The Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee(BAC) met on March 27 for its monthly meeting. Shaun Murphy, Minneapolis’ Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, presented a new list and an updated map of bicycle projects planned for 2013. The projects include several finishing touches on previously established bike facilities, but also include some new and exciting projects.
Planned improvements to existing bike facilities include:
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Adding bike symbols to several previously established bike lanes -
Extending select bike lanes in areas leading into downtown Minneapolis -
Adding bike boxes to several downtown intersections with permanent bike symbols
Implementation of some of the new projects from the Bicycle Master Plan include:
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Protected bikeways on 36th St. W., Van White Bridge, 10th Ave Bridge -
Hiawatha LRT path lighting project -
Southern Bike Connection, which includes several miniature traffic circles and a full closure median -
New bikes lanes on select routes -
Flashing red lights signal in place of flashing yellow lights at select intersections -
Bicycle stoplight on Park Ave. at the Midtown Greenway -
Washington Ave. Mall bicycle facilities including bike signal, left turn bike box and bike lanes -
Median on Cedar Ave. at River Lake Greenway -
Lowry Ave. median and miniature traffic circles
The BAC welcomed these announcements, yet also expressed concerns about projects that didn’t make the list. Of particular concern were streets on the City’s list for milling and overlaying that will likely not have bike lanes added in 2013. While recognizing the limited resources of the Bicycle and Pedestrian section, members of the BAC suggested that other areas of City government could also take on responsibility for implementing bicycle projects. Members suggested that projects that have already been approved on the City’s Bicycle Master Plan should not need additional advocacy to move forward with implementation.
