include "sharrows," which are specially marked roads alerting motorists of bicyclists in the area, and a new street sign system that will make it easier for riders to use the best and safest routes throughout the city. 

Expanding the city's bicycle network is one of the key ways the city is helping to meet the Kyoto Protocol goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 7 percent by 2012. 

The plan calls for developing 452 miles of marked or separated bike routes over the next 10 years. Seattle currently has about 67 miles of marked or separate routes. 

The plan was based on 2,450 public comments and survey responses collected during the past 18 months.