SDOT recently refreshed the S Kenyon Street neighborhood greenway, adding proper wayfinding and making other improvements to the 1.1-mile route.
The greenway runs from Beacon Ave S to Seward Park Ave S, connecting to the Chief Sealth Trail, Renton Ave S bike lanes and the Rainier Valley neighborhood greenway at 46the Ave S along the way. It also includes improved crossings at Renton, MLK and Rainier.
Bob Svercl (bobco85 on YouTube) recently made a very informative video showing the route and the various useful connections it makes (transcript). Check it out above.
Cool & informative video. I used to cross from one side to the other via Othello Street, but I will now take Kenyon Street instead.
Good cheesesteak business right off the corner of Rainier Avenue, by the way (no shameless plugging).
King Philly is great, and the fantastic Beach Bakery in the same plaza on the SE corner of Rainier & Kenyon is a real gem. Perfect stop for a coffee and a pastry before continuing on to Seward Park. The owner and baker grew up in the neighborhood and is delightful. There’s a nice write-up on it here — https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/beach-bakery-is-a-sweet-treat-for-rainier-beach/.
What a fantastic video. As David commented, this is a much safer way to cross MLK Jr. Way S. to get to/from Beacon Hill than anything else in the area. Crossing at Othello is really scary, and heading westbound involves navigating around buses at a busy bus stop on the NW side of the intersection as well as a very busy entrance/exit for a bank and Safeway parking lot. Not to mention that Othello between Seward Park Ave and MLK is not a pleasant bike ride; sad, given the really nice new bike lane on Othello that begins a couple of blocks further west.
One criticism of the S. Kenyon St greenway is the extreme congestion/lack of road width between Rainier Ave S. and Seward Park Ave S., due to parking on both sides of the road. It has the bonus of mostly keeping car speeds down, but adds the high probability of a dooring unless you ride in the center of the road, something that’s fine heading downhill westbound, but likely to incite road rage heading up the steep hill to Seward Park Ave.