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St. Paul Flashback: 1998 Bicycle Routes Map

Julie — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:33:30 +0000

Yesterday, I posted the Chain Gang 1998 map of Minneapolis bicycle routes. The other side of this fold-up map features the equivalent for the Saint Paul side of the river. My scan accidentally cut off a wee bit of the bottom, but I assure you it’s not a cataclysmic loss.

Here ’tis:

In all seriousness, not a lot has changed. We picked up an additional bridge at I35E a few years back, which has been awesome, but most of what’s on this map remains a good option, and while there are a few streets not marked that also work, they haven’t been significantly re-engineered since 1998. Unlike the Minneapolis map, the Saint Paul map includes numerous streets without striped bike lanes.

Note that Jefferson is marked as a good bicycle route as far back as 1998. This is interesting in light of recent debate about making Jefferson a ‘bicycle boulevard’ – maps like this support my assertion that all such a move does is codify it with some parking changes and paint, but that cyclists have been using it as such for years.

To say that not much has changed is not to say that improvements haven’t occurred – see also the update to the Shepard Road path as an example. However, it’s generally been fairly easy to navigate St. Paul via streets and bicycles for some years, and arguably the arterial options haven’t needed to be changed much.

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St. Paul Finally Fixes Mississippi River Trail

Julie — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:03:46 +0000

I was along Shepard Road in Saint Paul this weekend, and saw a beautiful sight: The section of trail between the Highway 5 bridge and the I35E bridge is being regraded, widened, repaved, and generally upgraded from ‘OMG suck’ to ‘pretty darn nice.’

The river paths are popular with many recreational cyclists, and the shoulder on that part of Shepard was no great treat for condition either – keeping in mind that many bicycle riders wouldn’t go near it regardless, due to Shepard’s high speed limit. However, it was consistently strewn with debris and glass, and featured some pretty epic cracks and potholes.

The upgrades to the path are basically eliminating the shoulder, which will be a bit of a nuisance for the more serious, road-oriented cyclists who have been willing to deal with the somewhat questionable shoulder conditions as a trade-off for speed (and avoidance of the really crummy trail condition + inexperienced/slow riders). However, the trail upgrades are pretty considerable: The trail has been widened, and along most of the route features separated bicycle/pedestrian paths. Foliage has been trimmed such that it won’t stab people. New lighting is being installed, as is new fencing. Landscaping will be ongoing, given that August/September is not the best season for some of that work.

The project, given that it has included moving the roadway railing, regrading of the trail area, and protection of the cliff to Crosby Lake, has cost about $1.6 million dollars. The bulk of funding via the the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and DOT grants.

The big grand opening of the trail is scheduled for September 8, but with cooperative weather the trail should be done by Labor Day.

Minneapolis Flashback: 1998 Chain Gang Map

Julie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:19:56 +0000

Back in the day, Metro Commuter Services had a program called the Chain Gang. This really doesn’t exist as such any more, and some of the services provided in the program either are being offered through other agencies or not at all. Probably one of the nicest pieces was that Chain Gang members were eligible for an emergency ride home if they commuted by bike and something happened.

In the process of going through a desk drawer to try to find something, I came across this treasure of history: The 1998 Chain Gang guide to Minneapolis Bike Routes! It doesn’t include downtown as an area of the map, and simply notes that there are ‘designated bike lanes throughout downtown.’

This map is clickable to get an enlargement:

A few notes:

The Cedar Lake Trail is there, but not the Greenway – Phase I didn’t open until 2000.
Mapping is based solely on bike lane striping or trails, thereby leaving out numerous arterial streets that have seen long use by cyclists such as 28th Avenue and 42nd Street.
A separate map exists for Saint Paul that was the reverse of this map that I will post separately.

CO Candidate: Bike Programs Part of UN One-World Conspiracy

Julie — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:11:52 +0000

Here’s a point of opposition that I’ve never seen before: A Republican candidate for governor in Colorado claims that bike-boosting policies advocated by Denver’s mayor are “converting Denver into a United Nations community.”

This isn’t from some Interweb humor site – it’s from the Denver Post!

Apparently, the new bike-sharing program in Denver (which is not dissimilar to Minneapolis’ Nice Ride program, as I understand it), puts the environment above the rights of citizens. Apparently this is based on Denver’s membership in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, an international association that promotes sustainable development.

