Trail's missing link may get funding

The one-mile "missing link" of Seattle's Burke-Gilman Trail in Ballard could open by 2010, according to a new proposal from Mayor Greg Nickels.

Nickels announced this morning he will add $8.6 million, including some King County trail funds and other grants, for the trail in his upcoming two-year budget. That would bring the total to $14.1 million, said city transportation spokesman Rick Sheridan. A large share would go toward street and drainage improvements.

The 1-½-mile route extends from 11th Avenue Northwest to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, an area that has been the subject of political disputes between cycling advocates and waterfront industries. Existing streets include train tracks in or near bicycle lanes.

Work could start by April on the section from 11th to 17th avenues northwest, including below the Ballard Bridge, followed by groundbreaking nine to 12 months later on the part farther west, said Sheridan.

The trail runs through Lake Forest Park, North Seattle and the University of Washington to Golden Gardens Park, mostly on an abandoned railroad corridor.