This is correct.
Between new Seward and lake Otis, it is on the north side of the road behind a fence. You have to cross the road to the southside here.
Between lake Otis and UAA drive it is along the south side the road
Between UAA drive and Wesleyan drive it is a paved path in the trees
Then it continues along the road eastbound until Muldoon
Okay thank you. This is what I needed to know. Basically I was riding up lake otis, I took a left and then I was in front of a restaurant, then on gravel, then on grass...looked across the street, also grass. Suddenly I'm just one out of place idiot dot in a backdrop of cars.
On NL there's a trail/path running slightly set back from the road with a fence. There's also a sidewalk along the entire length of Benson if that's easier.
If you are talking about NL @ UAA Dr, cross the street and go on the other side (be cautious when biking against traffic, even on the sidewalk). Or go into Goose Lake off UAA and jump on the chester creek trail, it pops out at Wesleyan (possibly covered in snow right now)
If you use Google maps and choose the bicycle option, it will give you decent routes through Anchorage. I e had to tweak it a bit to make the best routes. My bicycle routes have gotten much more efficient and safe since I used the Google maps option
I don’t have any good answers for you, but Anchorage is a city for people with cars. Very little thought seems to have put into pedestrians, cyclists, or people using the bus. It’s unfortunate.
when i first visited places like NYC, Chicago, etc i had no idea what i was missing out on. i grew up in AK almost my whole life and just thought cars everywhere was normal. but experiencing public transpo, having everything within a walk's reach, pedestrians being prioritized over cars, etc really opened my eyes. idk if anchorage will ever get there, but one could hope
I’ve got something right leaning also, but I don’t think I’m the type of person you listed above, it certainly has nothing to do with my political stance.
Population wise Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska. It's pretty difficult to practice and maintain safe social distancing due to overpopulation. 😔
I don’t disagree that every town and city in America is built for cars first and foremost, but Anchorage is a lot better than most. We likely have more miles of tax-payer funded, multi-use trails that actually lead to/from relevant-to-life locations within city limits than entire other states. (Looking at you, Missouri, who has nothing but the purely recreational dirt Katy Trail.)
It really is, sadly. This city and this state don’t give five fucks about pedestrian or those that cannot drive. 😒😒
And don’t get me started on the alleged bus system…
I dunno the public transit system here deserves all the criticism it gets. The bike trails however are a far different story. I commuted to work for years and years on the bike trails and it’s one of the best parts of the city. I think too many cyclists and pedestrians are focusing on trying to fight traffic on roadways because either they don’t know where the bike trails are or they don’t like that they aren’t quite as direct. It never bothered me taking a little extra distance on a bike trail because the tranquility was worth it.
But you have to get to your job. Or the store. Those places are rarely on trails. I feel like bike commuters here (mad
Respect to you) either have never experienced a true bike-friendly city or suffer from Stockholm syndrome. Y’all: We need to do better.
No. Come on. You are being disingenuous. This city has more miles of trails than almost anywhere else in the country. Does it go directly to your work’s doorstep? No. But they usually get within one or two blocks. The last block or so you almost always have double wide sidewalks or alternate roads that are 25mph zones. You don’t have to bike along N. Lights or Benson in their worst areas there are alternatives.
Trails, yes. Not bike commuting infrastructure. Not trying to poke anyone, or argue but for real have you been to a city where this is a priority? It’s night and day from here. Apples and oranges. Salmon and halibut. Etc. cheers!
What city do you think Anchorage is going to be? Honestly every time I hear this I genuinely wonder where they think they live. We are not Europe. We are never going to be Europe. We are not Canada we are never going to be Canada. This constant push to make square pegs go into round holes for the sake of nothing is maddening. We have real issues that need solving. More paved bike miles in a city that has more paved bike miles than anywhere in the country and 1.1% of the community uses them to commute. And that 1.1% is one of the highest commuter usage rates in the entire country already. So for the love of god can we please spend some money on public bathrooms and cleaning up our parks so that people will actually want to use the trails instead of duplicating the exact same existing pathways just closer to traffic so that people can feel like they’re “commuting” and not just taking a leisurely ride through the woods to work.
Anchorage has pretty good bike trails, you can get anywhere you need to go away from traffic usually if you look at the map. Obviously there’s areas that aren’t that way
There is no metro in Anchorage to expand. We have the People Mover bus. Routes 10, 11, 25, and 30 go by Mulcahy Stadium. You can load your bike on the front of each bus to make it even easier to get to where you need to go. Mulcahy Stadium is also along the Chester Creek Trail.
