The new bike lanes on MLK Jr. Way from S Judkins Street to Mount Baker Station feel like a shortcut. It’s both more direct and more gradual than any of the alternative bike route options previously available. You no longer need to scale the cliffside up to Leschi to get between Franklin High School and the I-90 Trail. While a handful of people would just go ahead and bike on the four-to-five-lane road, it was not an experience for the faint of heart.

Even though I have ridden (and reported about) these new bike lanes previously, watching my six-year-old ride comfortably from Mount Baker Station to Judkins Park was still amazing. When my spouse Kelli yelled out, “Our kid is biking on MLK!” that’s exactly how I was feeling. If she can do it, then that means so many more people can, too. Sure enough, I saw more people biking on MLK in one block than I think I have ever seen biking there previously. I’m not even counting the people biking in the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways family-friendly celebration ride we joined Sunday.

The investments Seattle is making to create bike routes that children can use are going to keep paying off for generations. My child’s experience of growing up here will involve more independence and freedom than children had in my generation. And so long as Seattle passes the transportation levy in November and continues to build bike lanes like the ones on MLK, the next generation of Seattle kids will have even more freedom than my child. After a century of changes to our roads that pushed kids to the side, keeping them confined to their homes or limited areas like parks or a few indoor recreation spaces, we are finally creating real space for them within the fabric of our city. In the process, we’re creating connections and spaces that are comfortable for everyone.