Acknowledge other modes of transportation, please

It was very disappointing to not see any helpful recommendations, i.e., park and rides and/or light-rail links or bicycling map links [“Brace for a weekend of tricky traffic in Seattle area,” NWFriday, Aug. 10]. It was a great, sunny weekend to come to Seattle by bike.

We are sadly so far behind many other city’s for promoting green alternatives to sitting in traffic with full tanks of gas. Articles like this sure don’t help people think outside the box either. No other transportation alternative for The Times except filling up the gas tank.

More string cheese as advice? Pretty disheartening!

In the future, I hope The Times could try to provide a useful article for helping travelers get around, other than just the doom warning and gas fill-up.

— Cyndi Cross, Beacon Hill

Take the Alki Trail

It was disappointing to read that filling up the gas tank so we can sit longer in a car polluting the air is the best The Times can recommend to us for dealing with traffic congestion over the recent weekend.

I have a suggestion for at least my area of the region: If you would like to go to the stadiums, to or through downtown from West Seattle or to visit the beach at Alki, hop on a bike and take the Alki Trail.

Bike 35 to 40 minutes at an easy pace, each way, along a flat, scenic route separated from motor-vehicle traffic most of the way; it’s healthy, nonpolluting and there’s no need to fill up the tank at the gas station. You might want to stop for ice cream instead, hear the sea lions and/or see the beach volleyball along the way.

Take the water taxi if you would like to skip East Marginal Way’s industrial area; there are bike racks on board. The 56 bus does the job, too.

Enjoy the ride! Bikes are transportation, too.

— Don Brubeck, Seattle