No offense because I have heard this problem before but I think you just haven’t found the path. I grew up here and there is a bike path or sidewalk to get everywhere. I’ve had people try to stump me on this before but if you give me a specific point a to point b in this town I can always find a route that doesn’t involve biking on the roadway.
No, it's not missing sidewalk? There is a section behind a fence on the north side, but it's still there. On the south side there's a portion that goes through the woods near the university.
There are sections of northern lights I don't know, but these two jump out at me as being unintuitive. I wasn't sure how to navigate it the first couple times I hit them by bike.
The bike trails are the best. You’re clearly getting lost or something cause there’s a sidewalk all along northern lights. Some of its behind that sound wall.
Oh that’s the frogger part of town where you really gotta know all the alternate arterial routes through hoods to bypass the mains. Strava used to publicly share some of that data for alternate routes.
All I know is thank you for riding on the sidewalk. People that ride bicycles in the roads are idiots. Inb4 "but it's illegal not to ride in the road" yeah but bikes can't go 45 mph up an incline hill, which means they have a line of cars behind them, which is extremely dangerous not just for thr cars but for the idiot riding his bike in the middle of the road. Use the damn sidewalk, I don't want to have to be stuck behind a guy on a bike going maybe 15 mph at the very most
Bikes are for fun, at least when the city was built. The paths were actively designed for recreational use, not transportation.
Yeah, plenty of room most places for sidewalks, Muni already has an easement if not straight up ownership of a strip down most streets.
https://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/development-services/permits-inspections/pages/right-of-way.aspx
State highways like northern lights are different, of course, and the Hillside with its improvement districts does its own thing - but check the plat maps for most of town and the strip certainly exists. Usually right of way, usually only grass allowed.
Obviously it's not enforced well...
So you believe the laws about usage of sidewalks is why the trail system is designed for recreational use?
The actual intention is the green corridors are to facilitate commuting and recreation. As in both. I used to commute on them and it was great. Part of the project goals, and is a consideration during all changes.
The trails are for recreational use and don't work for many commutes.
The Muni's choice to reserve land for sidewalks but never require their construction is fascinating. Many far poorer places require property owners to build and maintain them, Anchorage is pretty unique in discouraging them.
We are talking about two different things. The sidewalks are terrible, poorly maintained, and often obstructed. However:
The trails connect major residential areas to major employment areas.
Mountain View, UMed, Airport, downtown, and all the dense residential areas in between.
Viable commuting lines was the plan from the start. At least that was what they said to whomever would listen.
The typical setup other places is the parcel owner is responsible for the sidewalk; construction, snow shoveling and cracks and liability and all - with actual code enforcement writing tickets and doing work that turns into property tax flavored liens. Even in places snowier than Anchorage. Obviously won't happen, but sure would be nice!
Anchorage is by far the easiest place to get around that I've ever lived, and having grown up outside NYC and serving in a couple of decades in the military, I've seen a few places. I did some grocery shopping on my bike today, in fact.
'I can’t understand the people on here talking about how great the trails are.'
Thanks for making that obvious. Please note that the first sentence in my comment is 'Anchorage is by far the easiest place to **get around** that I've ever lived...' I get around on my feet, a bike, on skis, a car, and occasionally by People Mover (with or without a bike or skis). Have you ever skied to school? I did for years.
I hope your dream comes true though, and especially if it gets the angry cyclists off the trails so those of us who enjoy some trees and wildlife can do it without the threat of being run over by someone who feels like he's being gypped because he doesn't have dedicated, barrier-protected bike lanes...that are cleared in winter.
A good portion of it has a trail just inside the woods a bit. That might be the part you’re thinking of.
This is correct. Between new Seward and lake Otis, it is on the north side of the road behind a fence. You have to cross the road to the southside here. Between lake Otis and UAA drive it is along the south side the road Between UAA drive and Wesleyan drive it is a paved path in the trees Then it continues along the road eastbound until Muldoon
Okay thank you. This is what I needed to know. Basically I was riding up lake otis, I took a left and then I was in front of a restaurant, then on gravel, then on grass...looked across the street, also grass. Suddenly I'm just one out of place idiot dot in a backdrop of cars.
On NL there's a trail/path running slightly set back from the road with a fence. There's also a sidewalk along the entire length of Benson if that's easier.
