Olympia proclaims May 2025 "Olympia Bicycle Month," highlights new bike corridors and safety projects
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Summary
The City Council issued a proclamation declaring May 2025 Olympia Bicycle Month and staff and partners described several near-term bicycle projects, plus the start of Inner City Transit's 38th Bicycle Community Challenge.
The Olympia City Council on April 29 proclaimed May 2025 as Olympia Bicycle Month and heard a summary of near-term projects intended to expand and make bicycle travel safer across the city.
Kristen Gilkerson, program specialist in the city's Transportation Division, outlined several projects that the city says will add to the bicycle network: the downtown bike corridor (connecting Sylvester Park to the Karen Fraser Woodland Trail), a West Side bike corridor to connect neighborhoods to Woodruff Park and Garfield Elementary School, a separated bike lane and intersection improvements at Fourth and Plum outside City Hall, parking-separated bike lanes on Pacific and State Avenues between Sawyer and First Street and the ongoing Phones Road Corridor project that will include separated bike lanes on both sides of the street and an improved crossing at the Karen Fraser Woodland Trail.
Gilkerson said the city's Transportation Benefit District sales tax collects approximately $3,100,000 annually for bicycle and active transportation projects and that the Transportation Master Plan and the Street Safety Plan include projects to expand the bicycle network.
Duncan Green, Bicycle Community Challenge coordinator at Intercity Transit, said the 38th annual Bicycle Community Challenge (BCC) begins this year with Bike to Work/Anywhere Day on May 15. "This year's theme...is 'be a beacon for bicycling'," Green said, and he described the BCC and the agency's broader Walk & Roll program, which includes classes, volunteer opportunities and partnerships with schools and the Cascade Bicycle Club. He noted the challenge is free and open to individuals and teams and encouraged people to register at bcc.innercitytransit.com.
Councilmembers thanked Green and city staff for ongoing work on bicycle infrastructure and community outreach. Councilmember Vanessa Gilman singled out Green's leadership and noted programmatic changes that broaden participation; Councilmember Tim Vanderpool and others urged continued investment in protected facilities to expand multimodal travel.
The proclamation links the month to regional and climate goals, citing the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan and the city's transportation policy goals. The council presented a signed proclamation and invited community partners to join for a photo following the meeting.
The city said project details and schedules are available on the city's transportation website at olympiawa.gov/transportation.
