My Green Lake | Seattle's Green Lake Blog

I rollerblade a lot at Greenlake and rollerblades being such as they are, it's difficult to stop sometimes even at slow speeds. Not to mention that it's not like a bike where you can just ride into the grass. Even on slow days people are really ignorant of what's going on around them. However, the worst offenders are children and dogs, both of which I can't hold accountable. But parent's should be keeping a closer eye on their children, I can't count how many times a child has looked at me and walked directly in front of me when I'm skating. It's terrifying.

I would offer the walker's perspective. I feel equally as frustrated when a relaxing walk around Greenlake becomes a roller derby of bikes and roller bladers going way to fast for safety, combined with so many walkers which comprise not only of able bodied adults and joggers, but also elderly, people with disabilities, small kids and dogs. You may even have people from out of town, or people who don't speak English that may not understand the rules of the path. Then you add the ever growing incidents of hostility, yelling and near brawls between wheels and walkers which totally ruins the environment and the purpose of walking around Greenlake. In any case, if someone has to, or happens to wander in to the wheels lane which even as a seasoned Greenlake walker of 20 years, is unavoidable at times, you're putting yourself at great risk of either person being seriously injured. It's just reality that with the growing popularity of walkers which greatly out number the wheels, I think the bigger question is how safe is it now to combine wheels with walkers with the layout and limited room the path has to offer. There is an obvious imbalance of walkers to wheels, and the half reserved for walkers just cannot handle the volume, which inevitably leads to spill over. The unfortunately reality, is it is probably time to start seeking alternatives, which may or may not include limiting the path to walkers/strollers only, or finding a way to limit the speed or type of wheels allowed. I don't have the solutions. I just think it's time to re-evaluate, and just accept the reality that it's not feasible to fit everyone on the path safely.

As a frequent walker at Green Lake, I can confirm that there are a significant number of walkers who either don't understand or don't care about the wheeled lane restriction. It is also apparent there are far fewer bicyclist and skaters attempting to use the path, I assume because the number of walkers/joggers/runners in the “wheels only” lane makes the wheeled experience a frustrating one.

It seems that the signage providing information about the intended use of each lane ought to be an effective way of allowing safe comingling of feet and wheels. But then all users need to read the signs and respect the rights of others to use the path safely.

IMHO, people on their feet have the right of way. If I want a quick ride or skate, I know that the greenlake path is not the place to go. If I want a relaxed bike ride with my son, we will go around the lake.

As for widening the path or paving the whole thing over, I think lots of runners would be upset if the gravel was paved over. AFAIK, it is a lot easier on their body to run on gravel instead of asphalt. I also do not think that making the path wider will help. People will just fill the extra space.

It might be interesting to add a second loop on the outside perimeter, near the road, dedicated for bikes and rollerblades. Retain the current “wheels lane”. Make the outside paved loop for wheels only. Have a gravel border for runners next to the new loop.

It is not safe for anyone to assume the current loop is appropriate for high speed biking or blading. With all the kids and dogs on the loop, it is just asking for an accident. I believe one of the ideas of the greenlake 4 way intersections with no stop signs is to make drivers nervous and drive slower and more carefully. It seems that the loop works the same way.

This illustrates my frustration with all the money that was recently wasted on the park's lightly used NE corner entrance. That money could have been better spent on things that matter to those who use Green Lake, including the Bathhouse roof and the park's paths. What's needed for the latter is:

1. Convert the present path to serve foot and stroller traffic only. No adult bikes and skates at all. They go too fast for the rest of the flow of traffic and for their own safety. Kids on skates and bikes under a certain age would be an exception. That wouldn't solve the crowding problem on sunny days, but it would reduce it and the potential for accidents.

2. Improve the outer circle, making it better for jogging than the current narrow gravel path. Someone's idea for a paved path for skaters and bikers alongside a widened gravel path for joggers makes sense, but their are sections where's there's simply not enough room for a path that wide. For some of those sections, the wheeled traffic path could split off from jogging path. In others sections (especially the SW corner), there's no room for such a path at all. We'd probably have to merge that flow into a Go Slow zone for skates and a Walk Your Bike zone for bikes (like at the UW). It wouldn't be perfect, but it'd be better than what we have now.

Between walkers in the bike lane, bikers in the walk lane, and bikers going in the wrong direction, my blood pressure goes up enough so as to make my run necessary for my health.

Oh, and @latonacoug? Your use of 'true cyclist' just goes to further prove that many bikers come off as pretentious arses. Because, wow. I don't remember voting for you as the voice of 'true cyclists' but I might have missed the ballot in the mail.

And the people who walk 4+ abreast and seem put out that they have to make space to let a single runner/walker going in the other direction through. When I run with my wife, I tend to run behind her so as to present as thin a column as possible. Learned that from the Sandpeople, I did. =D

There are already perfectly good bike lanes around the lake *except* where it borders Aurora. A dedicated bike path on that short section and signage directing bicycles to the bike lanes should solve everything.

I used to bike around the Green Lake path 20 years ago. I wouldn't think of doing it now. The foot traffic has grown enormously since then. It's just packed with walkers now. The whole thing should probably be rethought. It was originally designed under entirely different use conditions.

bb, right above, I think says it quite well. Pedestrian v bikes v skaters v pets debates have been taking place as far back as I can remember, more than three decades. However, as Green Lake has become increasingly more popular – partly the result of the tremendous development and growth in the surrounding area that has also had a significant impact on traffic all around the lake – the community and parks department finds itself in a never-ending game of catchup through wider paths and rules finessing which is at best only partially or temporarily effective. It well may be that as Green Lake use continues to increase – and I have no doubt that it will with the high density development taking place around the lake – more extreme solutions will be required including separate paths for different types of users or restrictions regarding certain groups.

Is there a speed limit on the 'wheels' lane? And shouldn't anyone who's in that lane expect to need to have to stop suddenly to avoid kids/dogs/other? We should all be courteous and try to not block the path and get out of the way of people who are in their proper lanes and moving responsibly .. but still, its unreasonable to expect not to have to avoid obstacles in the course.

I like the idea of adding a paved path next to the outside gravel loop, that would be reversed definitely for wheels only though.

The people who feel the need to bike around that congested pedestrian path are the same kind of people who feel the need to have a pit bull at the playground. Parks should just ban wheels altogether, or put a 2mph speed limit on them. Its just not safe.