Word on the Streets

Minnehaha Avenue' Skew Adds to Issues in Reconstruction

Skewed Turning on Minnehaha Avenue

Minnehaha Avenue is set for reconstruction in the coming years, and Hennepin County staff was on hand to give the Bicycle Advisory Committee- Engineering Subcommittee the scoop on what’s in store, and to request BAC involvement while planning. Also in attendance was Neil Trembley of the Cedar Lake Park Association to present a proposal regarding the future installation of light-rail through the Cedar Lake Trail. Here is a quick look at those projects, and a few other updates:

Minnehaha Avenue: Currently in the preliminary design phase, Hennepin County officials sought out advice on this particularly tricky thoroughfare. Riddled with issues like poor drainage, high vacancies, and the biggest issue, the skew of the road, this project holds particular importance for the bike/pedestrian community.

For reference, the “skew” is the off-set of the road with cross streets, i.e. all corners at intersections are not at right angles. This makes for blind turns, trucks and busses encroaching into opposing lanes just to make turns, and longer crossing distances for pedestrians crossing the streets. The current proposal seeks 11’ automotive lanes, 6’ bike lanes, and 7’ parking lanes. It also seeks to protect as many trees as possible, seek out sustainable solutions wherever possible, and to make pedestrian crossings safer at the nodes with the addition of bumpouts. The BAC asked about a cycle-track, as a road reconstruction project offers the unique opportunity to add curb-separated cycling facilities at little or no additional cost.

Cedar Lake Trail and the Light Rail: Neil Tremblay of the Cedar Lake Park Association came to show a proposed grade-separated crossing of the future Southwest LRT tracks and the existing Cedar Lake Trail. The Southwest LRT will cross through Cedar Lake Park, through a confluence of the Cedar Lake Trail and the Kenilworth Trail. The concept makes a separated crossing for the bike and light rail facilities, with an underpass for bikes and a bridge for the LRT. Trembley estimated the costs of building an LRT bridge over the Cedar Lake Trail to be $900,000 - $1.4 million, and emphasized that this was a small figure relative to the overall $1.2 billion Southwest LRT budget, or even the $200 million line item for bridges in other locations. The conceptual proposal also included a spur for direct access to the Penn Avenue station. The Cedar Lake Park Association requested a resolution of support for a grade-separated intersection at this location. The engineering committee expressed an interest in learning more about this location and other potential intersections and impacts with the Southwest LRT route, especially the intersection of the Kennilworth Trail and Cedar Lake Parkway.

11^th Avenue S: This mill and overlay project is near completion, all it needs are bike lane symbols and an outside line painted for the 7’ parking lanes.

36^th Street E/W: While the drawings are complete for this seal coating project, there is a need for further action to secure money. This project is currently in cost estimation, and is at a level that may need additional funding in comparison to other, smaller seal coat projects. Seal coating will not be finished this year; expect changes next year.

Upton Avenue S: The BAC Asked for this project, and it is currently in draft planning stages. The current concept is a bike boulevard that would serve as a parallel option to Penn Ave S.

posted by | July 02, 2012

Open Streets Minneapolis 2012 Bicycle Portraits Ready!

Did you know that the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition had a Photo Booth at Open Streets on June 10th? If you had your Bicycle Portrait taken, you do! Despite the fact that the booth and our incredibly talented volunteer photographer Jennifer Simonson almost blew away, we declare that it was a success! If you were able to stop by and have your portrait taken, they are now available for free download. Go here to download your portrait: Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition Photo Booth Bicycle Portraits.

We just love all the smiling faces! Thank you for stopping by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition Photo Booth and brightening all of our days! It was a pleasure to meet all of you.

posted by | July 02, 2012

Bikers against bullying

A few days ago I was biking north on Lyndale Avenue, between Lake Street and Franklin Avenue. That stretch of Lyndale is not very bike-friendly, but it was the most efficient route for me, so I donned my helmet and kept my eyes open.

A couple blocks north of Lake Street, a car whizzed past me at over 20 miles an hour, just inches from my left handlebar. If I'd happened to wobble even a bit, I wouldn't be typing this right now; I might not even be alive.

A block later, I stopped to wait for a red light, frustrating the woman in the car behind me who wanted to turn right. She alerted me to her impatience by revving her engine. I lifted my bike and carried it several feet to the left, permitting her to pass me and make her turn. She at least had the consideration to give me a wave of thanks.

Then, just a couple of blocks later, busy traffic in both lanes meant that cars behind me were unable to pass me on the left for maybe a block or so. As soon as the left lane cleared, the cars roared past me angrily. The passenger in one car made an obscene gesture out the window just so I would get the message: as a biker, I was not welcome to share the street with his car.

The Midtown Greenway is a much safer environment for bikers, but even there, bikers are vulnerable. My Twin Cities Daily Planet colleague Jeremy Iggers was attacked on the Greenway by a brazen group of muggers at 9 a.m. last Monday. Their m.o. was to hurl rocks at bikers, who are in no position to defend themselves and are at risk of falling over and being badly hurt before a punch is even thrown. (Also, punches were thrown.)

From flipping the bird to throwing rocks, this is bullying—plain and simple. As numerous as we are in Minneapolis, bicyclists are very vulnerable, and that vulnerability is taken advantage of every day by motorists and others who want us out of their way, who want to steal our iPods, or who just want to be cruel...because they can. Bullies.

What is to be done about this? Well, education is a good start. Programs like the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition's Open Streets help raise the visibility of bicyclists and educate the public about how to share the streets with bicyclists safely and respectfully. Another important step is to continue to build infrastructure to support bicyclists. Bike lanes make it explicit that bikers have a right to be on the streets, and can help bikes and cars negotiate potentially problematic intersections. The Greenway helps keep hundreds of cyclists a day on a path that's far safer and more efficient for bikers than, say, Lake Street. That makes life easier for everyone.

But obviously the Greenway doesn't protect bikers from those who would intentionally commit violence against us, and I don't think anyone's naïve enough to think that people like the guy who flipped me off are likely to be "educated" into having greater respect for bikers.

That's why we bikers need to stick together and stay strong on the streets. Abandoning the Greenway to hoodlums isn't going to make our city a better place to live, and nor is abandoning our streets to cars just because they're bigger than us. I live on Lyndale Avenue, and I will not be bullied off my own street. Even when they're not closed to cars, Minneapolis streets are open to all—and everybody should feel welcome and safe to use those streets, no matter how many wheels they're rolling on.

- Jay Gabler serves on the board of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition

Photo by Sung Sook (Creative Commons)