Detours
One of the ways to tell how seriously bicycling is being taken is how various units of government approach those difficult but unavoidable times when bike facilities have to be temporarily closed. I know that there are a lot of examples of poor or nonexistent bicycle detours on City, County, Park Board and MnDOT projects, but I wanted to share what I consider a success story: the just-installed detour of the Hiawatha LRT Trail between the West Bank and downtown.
The Hiawatha LRT trail is a heavily-used bike highway from the whole southeast quandrant of Minneapolis into downtown. It's owned by the Met Council, one of the only (if not the only) bike trails they own. The section between the West Bank and downtown is going to be torn up and reconstructed as part of the Central Corridor LRT project, because it's where the CCLRT will interline with the Hiawatha line. The trail will move to the north side of the tracks, crossing the new CCLRT line just before it meets up with Hiawatha.
The upshot is that this trail, used by hundreds of bicyclists and pedestrians every day, will be out of commission for about 18 months. Yikes!
The City took this closure seriously, and had multiple conversations with the Central Corridor Project Office about it, both at the old Bicycle Advisory Committee and out on-site. Everyone who looked at the problem came to the same conclusion: the only sensible detour was along the old sidewalk on the north side of the 5th Street ramp from I-94 into downtown. On the West Bank end, it's pretty close to the trail - just on the other side of the LRT tracks. On the downtown side, it's about a block from the LRT trail's terminus (and the start of the trail extension onto 3rd St that's still under construction), but it connects via the bike lanes on 11th.
But there were some issues with this route as well. For one thing, it wasn't very wide. This was especially true on the bridge over I-35, which was about 5 feet wide - almost impossible to allow two bikes to get past each other.
Rather than just shrugging and telling bicyclists to make due, the agencies made some physical changes to make the route functional. They widened the path with a new asphalt extension on both sides of the bridge.
Even better, the Met Council worked with MnDOT to temporarily shrink the width of the freeway ramp so that they could separate east- and westbound bicyclists.
And then there's the communication. Not only are there good signs directing people to the detour (for the record, those weren't up on the morning of the closure, but after I made contact with the Central Corridor Project Office they were put up within a few hours), but there were signs up for at least a week beforehand informing trail users of the impending closure. The City was also able to get news of the closure out through its email alert system.
In my experience, this is an unprecedented level of quality for a bicycle detour. What accounts for how well it worked? I think there are a few key factors that we can try to replicate in other places. The City/TLC bike counts provide hard evidence that this trail is used by hundreds of cyclists per day. The Central Corridor Project Office started the conversation early. City staff - including Public Works and staff to both the Mayor and one of the Council Members for the area (me) - pushed for good accommodations, to the point of walking the proposed detour with CCLRT staff.
This detour demonstrates an understanding that bicyclists don't just go away when there's a closure; it gives the same level of service that drivers have come to expect. All bike facility detours should strive to be this good.
University of Minnesota Update 2
A few more tidbits from my interview with Steve Sanders, the University of Minnesota Bicycling Coordinator:
The University Transitway will be open in time for the State Fair. The western portion has been closed due to Central Corridor Light Rail construction.
Pleasant Avenue will be getting Bike Boxes at University Avenue and green bike lanes from Pillsbury to University Avenue this fall, pending federal approval of experimental treatments. They will also be installing traffic signals and bike boxes at Pillsbury.
The University, the City of Minneapolis, and MetroTransit are studying ways to improve the 15th Avenue corridor. Options being discussed include fresh paint, new signs, new kinds of traffic signals. We'll post when there's an update from this group.
The long awaited connection from Bridge 9 to the University Transitway may actually happen next year. The University has tried for years to negotiate a purchase or land-swap with the railroads to get enough right-of-way for this trail but the railroads have stonewalled. A city engineer suggested that, with some compromises, there might be enough room for a trail on land already owned by the City and the University. And there is. The trail will be smaller in spots than originally planned, and we'll have to share the trail with University vehicles in some places. Construction is expected to start in spring and be done by fall 2012.
The new University of Minnesota Bike Plan is in the final stages of the University approval process. We'll let you know when it's published.
Most campus streets have a 20mph speed limit. Parking and Transportation Services has put up a few new speed limit signs to make that limit more clear.
In August the University Police Department will receive special training on enforcement directed at people using the roads: bikers, pedestrians, and motorists. This will be part of a larger education effort on campus geared toward people taking responsibility for their own safety. Roll-out for the larger program starts in the fall.
Next year the University will build a satellite bike station on the St. Paul campus.
The League of American Bicyclists recently recognized the University as a "Bike Friendly University" and as a bike friendly employer, both at the Silver level.
