{"id":10730,"date":"2014-12-14T17:03:11","date_gmt":"2014-12-15T01:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=10730"},"modified":"2014-12-14T19:36:42","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T03:36:42","slug":"bridging-gap-thurston-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/12\/14\/bridging-gap-thurston-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Gap in Thurston County"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest blogger Michelle Swanson rides her bike in Olympia.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bicycling in Thurston County just got a lot easier with the third and final phase of the Bridging the Gap project.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Chehalis-Western Trail provides the backbone of the Thurston County trail network, running 22 miles from Woodard Bay in the north to the Yelm-Tenino Trail in the south. A former railroad used to transport timber, it’s now a vital respite from busy motor vehicle traffic for people walking and rolling in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n

\"Dad<\/a>

“Yo, you got an electric assist on that bike?” “Nope, just 7-year-old power!”<\/p><\/div>\n

Fifteen years ago, a coalition of several government agencies and advocates worked together to bridge three major gaps in the north part of the trail. The first bridge over I-5 was built in 2007. The second bridge over Martin Way\u2014which was the main north\/south route between Seattle and Portland before I-5\u2014was finished in 2010. Saturday December 13, 2014, the community gathered to celebrate bridging of the very last gap over Pacific Avenue.<\/p>\n

[Tweet “Bridging the Gap projects complete trail connections in Thurston County. #bikeOLY”]<\/p>\n

You can now ride from the Puget Sound to Yelm or Tenino\u2014or both!\u2014almost entirely (save for about 1,500 feet) on a trail in Thurston County. Yay!<\/p>\n

[Tweet “Ride from Puget Sound to Yelm\/Tenino; trails 99%+ of the way! #bikeOLY”]<\/p>\n

In addition to linking to the Yelm-Tenino Trail in the south\u2014which many of our friends up north know from riding part of the STP on it\u2014the Chehalis-Western intersects with the I-5 Trail and the Woodland Trail, two trails that run east and west. Both are great off-street links between Olympia and Lacey.<\/p>\n

\"Roundabout<\/a>

Roundabout at dawn. It really does look like a flying saucer, doesn’t it?<\/p><\/div>\n

My favorite part of this project is the intersection between the Chehalis-Western and Woodland Trails: the very first bicycle roundabout in Washington State. Squeee! It looks like a flying saucer, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

[Tweet “1st bike roundabout in WA state on Chehalis-Western & Woodland Trails #bikeOLY”]<\/p>\n

This was a massive project, and a lot of people dedicated significant time and effort to make it happen. I’m so happy to live in a community that values bicycling enough to pull something like this off.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Twitter we have two videos shared by Kevin VanDriel of Olympia. The first is a fast-paced hyperlapse view of his ride to the dedication; the second shows the Boy Scout troop, band, and hundreds of people who showed up to celebrate.<\/p>\n