Parts of the Ballard Bridge will be getting a new coat of paint this year and work could start as early as next week.
A contractor for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is expected to begin painting the approaches to the bridge on August 9th. The moveable part of the bridge, shown above, will be painted next year.
According to the release from SDOT, the contractor plans to start with the handrails on the sidewalks, which means pedestrians and bicyclists will be affected. During the work, the sidewalk being painted will be closed around the clock during the week for three weeks and pedestrians will be detoured to the other sidewalk. Bicyclists are encouraged to use the Locks or the Fremont Bridge to cross the ship canal. If a bicyclist want to use the Ballard Bridge they will be required to walk their bikes across because of the narrow pathway.
![](https://www.myballard.com/wp-content/uploads/2024-My-Ballard-Tile-Ad-Troop-100.png")
That little tagger twerp who hit Ballard ought to have to paint this all by his lonesome as community service!
Tom Sawyer’s white picket fence nothing a*s hole!
I’ll be sorely tempted to ride my bike across, not walk it, if there are no or only a few pedestrians. Most of the time when I ride across, I don’t pass/meet anyone, and the few times I do, I slow down almost to a stop so we can pass safely.
In fact, if I have to get off my bike, the bike+me is significantly wider than when I’m riding, making for a more difficult passing situation.
Something like a 3mph speed limit when in passing situations would be better than this well-meaning but flawed rule.
Can we change the color? I’m thinking something brighter, like yellow or orange.
SPG, i’m curious about color too. I think the green is ok, and traditional, i suppose. I imagine it would take years worth of permits to get a color change and i think it’d be be news if something new was coming. But i like the idea of something new. Yellow is interesting. Fremont has blue and orange locked up and it looks great.