Somehow, promoting environmentally-friendly initiatives that are also favored by ICLEI ties US cities closer to the UN, and sacrifices US citizen rights and sovereignty to the UN.

Uh. Whatever?

Update on Minneapolis 2-Way Street Initiative

Julie — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:48:13 +0000

Last fall, Minneapolis took Hennepin Avenue and 1st Avenues in downtown from one-way streets to two-way streets. This was a big deal, both from people in favor and people who were horrified.

In the sense of promoting more people coming downtown, it probably was a net good – one-way streets confuse people who are not near them every day and who are in for a special event (theatre on Hennepin, a Twins game, whatev).

They’ve published an evaluation of the conversion. Because this study was performed by the same agency responsible for the conversion, there is a bit of a question of impartiality, but data is at the base of most conclusions:

Bicycle traffic is up, based on user-count metrics.
Allegedly, there have been no bike crashes on Hennepin since conversion, whereas prior it was known as one of the worst ‘bikeways’ in the city because it violated every principle of bicycle lane planning ever created. (I’m a bit dubious that it went from apocalypse to idyllic – I’m wondering about reporting, personally.)
The city claims people have figured out the odd parking/bike lane configuration.

When you dive into the stats, it turns out that bicycle traffic on Hennepin Avenue alone is down by about half. The increase is based on a combination of Hennepin, 1st, and Nicollet. Apparently, some people really liked the bike-lanes down the center configuration on Hennepin – a configuration that almost undoubtedly was a part of the crash statistics, and may have led to more serious crashes due to the physics of bicycle-vs-car based on lane placement and speed.

I think the parking zone/bike lane setup remains the most confusing element of the conversion. Flipping them around does put the bike lane in the door zone, but that’s a more common configuration, and motorists and cyclists typically know where they’re supposed to be in such a setup. The city have stated that they intend to paint all of the shared lanes for vehicles/bicycles green, particularly on Hennepin. Buffer zones are to be added between the bike lanes and parking zones on 1st Avenue to reduce dooring risk and facilitate use of the parking areas by handicapped vans with ramps.

Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition Forming

Julie — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:16:06 +0000

In the ongoing movement for municipalities and cities to have their own advocacy groups to extend and support the work of state-wide organizations like the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, a new bicycle coalition is forming in St. Paul.

Locally-oriented groups are a key piece of the advocacy puzzle, as they are typically made up of local voters who live within a city or town. As constituents, members can further local and state-wide initiatives more effectively than state-wide groups coming in without the local support.

This organization has particular value, given the deactivation of the St. Paul Bicycle Advisory Board.

The group is involved in the attempts to extend the Midtown Greenway via the Ayd Mill corridor, and are also meeting monthly on the second Tuesday. If you’re a St. Paul resident, consider hitting their August 10th meeting.

Recent Headlines

Julie — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:15:27 +0000

Pedicab quandary in St. Paul: Basically, pedicabs aren’t regulated in St. Paul, and there’s a question of if adding regulation would protect operators. It probably would, if St. Paul were capable of sensible regulation – something that can be debated.

There are some classic St. Paul-isms in this article that point to that very concept:

The woman and seven officers convened on the scene, where they talked for two hours before reaching a decision to ticket him.

Uh, two hours? Awesome.
Edina Bike Trail Controversy: Edina want to build a bike trail via the Nine Mile Creek watershed/wetland. A bunch of neighbors are opposed. Those opposed to the opposed neighbors are making it out to be NIMBYism. The opposed claim it’s about suitability because of the wetland nature of much of the route. Various groups are building websites and Facebook groups around their positions.
I’m not familiar with the entire run of the trail, but I suspect a middle ground is pretty accurate. The public land is pretty narrow and tends to mud, high water during spring thaw that creates trail erosion and maintenance issues and, of course, skeeters. (It’s a creek!)

There are a couple of quotes around facilities issues in the Strib piece that stick out:

“Just like you don’t put a playground in a parking lot, I wouldn’t put a bike trail on a roadway unless there is completely no other way.”

That’s because when you build it on-street, it’s definitionally not a trail. Depending on construction protocol, there are lots of terms for on-street bikeways. Bicycle facilities encompass a lot more than happy little trails.