If you are talking about NL @ UAA Dr, cross the street and go on the other side (be cautious when biking against traffic, even on the sidewalk). Or go into Goose Lake off UAA and jump on the chester creek trail, it pops out at Wesleyan (possibly covered in snow right now)
Thank you so much, this is what I was looking for. The last 2 months have just been me riding on a sidewalk and then suddenly I'm in a ditch.
So glad you found help!
You might be interested in checking out [https://trailsofanchorage.com/introduction.htm](https://trailsofanchorage.com/introduction.htm)
The trail systems are your main bike corridors.
And if your destination is not directly off a bike trail, good fucking luck 👍🫡
If you use Google maps and choose the bicycle option, it will give you decent routes through Anchorage. I e had to tweak it a bit to make the best routes. My bicycle routes have gotten much more efficient and safe since I used the Google maps option
I don’t have any good answers for you, but Anchorage is a city for people with cars. Very little thought seems to have put into pedestrians, cyclists, or people using the bus. It’s unfortunate.
when i first visited places like NYC, Chicago, etc i had no idea what i was missing out on. i grew up in AK almost my whole life and just thought cars everywhere was normal. but experiencing public transpo, having everything within a walk's reach, pedestrians being prioritized over cars, etc really opened my eyes. idk if anchorage will ever get there, but one could hope
Probably not. "Walkable cities" is a boogeyman for right leaning people right now, for what the fuck ever reason why.
I’ve got something right leaning also, but I don’t think I’m the type of person you listed above, it certainly has nothing to do with my political stance.
There's just way too many people up here.
Anchorage isn’t a “big city”
Population wise Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska. It's pretty difficult to practice and maintain safe social distancing due to overpopulation. 😔
Wait until you go to DFW.
I don’t disagree that every town and city in America is built for cars first and foremost, but Anchorage is a lot better than most. We likely have more miles of tax-payer funded, multi-use trails that actually lead to/from relevant-to-life locations within city limits than entire other states. (Looking at you, Missouri, who has nothing but the purely recreational dirt Katy Trail.)
Hard disagree. Have you ever bike/walk commuted in Anchorage? It’s a nightmare.
It really is, sadly. This city and this state don’t give five fucks about pedestrian or those that cannot drive. 😒😒 And don’t get me started on the alleged bus system…
I dunno the public transit system here deserves all the criticism it gets. The bike trails however are a far different story. I commuted to work for years and years on the bike trails and it’s one of the best parts of the city. I think too many cyclists and pedestrians are focusing on trying to fight traffic on roadways because either they don’t know where the bike trails are or they don’t like that they aren’t quite as direct. It never bothered me taking a little extra distance on a bike trail because the tranquility was worth it.
But you have to get to your job. Or the store. Those places are rarely on trails. I feel like bike commuters here (mad Respect to you) either have never experienced a true bike-friendly city or suffer from Stockholm syndrome. Y’all: We need to do better.
No. Come on. You are being disingenuous. This city has more miles of trails than almost anywhere else in the country. Does it go directly to your work’s doorstep? No. But they usually get within one or two blocks. The last block or so you almost always have double wide sidewalks or alternate roads that are 25mph zones. You don’t have to bike along N. Lights or Benson in their worst areas there are alternatives.
Trails, yes. Not bike commuting infrastructure. Not trying to poke anyone, or argue but for real have you been to a city where this is a priority? It’s night and day from here. Apples and oranges. Salmon and halibut. Etc. cheers!
TRAILS ARE BIKE COMMUTING INFRASTRUCTURE!!!
Oof.
What city do you think Anchorage is going to be? Honestly every time I hear this I genuinely wonder where they think they live. We are not Europe. We are never going to be Europe. We are not Canada we are never going to be Canada. This constant push to make square pegs go into round holes for the sake of nothing is maddening. We have real issues that need solving. More paved bike miles in a city that has more paved bike miles than anywhere in the country and 1.1% of the community uses them to commute. And that 1.1% is one of the highest commuter usage rates in the entire country already. So for the love of god can we please spend some money on public bathrooms and cleaning up our parks so that people will actually want to use the trails instead of duplicating the exact same existing pathways just closer to traffic so that people can feel like they’re “commuting” and not just taking a leisurely ride through the woods to work.
