(May 2024 photo by Allyne Armitage)
Thanks for the tip! The Cascade Bicycle Club is bringing back the Emerald City Ride, and it again will briefly close the westbound West Seattle Bridge to motor-vehicle traffic. The ride is set for Saturday morning, April 25, with registration opening this Tuesday (February 24). Aside from the ride day being Saturday this time (it was Sunday last time), the plan is pretty much the same as two years ago (WSB coverage here), starting in the stadium zone, riding onto southbound 99 and onto the westbound bridge, then continuing on a route around West Seattle, then back downtown via the bike/foot path on the West Seattle low bridge. The route map and other details are here. Cascade spokesperson Paul Tolmé tells WSB that the bridge/highway closure is planned for 6 to 10 am (our as-it-happened coverage noted that it reopened earlier than planned last time), and again will only involve the westbound bridge/southbound 99, while the other directions stay open to regular traffic. Cascade says they’re hoping for 4,000 riders, which would be a third more than the 2024 turnout. Before that year, as recapped here, previous Emerald City Rides in the 2010s had routes including the 520 Bridge, Aurora Bridge, and even the old Alaskan Way Viaduct