It seems that completing the Missing Link of the Burke-Gilman Trail will come at a great cost: many of the trees on the south side of Market St are slated to be removed to make way for the new trail.
The project was recently renamed the Ballard Multimodal Corridor by the city, and part of it is already underway, with crews doing utility work along NW Market St between the Ballard Locks and 24th Ave NW.
Now, it seems the next stage is tree removal. A notice was found duct-taped to a tree on Market St (and posted by Denise in the My Ballard Group), which says the removal will happen on or after April 15.
According to this notice by the city, crews will be removing trees along both NW Market St and NW 54th St. “Removing trees enables crews to demolish existing street and roadway concrete and complete drainage and concrete work,” they write in the notice.
The city requires that two trees be planted for every one tree removed.
The utility verification work for new transit poles and signal improvements is still underway, but is expected to wrap up by the end of April. SDOT says to expect the following impacts:
- Up to one lane of NW Market St and NW 54th St will be closed for exploratory excavations
- Holes will be dug at about 3-feet wide and 10-feet deep, drilling for which will last 30-60 minutes
- Traffic detours
- Temporary bus stop closures/relocations
- Loud work along the corridor
Contact the project team directly at BallardMultimodal@seattle.gov or call 206-519-8136, or visit the project website to learn more about the project.
Thanks, Denise for posting the notice in the My Ballard Group!
It is “multimodal” now, shared by trucks and buses and cars and bicycles alike. Trees will be felled to segregate one mode.
Can the order to kill those healthy trees be appealed?
I’m with you on this one. Knocking down trees for more concrete? Lame. Anything for the bicyclists I suppose.
New in town? This is Seattle! Everything can be appealed. I expect the first tree to fall in 2025.
The carbon waste avoided by biking versus driving will obviate the need for the oxygen created by the trees, yes?
I suspect not, but that would be one of many considerations for an appeal. I’m more concerned about the heat island effect which has been worsening in recent years.
This would of course have been avoided if the ballard coalition had not prevented the link from traveling down 54th . So you can thank that group for all of these impacts.
Thank you, Ballard Coalition, for fighting for both biker safety and our industrial jobs and tax base. Two trees will be planted for every one cut so this is a win-win-win.
J.G. – I completely agree with you. 54th is the logical route for the trail and now that Ballard Transfer has left it makes even more sense to use 54th. But I imagine SDOT is now committed and this section of Market will be a bit of a mess in days to come.
Did no one read that they will be replacing 2 trees for every 1 tree removed?
Little saplings vs. mature trees. That’s been their talking point everywhere. It’s not working. We are losing our tree canopy!
You’re right, it really is sad that a handful of businesses held up this trail for decades to save the parking spots for 10 guys’ trucks. We’d have a complete trail with a canopy of mature trees over it by now if they hadn’t done that.
that is simply not true – look how many people park along shilshole. this will impact local businesses large and small, as well as the farmers market.
I lived in NYC and Boston and visit many international cities, all of which have small businesses and farmers markets and guess how people get there? They walk, take the bus, train, taxi, take a bike. You don’t hear the citizens bitching about parking all the time.
NYC is a dump.
Good god! when was the last time you visited NYC? It is not a dump! It is a thriving, vibrant city.
The neighborhood has grown immensely and that parking has remained the same. It has been demonstrated that there are other ways to relieve parking pressure than to obstruct progress.
Ballard has tremendously more trees than it has had since it was a forest that was cleared 100 years ago.
A couple of dozen trees that will be replaced by twice the number in the name of improving the safety and encouraging the super popular trail is worth it. Of all of the development that is going on and its impacts it is silly to harp on temporary tree loss that serves the greater economic, ecologic and common good!
Where will these replacement trees be planted, and when? Somehow we continue to lose our MATURE trees and our tree CANOPY despite these assurances. Please preserve what we have, what is real and not unenforceable promises. We’ve seen how that works!
The Burke-Gilman trail should follow the railroad grade the entire way, exactly as it does for its entire existing extent. It was forced out onto Market St. in a “compromise” with local industries. Those industries are responsible for the loss of these trees, on top of the years of delay that endanger riders every day.