Anchorage may move a national bike route off its highways and onto the coastal trails

Long-distance cyclists crossing Anchorage could be steered off the Seward and Glenn highways and onto the Coastal Trail and Ship Creek Trail, under a route change now moving through the city's transportation planners.

The route in question is U.S. Bicycle Route 97, part of the national network of long-distance cycling routes — suggested paths for riders crossing the country, published by the Adventure Cycling Association. Right now, Route 97 follows the Seward and Glenn highways through Anchorage, Eagle River and Chugiak. The national guidelines for these routes call for steering riders around population centers and onto dedicated pathways or low-traffic roads carrying fewer than 1,000 vehicles a day, with scenic value a plus — a standard the current highway routing doesn't meet. As the city's non-motorized coordinator, Emily Weiser, put it, the highway route "is not the most bike-friendly option."

The proposed realignment would send riders along the Coastal Trail and Ship Creek Trail around the Anchorage bowl, and onto the Old Glenn Highway pathway through Eagle River and Chugiak. It fits a broader push, locally and nationally, to move bike travel off high-speed highways and onto lower-stress trail networks.

The change would still have to be approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which manages the national routes; the state transportation department is preparing that application with city and regional staff, ahead of an early-October deadline. Anchorage's regional transportation committee is weighing a letter of support for the change — not required for the application, but a signal of local backing.

The endorsement came with two conditions: fixing an Eagle River segment that one advisory member said would route cyclists through the business district and its many driveways rather than the intended highway-side path, and leaving room to consider spur routes later. A bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee meets Sept. 14 and could add its own letter of support.