2011 BTG report now online; levy money funded 15 miles of bike improvements

The 2011 Bridging the Gap (BTG) Annual Report is now complete and available online. “2011 was the fifth year of the levy program and it was again a very busy and successful year,” states the Seattle Department of Transportation.

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In 2011, BTG funded 15 miles of bike improvement including the improvements on N 34th Street and Fremont Avenue N.

BTG is a nine-year, $365 million levy for transportation maintenance and improvements that was passed by Seattle voters in 2006. The levy is complemented by a commercial parking tax and funds programs to address the maintenance backlog for paving, sidewalk development and repairs, bridge repair, rehabilitation and seismic upgrades, planting and more. Funding also supports projects that implement the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master plans, create a Safe Routes to School Program, improve transit connections and help neighborhoods get larger projects built through the Neighborhood Street Fund large project program. This past year, key projects included completing 15th Avenue NE & 105th bridge rehabilitation project and paving 24 lane-miles of roadway including Dexter Avenue N, 15th Avenue NE and Airport Way S in Georgetown. BTG also funded the construction of 10 blocks of new sidewalk and repair of 25 blocks of existing sidewalks, restriping of 1,151 lane-miles of arterial street, remarking of 308 crosswalks, improving 51 intersections, installment of 9 miles of bike lanes and  6 miles of sharrows, and improved five routes to schools as part of the Safe Routes to School Program. BTG has been instrumental in funding bike and pedestrian improvements but is it enough? Check out our recently released 2012 Seattle Bicycle Report Card, which evaluates Seattle’s progress at implementing the goals of the 2007 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan, while  taking a look at the nation’s bike-friendliest cities for comparison and inspiration.