The narrow sidewalks on the Ballard Bridge could be widened in the future. According to the Seattle Bike Blog, the City of Seattle is beginning a study to assess, “what opportunities exist for widening the sidewalks” on the bridge. They report that the study will take five months and will look at three things:
- Is there some way to widen the sidewalk within the existing space? For example, can we shave off those concrete pillars that jut into the sidewalk?
- Is it possible to widen the sidewalks? This will require a study to see if the structure can support such an expansion.
- If the structure can support a widened sidewalk, the study will assess what sort of environmental studies, etc would be required.
The city’s Bicycle Master Plan from 2007 proposed some recommendations for a new biking/walking bridge to the west of the bridge, says the Seattle Bike Blog.
