From myballard.com

The Burke Gilman Trail is a community treasure and we need to find a way to settle this lawsuit. At the same time, the biking community can’t simply dismiss the frustration of the commercial and freight folks in Ballard who see more and more pressure on their industrial core from a variety of sectors.

I know it’s a lot of money…I know it seems pie in the sky…but what about a really cool elevated bike path that would quickly become a wonderful community asset (to say nothing of pure fun for kids) and would show how to mix today’s commercial and recreational uses? Wouldn’t the win-win add a lot of value to our community? Can’t we move the BG trail over a block or two? Come on folks let’s get creative.

Public infrastructure that allows density to work with industrial jobs is more than a fantasy, it’s vital to our future.

I strongly encourage the parties to sit down together and work for a negotiated settlement to this important issue.

It’s not fair to put bikers in harms way of large scale trucks, while raising insurance rates for companies transporting rocks and other industry materials, and not look for alternatives.

The only winners in this one will be the lawyers until the folks on both sides get busy–together.

The Mayor needs to bring the parties together immediately and take some ownership of this one.