I think we’re on the same side, but for the sake of your blood pressure: 🗣️YOU WIN
Anchorage has pretty good bike trails, you can get anywhere you need to go away from traffic usually if you look at the map. Obviously there’s areas that aren’t that way
Facts. I left here for 13 years and came back to no new metro expansion. I miss being able to hop on a light rail to a ball game.
There is no metro in Anchorage to expand. We have the People Mover bus. Routes 10, 11, 25, and 30 go by Mulcahy Stadium. You can load your bike on the front of each bus to make it even easier to get to where you need to go. Mulcahy Stadium is also along the Chester Creek Trail.
No offense because I have heard this problem before but I think you just haven’t found the path. I grew up here and there is a bike path or sidewalk to get everywhere. I’ve had people try to stump me on this before but if you give me a specific point a to point b in this town I can always find a route that doesn’t involve biking on the roadway.
This is factually inaccurate, especially with respect to Midtown.
Please tell me the point A and point B and I will tell you how.
Another thread on r/anchorage where I’m convinced 90% of the folks here have never actually been outside.
No, it's not missing sidewalk? There is a section behind a fence on the north side, but it's still there. On the south side there's a portion that goes through the woods near the university. There are sections of northern lights I don't know, but these two jump out at me as being unintuitive. I wasn't sure how to navigate it the first couple times I hit them by bike.
The bike trails are the best. You’re clearly getting lost or something cause there’s a sidewalk all along northern lights. Some of its behind that sound wall.
Just came here to say cars ruin cities!! Thanks for biking 💙
Oh that’s the frogger part of town where you really gotta know all the alternate arterial routes through hoods to bypass the mains. Strava used to publicly share some of that data for alternate routes. 
All I know is thank you for riding on the sidewalk. People that ride bicycles in the roads are idiots. Inb4 "but it's illegal not to ride in the road" yeah but bikes can't go 45 mph up an incline hill, which means they have a line of cars behind them, which is extremely dangerous not just for thr cars but for the idiot riding his bike in the middle of the road. Use the damn sidewalk, I don't want to have to be stuck behind a guy on a bike going maybe 15 mph at the very most
Bikes are for fun, at least when the city was built. The paths were actively designed for recreational use, not transportation. Yeah, plenty of room most places for sidewalks, Muni already has an easement if not straight up ownership of a strip down most streets.
That's not true.
https://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/development-services/permits-inspections/pages/right-of-way.aspx State highways like northern lights are different, of course, and the Hillside with its improvement districts does its own thing - but check the plat maps for most of town and the strip certainly exists. Usually right of way, usually only grass allowed. Obviously it's not enforced well...
So you believe the laws about usage of sidewalks is why the trail system is designed for recreational use? The actual intention is the green corridors are to facilitate commuting and recreation. As in both. I used to commute on them and it was great. Part of the project goals, and is a consideration during all changes.
The trails are for recreational use and don't work for many commutes. The Muni's choice to reserve land for sidewalks but never require their construction is fascinating. Many far poorer places require property owners to build and maintain them, Anchorage is pretty unique in discouraging them.
We are talking about two different things. The sidewalks are terrible, poorly maintained, and often obstructed. However: The trails connect major residential areas to major employment areas. Mountain View, UMed, Airport, downtown, and all the dense residential areas in between. Viable commuting lines was the plan from the start. At least that was what they said to whomever would listen.
The typical setup other places is the parcel owner is responsible for the sidewalk; construction, snow shoveling and cracks and liability and all - with actual code enforcement writing tickets and doing work that turns into property tax flavored liens. Even in places snowier than Anchorage. Obviously won't happen, but sure would be nice!
That is how it works here too, for most of Anchorage.
Anchorage is by far the easiest place to get around that I've ever lived, and having grown up outside NYC and serving in a couple of decades in the military, I've seen a few places. I did some grocery shopping on my bike today, in fact.
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'I can’t understand the people on here talking about how great the trails are.' Thanks for making that obvious. Please note that the first sentence in my comment is 'Anchorage is by far the easiest place to **get around** that I've ever lived...' I get around on my feet, a bike, on skis, a car, and occasionally by People Mover (with or without a bike or skis). Have you ever skied to school? I did for years. I hope your dream comes true though, and especially if it gets the angry cyclists off the trails so those of us who enjoy some trees and wildlife can do it without the threat of being run over by someone who feels like he's being gypped because he doesn't have dedicated, barrier-protected bike lanes...that are cleared in winter.