For me, it also comes down to a question of purpose. It appears the approach is as a recreational trail. A roadway route has greater merit in connecting bicycles to destinations and driving greater multi-mode adoption. Many end-to-end recreational trails, particularly smaller ones in neighborhoods, don’t actually have a lot of community impact on mode shift. As such, I’d rather see them working on on-street facilities that help connect users to community destinations, rather than happy views of the creek.
Legal Roadblocks to Greenway Extension: A judge has ruled in favor of the Canadian Pacific in a right-of-way dispute over the Ayd Mill railway corridor, a target for those who wish to extend the Midtown Greenway to downtown St. Paul. There is a meeting about ongoing vision and next steps for Greenway extension planning on July 28.

Ride Boldly!

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Cedar Lake Trail in Final Phase

Julie — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:36:39 +0000

There’s been a bunch of coverage of the final phase of the Cedar Lake Trail. After years of right-of-way issues, the construction of Target Field, and funding, the final easement to extend the trail to the river has been acquired.

The timing for this is interesting – because of the many issues with right-of-way, as well as building a mile of trail through the densest part of the urban core, this is going to be monstrously expensive. Estimates for the total cost of this last segment exceed $9.2 million dollars, paid via a combination of state funds, federal earmark, donations and even funds from the city of Minneapolis.

A lot of people question this expense, particularly at a time of challenging federal, state and municipal budgets.

One thing to keep in mind is that this won’t ever become any cheaper, short of a zombie apocalypse that devastates that piece of Minneapolis and makes the construction easier. Costs to get the construction going are cheaper now than at any time in the recent past, due to high labor supply.

The maze to get from the de facto current trailhead to the river frustrates many. Some of the city’s recent shenanigans with parking, bike lanes, taking streets two-way from one-way, and etc. haven’t helped. Obviously, this of itself doesn’t justify expense – but the completion has been planned for many years.

Completion is scheduled for November. I am assuming that the extension, like the rest of the trail, will be plowed during the winter, adding to the Minneapolis commuter trail network that is quite workable even in the nastiest months of the year. However, it’s always good to confirm plowing each year – budgets being what they are.

Thursday Night Lights: Why Are you Not There?

Julie — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:05:16 +0000

Obviously, I realize that the National Sports Center is in Blaine, which for many is like coming up to a strange, far away planet. But the Thursday Night Racing series at the Velodrome is one of the most accessible, fun opportunities to check out bicycle racing in the Twin Cities.

Unlike some of the road races, you get to sit in stands, and you’ll see a LOT of racing. You’ll get to see some interesting race disciplines and get to watch the entirety of the tactical execution. Oh, and there are prize drawings too.

Recently, the Trinidad and Tobago National Cycling Team has been racing on Thursdays, and are resident at the Velo as a training camp. Other racers on the track are also international quality.

It starts every Thursday at 7. It’s free, although they appreciate donations.

Sharing the Road: Bicycles & Autos & Turn Signals, Oh My.

Julie — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:18:46 +0000

It seems like one of today’s big trend stories is about how motorists can better share the roads with bicyclists. Everyone from Bicycling magazine to local papers are getting in the act.

Never one to let a trend completely pass me by unless it’s a really heinous one (I’ve never owned a pair of Crocs, for instance), I think this is all very well and nice. They are all chock full of helpful advice for motorists and cyclists, such as the 3-foot passing rule, wearing helmets, avoidance of distracted driving, etc. etc.

But you know what? I have not seen a single article mention something I think is fundamental: Cars need to signal their turns. Use your turn signals, motorists.

A number of the articles mention the danger of the right-hook – where a cyclist on the curb lane ends up to the right of a vehicle who is right turning, with somewhat predictably painful results. There are several good ways to avoid the right hook, but one of the top ways – beyond cyclists wising up to the idea that hugging the curb isn’t always strictly necessary under law, and is often injurious – is for vehicles who are right turning to always signal their intent.

Because this doesn’t always happen, I tend to be mildly annoying in lanes that can work as either right-turn or through lanes, pulling to the left into the right-hand wheel well where vehicles might go, even if there’s not a car at the intersection when I arrive there. A vehicle arriving might pull alongside, and depending on positioning, it an be difficult to see a signal if it’s even used.

Turn signals are really bueno for the benefit of other cars and pedestrians on the road, too.

So, in summary: Sure, read all those happy articles about road sharing. Then try using your turn signals. Cyclists, pedestrians and other motorists will praise you for it.