The Burke Gilman Trail needs your help! The excessive striping has made the trail extremely rough and unsafe. Tell your city the trail needs improvement today!

In March of 2024, SDOT re-striped 10 intersections of the Burke Gilman Trail (BGT) in the Ballard and Fremont neighborhoods. However, the new material was applied overtop several existing layers leading to severe vibrations when ridden across by bicycles.

The striping is so bumpy that trail users regularly swerve around the striping, exiting the intended path of the trail at each intersection. Several cyclists have crashed and been injured trying to avoid the stripes, and we expect injuries will continue until the surface is fixed.

Since April of 2024, members of Ballard-Fremont Greenways have raised the issue to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, City Councilmembers, SDOT’s Director, Chief of Safety, and Head of Markings, only to be met with vague responses that the trail is “within standards” and unclear timelines for addressing our concerns.

The city needs to smooth out the affected areas, and change the design standards to prevent this from happening elsewhere in the city.

Every day this goes unaddressed, people are forced into dangerous situations. How many of us must get hurt before the City pays attention?

Click “Start Writing” to let city officials know that you demand a safe and smooth Burke-Gilman Trail.