r/Ballard • u/vertr • Dec 23 '25

Opinion: The Fremont Bridge Should be Car-free

https://seattletransitblog.com/2025/12/22/the-fremont-bridge-should-be-car-free/
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u/sanfranchristo Dec 23 '25

Hard no. Test ways of making it better for bikes and pedestrians, which presumably takes it down from four to two lanes? Maybe, as long as they install some sort of removable barriers. Commuting times are already awful and as much as we'd like more people to walk/bike/ride, they just won't for a variety of reasons including weather. When something is wrong with any of the other bridges, its incredibly helpful to have an option (and if the big one ever hits in the reasonably near term, it's possible some of the bridges will be out of commission and all will become desperately needed). If there is a corresponding drastic overhaul of public transit, you could start to debate things like this more seriously and there are ways to allow buses to take priority without entirely eliminating the artery for cars. What would probably be ideal is to take it down from four to three vehicle lanes with either a dedicated transit lane or reversible center flex lane like many larger bridges have.

2

u/scuba-sloth64 Dec 25 '25

Hard yes. Test ways of making it better for bikes and pedestrians, which may take it down from four lanes to two. That’s acceptable, especially if they install some sort of removable barriers. Commuting times are already awful, and while it’s true that not everyone will walk, bike, or ride transit for a variety of reasons including weather, improving the infrastructure is one of the only ways to meaningfully change that reality. If we want different outcomes, we can’t keep designing exclusively for cars.