— Advertisement —

House votes 96-1 to pass WA scenic bikeways, now awaits Senate

Map of Oregon Scenic Bikeways.
Map of Oregon Scenic Bikeways from Oregon State Parks.

Washington is full of scenic places to bike, so it won’t be hard to identify a network of amazing routes to promote as part of the proposed Scenic Bikeways program that just passed the House 96-1.

Oregon has long has a scenic bikeways program, and they have successfully used the program to promote bicycle tourism all over the state. This supports local economies and encourages more people to try a bike adventure.

The HB 2587 is now sitting in the Senate Transportation Committee. It needs to pass out of the committee, pass the full Senate and then resolve any differences before going to the governor’s desk for a signature. Washington Bikes is advocating for the program this short legislative session, and they provided a little background in a recent blog post:


— Advertisement —

Broadly, Scenic Bikeways are official state designated routes that showcase incredible scenery. Washington Bikes testified before the Housing, Community Development and Veterans Committee in support of HB 2587 Jan. 31. This legislation is prime-sponsored by Rep. Alex Ramel, the newly appointed House member from the 40th legislative district. Ramel testified in support of the bill, “The scenic bikeways program supports rural communities, small business, healthy exercise, and low-carbon recreation.” The bill requires the Parks and Recreation Commission to establish a scenic bikeways program for the designation and promotion of bicycle routes of notable scenic, recreational, cultural, or historic value.

How the Scenic Bikeways program would work:

  • Any person may propose the designation of a scenic bikeway route. The State Parks Commission will provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed scenic bike route before determining a scenic bikeways designation.
  • The Parks Commission will review, approve, and locate routes in ways that encourage local economic development in proximity to the route. The Commission must prioritize designating scenic bikeways that will add variety to the geographic location, topography, route length, and difficulty, as well as cultural, historic, scenic, and recreational value of the scenic bikeway system or that will complete existing bicycling networks
  • The Commission must review proposed scenic bikeways in consultation with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and confirm that the proposed route meets the criteria as well as being a comfortable and logical route of travel for a person bicycling.

About the author:


Related posts:

Comments

4 responses to “House votes 96-1 to pass WA scenic bikeways, now awaits Senate”

  1. asdf2

    We can designate roads like highway 20 as a scenic bikeway all we want. Scenic it is. Unfortunately, it won’t make it any safer to ride them.

  2. mergan

    I’m concerned about safety, too. Still, I see nothing problematic about it. The intention seems to mainly oriented around advancing bike tourism, and we know that safety and other good things follow increased bike traffic.

  3. J. Schifferns

    I just got tagged with a $75 “Vehicle electrification fee” to license my Prius, a hybrid which will never use the charging stations I hope this bicycle route will not incur some fee on bicycles/bicycle parts to cover the expense. If that is the case I give it two thumbs down.

    1. Tom Fucoloro

      It does not.

— Advertisement —

Join the Seattle Bike Blog Supporters

As a supporter, you help power independent bike news in the Seattle area. Please consider supporting the site financially starting at $5 per month:


Latest stories

Bike Events Calendar

Mar
19
Tue
6:00 pm South Seattle Safe Streets Coali… @ Virtual via Zoom
South Seattle Safe Streets Coali… @ Virtual via Zoom
Mar 19 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Joint meeting between Rainier Valley Greenways & Beacon Hill Safe Streets.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
Mar
21
Thu
7:15 pm Point83 @ Westlake Park
Point83 @ Westlake Park
Mar 21 @ 7:15 pm
Point83 @ Westlake Park
Meet up in the center of the park at 7ish. Leave at 730. Every Thursday from now until forever rain or shine. Bikes, beers, illegal firepits, nachos, bottlerockets, timetraveling, lollygagging, mechanicals, good times.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
Mar
23
Sat
11:00 am Sharing Wheels Bike Parking Lot … @ Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop
Sharing Wheels Bike Parking Lot … @ Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop
Mar 23 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sharing Wheels Bike Parking Lot Sale @ Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop | Everett | Washington | United States
Sharing Wheels will have completely cleaned and refurbished bikes, As-Is bikes, parts and accessories at our spring Parking Lot Sale! All road bikes will be 50%. All other bikes are 20% off. We have mountain,[…]
Mar
25
Mon
5:30 pm Downtown Greenways monthly meeting
Downtown Greenways monthly meeting
Mar 25 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Last Monday of the month.  Join us! https://seattlegreenways.org/downtowngreenwaysShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
Mar
27
Wed
6:00 pm Ballard-Fremont Greenways Meeting
Ballard-Fremont Greenways Meeting
Mar 27 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Ballard-Fremont Greenways meets monthly on the 4th Wednesday of the month. Join the google group for monthly meeting information: https://groups.google.com/g/ballard-greenwaysBring your enthusiasm and ideas to share with the group or just stop in to say hello[…]
— Advertisements —

Latest on Mastodon

Loading Mastodon feed…