The Paved Trail Networks of South Puget Sound: Finding the Gaps and Connecting the Dots

Abstract

Introduction:With wildly fluctuating fuel prices, the onset of global warming, epidemic obesity, and the political problems accompanying dependence on foreign oil, many communities and regions are looking to bicycling as an important part of a comprehensive transportation solution. Local governments are investing in bicycling infrastructure. However, in the South Puget Sound region, these investments have lacked central coordination and a longer view of how the trails being built will fit into the larger bicycle transportation system. This has resulted in a piecemeal set of individual trail networks lacking interconnectivity. This lack of interconnectivity keeps the full potential of these trails as transportation infrastructure from being realized and, in some cases, renders them useful (for the most part) for recreation only.