Will 2014 be the Year of the Bike Center?
Marc Berg is an attorney and bicycle commuter with a singular focus: to get a bike center built in downtown Minneapolis.
A bike center is a secure facility where bicyclists can change clothes, shower, get a cup of coffee, and have their bike fixed while at work or out socializing in the city. Madison, Chicago, and Seattle have centers. And St. Paul is out-Minneapolis-ing Minneapolis by building one in the Union Depot.
Marc has talked to Mayor Rybak about it, started a Friends of the Downtown Bike Center Facebook group (login required), and has figured out what city committees to bring it to. He's even found a graduate student (Forrest Hardy) who has mapped out a conceptual bike center for Minneapolis.
A lot of people he encounters seem to like the concept - but it's a big boulder to push, and the hurdle is of course: who's pays for it?
I met Marc at the one of these city sub-committee meetings, which passed a resolution to recommend a feasibility study on the idea. That resolution will be on today's agenda at the full Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting.
Marc's hope is that the BAC passes the feasibility study resolution, which would determine if a bike center is a demonstrated need that is not already being met. It would investigate what type of bike center, what services it would have, how much it would cost, and the operational model.
Do we need a bike center?
One of the supposed hiccups to everyday biking is that people need a practical way to change into work-appropriate clothing. The resolution says:
"A full-service bike center will increase the percentage of bike commuters by offering a practical anda ttractive alternative to those who would bike IF they could find solutions to issues such as safe and secure bike storage, showers and changing facilities, repair service, and everything else needed for a positive end-of-trip experience."
A central location or hub and spoke model
Currently small facilities exist in outlying areas of downtown, (e.g, the ABC ramps near Target Field.) And while bicyclists demonstrate a certain heartiness, they also value convenience.
(My antecdotal evidence: when I toured Target Corporation's private bike center on the Nicollet Mall this spring, our Target guide said this: Even with the new facility, Target commuters who work in their City Center location had thus far preferred City Center's (less than perfect) bike facility over the Nicollet Mall's snazzy features. (On that note, I can't help but wonder the private sector's role in this discussion, as they seem to increasingly recognize this growing group of commuters. The U.S. Bank Plaza where I work (pictured) just expanded their bike facility. 
Politics
Even if the bike center resolution is passed it will need to work its way to the city council, which would then need to agree to fund the study via inclusion in the city budget. Budget discussions for 2014 are happening now so the timing is right.
But still, where does a bike center fit in the overall Minneapolis bicycle agenda? Other bike initiatives are already established (e.g. cycle tracks), so whether a bike center can leapfrog those other priorities in 2014 is unknown.
Then again, a bike center feels like a key ingredient to the city's claim as a top bike city. If 2013 was the Year of the Bike (or Bike Share), will 2014 be the Year of the Shower?
Minneapolis BAC Digs Into West River Parkway Plans
At its October 15th meeting, the BAC Engineering Subcommittee heard a report on West River Parkway improvement plans, reviewed proposed relocation routes of the Kenilworth corridor during Southwest LRT construction, and discussed plans to add a connection to the Dinkytown trail actually in the Dinkytown business district.
WEST RIVER PARKWAY
Eric Newman (who was recently appointed to the Citizen Advisory Committee of the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park and West River Parkway) presented the group’s West River Parkway plans. Newman said funding for the project is secured and construction will likely begin next year.
Eric Newman points out planned improvements to the West River Parkway to assembled BAC members.
The good news is that the bike and pedestrian paths will be completely repaved with asphalt from Plymouth south to Franklin improving a trail that is significantly deteriorated in several spots and not a pleasant bike surface. Plans also calls for straightening out kinks in the trail, most notably the sharp turn weaving around the abutment for the 10th Ave Bridge.
Another significant improvement will be reducing entrances to parking lots from two down to one, which reduces conflict points with vehicles. In a busy area like the entrance to the Stone Arch Bridge this should make the trail much safer and easier to navigate. At the Stone Arch, plans close the parking lot entrance closer to the bridge, which has been a dangerous area for bicyclists.
Bicyclists will also be happy to hear that planners are leaning toward paving the infamously bumpy plank road near the Stone Arch Bridge. The pedestrian path would likely remain a plank road to preserve the nostalgic appeal of this boardwalk like section of the parkway.
The cracks in this section of the West River Parkway bike path are marked in orange, hinting at improvements to come to the trail condition.
The BAC largely expressed their approval of the West River Parkway plans as it seemed great pains had been taken to improve the bicycle experience on the trail. The committee did offer a few suggestions for further improvements.
BAC member Robin Garwood recommended the project use speed tables at intersections with roads
Speed tables, although seldom used in the Twin Cities, are becoming more popular in other bike friendly cities and function like a speed bump only widened to allow a bicycle trail to cross along its length. A speed table serves the joint purpose of making motorists more aware of bicycle and pedestrian traffic through the visibility the raised path has, encouraging motorists to reduce their speed for the grade chance, and making the grade smoother for bicyclists and pedestrians path. Rather than dipping down into the road and back up again when crossing a road, bicyclists stay at grade over the speed table. Thus, the ride is both safer and more comfortable.
KENILWORTH TRAIL RELOCATION
BAC member Paul Frenz updated members on the Southwest LRT plans. He presented a bike trail relocation map that would bypass the southernmost section of the Kenilworth trail while that section is under construction.
Frenz said he wasn’t able to ascertain whether the plan is being considered only as a construction detour or also as a long term engineering solution to the problem of the bottleneck near West Lake Street.
The detour would route bicyclists briefly west on Cedar Lake Avenue, southwest on Sunset Boulevard, south on France Ave, west on 30 ½ St., south on Inglewood Avenue and finally connecting to Cedar Lake Bike Trail via a yet-to-be engineered crossing of the freight rail corridor.
During discussion, members agreed that the route could be an adequate detour during construction but would be problematic as a permanent reroute because there would be too many intersections crossings making it slow, dangerous and less attractive to casual bicyclists.
Although they were skeptical of relocation of the bike trail, the committee decided to wait to issue a statement on the route until Met Council's plans became clearer.
DINKYTOWN TRAIL STAIRWAY
Varsity Bike Shop owner Rob Dehoff attended the meeting and raised the issue of access to Dinkytown for the newly opened Dinkytown Greenway.
Apparently, Mayor Rybak included $275,000 in his budget to construct a staircase with bike sliders from the Dinkytown Greenway up to the corner of 4th Street and 15th Avenue Southeast. Currently, the trail’s connects at East River Road and at 5th Street and 17th Avenue SE but not in between (in the heart of Dinkytown).
Dehoff said a ramp would be the preferable option for bicyclists. Committee members agreed but passed along the city’s explanation that a ramp would be difficult to engineer in the limited space available next to the trail.
Dehoff also asked if a bike trail connection from the Dinkytown Greenway to the Stone Arch Bridge is in the works. Members informed him it is, but probably a few years off due to complications acquiring the necessary property from the railroad authority.
