The Seattle Department of Transportation continues outreach around its proposal to finally connect the last segment of the Duwamish Trail between the West Seattle Bridge and the separated trail that starts a half mile down West Marginal Way SW.

A Virtual Open House around all the improvements planned for the street is planned for next Thursday, February 18th at 6pm, with the fate of the protected bike lane project the most significant decision left to be made. Duwamish Valley Safe Streets and West Seattle Bike Connections have already voiced their support for connecting the trail, with the Freight Advisory Board and the Port of Seattle being the primary opponents of taking away street space for the lane.

Last week the Bicycle Advisory Board was told by SDOT’s Bradley Topol that if the proposal to convert a westernmost lane of Marginal to a two-way protected bike lane was approved, the department currently plans to separate the bike facility from the rest of Marginal with either concrete barriers or planters, not just paint and plastic posts. Prior to this, we hadn’t heard what was planned to be able to make people biking northbound, with drivers coming southbound in the next lane, more comfortable.

In advance of the virtual open house, SDOT has released an online walking tour of West Marginal that does a great job of illustrating what the improvements would entail and why they are needed. Check out the video below!