Burke-Gilman Trail
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The Burke-Gilman Trail is a 17-mile bike path and recreational trail in King County, Washington that runs from 11th Avenue N.W. and N.W. 45th Street in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood to Blyth Park in Bothell. There, it connects to the Sammamish River Trail, which parallels the Sammamish River for 10 miles to Redmond.
The trail can trace its origins to the founding of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad on April 15, 1885, by a group of men headed by Thomas Burke and Daniel Gilman. Absorbed by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1892, the line became part of the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970, and was abandoned in 1971. In 1978, 12.1 miles of the right-of-way, from Seattle's Gas Works Park to Kenmore's Tracy Owen Station, was opened as a public trail and named after the founders of the railroad.
As of 2004, there are plans for an extension of the trail beyond its western terminus. A new section will run north along Shilshole Bay from the Ballard Locks to Golden Gardens Park. Construction is expected to finish in summer 2005. A link from the current terminus west to the locks is still under discussion--a major point of contention is the industrial nature of Ballard's Salmon Bay waterfront, through which this portion of the trail would pass. Many business owners are concerned about the safety and liability issues inherent in the convergence of trains, trucks, cyclists, and pedestrians, while the city and citizen's groups claim the dangers are being exaggerated. [1] (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/117406_trailtrain14.html)