It's certainly better than some other cities I've lived in - but I live and work downtown, and navigating downtown streets on a bicycle to/from work is an intimidating proposition. Not many of us who work here do it - and I commend the brave souls who do :)

I partially agree with you. I lived in Seattle's International district this past summer, and biked quite a bit. At first, I was apprehensive about the traffic, but it wasn't bad once I got past my first ride.

One resource you might find helpful is the maps on Seattle's Department of Transportation website: (http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaps.htm). They show the streets that are safer to bike. When I lived there, I biked southbound on 5th because I live on 5th, but that felt a little sketchy around 5th and Pike. According to the map, 2nd has a bike lane that I could have used for going southbound.