Bicycle Infrastructure

Roads - Rails - Sidewalks - Bikeways
mulad
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby mulad » November 21st, 2012, 7:14 pm

On my way out of town for Thanksgiving, I saw that the bike path extension along Lexington Parkway in Saint Paul appears to be done. All of the construction equipment and barriers were gone. The new part runs from Energy Park Drive south to Minnehaha and includes two new bike bridges over the BNSF Midway Subdivision tracks and Pierce Butler Route, respectively.

twincitizen
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby twincitizen » November 27th, 2012, 11:00 am

MNDaily Article on Bike Infrastructure Shortcomings

I was disappointed that it didn't mention the area where the bike lanes abruptly end at a staircase on West Bank next to Willey Hall. F that forced dismount! Put in a ramp (and sell that surface lot to a developer while you're at it). Agree on all other points brought up by Bill in the article. It reminded me of his snark-fest from last year

mulad
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby mulad » December 26th, 2012, 8:20 pm

Perhaps I haven't noticed since I've been taking the bus a lot lately, but there are now 25 mph signs along 15th Ave SE between the University of Minnesota and Como Ave.

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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby seanrichardryan » December 26th, 2012, 10:32 pm

Perhaps I haven't noticed since I've been taking the bus a lot lately, but there are now 25 mph signs along 15th Ave SE between the University of Minnesota and Como Ave.
Are they white or yellow?
Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

mulad
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby mulad » December 27th, 2012, 8:06 am

Regular white speed limit signs.

PhilmerPhil
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby PhilmerPhil » January 12th, 2013, 2:55 pm

Image
Not surprisingly, Lyndale north of Lake St. and Franklin Ave. between Hennepin and Minnehaha Aves. stand out on this map. Both are county roads that are in desperate need of an overhaul that prioritizes* the safety and comfort of pedestrians and bikes over the speed of which cars can get through.

(Portland Ave. also stands out on this map, but with the restriping, I anticipate much of an improvement.)

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mister.shoes
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby mister.shoes » January 13th, 2013, 10:31 am

Just a little levity on this lazy Sunday...

(click)
[thumbnail]http://assets.amuniversal.com/d5796ee02 ... idth=900.0[/thumbnail]
The problem with being an introvert online is that no one knows you're just hanging out and listening.

MNdible
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby MNdible » January 13th, 2013, 12:10 pm

Yes, the free, easy flowing, high speed auto traffic on Lyndale north of Lake Street is a thing to behold.

PhilmerPhil
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby PhilmerPhil » January 13th, 2013, 1:16 pm

Yes, the free, easy flowing, high speed auto traffic on Lyndale north of Lake Street is a thing to behold.
You're right, let's contiue to have streets that are dangerous for the people that live nearby and that do nothing to positively add to the dynamics of the neighborhood.

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby min-chi-cbus » January 13th, 2013, 3:54 pm

Am I misreading the above as cynicism, or are we upset that Lyndale Ave is somehow "too wide" or "too fast", or both? If so, I think that Minneapolis is one of the few cities (especially West of the Mississippi River, or even the Ohio River) where there aren't major thoroughfares within the city itself. A buddy of mine who now lives in Austin, TX even made this remark to me once while visiting Minneapolis. But I think that's a good thing, however, as one of the few streets that has 2 lanes in each direction, to somehow slow traffic down or eliminate traffic would be a major mistake.

Rather, the current traffic problems that plague Lyndale and the future impending worsening of the problem should be GOOD things for naturally slowing down the speed of traffic and making it a bit more pedestrian-friendly. That, and maybe full-time public parking along the street to create a buffer between the sidewalk and street where one doesn't already exist (assuming this isn't always present.....can't remember off the top of my head).

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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby MNdible » January 13th, 2013, 9:10 pm

My initial reply was intended to be sarcastic -- that is, to point out that Lyndale is usually congested in its current state, and traffic rarely moves quickly down it. Where there's demonstrable excess capacity, I'm supportive of removing lanes to add bike facilities. I simply don't see this being the case on Lyndale, and it doesn't make sense to me to mess up circulation within the city for tens of thousands for the benefit of a limited number of bicyclists who have a brand new bike boulevard 600 feet to the west.

We've had this discussion before, and as somebody who spent over a decade living within blocks of Lyndale Avenue, most of this time without a car, I never felt that Lyndale was a bad street for pedestrians. There are some improvements that could be made, but it's really not bad.

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Le Sueur
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby Le Sueur » January 15th, 2013, 5:38 pm

The News media got a hold of the data PhilmerPhil referenced in his post on Saturday.

Minneapolis has released a comprehensive study of Bicyclist-Motorist Crashes over the past decade. (2000-2010)

The analysis found that crashes are complex events and there is no one factor that is contributing to crashes. However, three primary conclusions emerge from the data:
  • Most crashes are occurring at intersections along major arterials
  • Motorists are not seeing or yielding to bicyclists
  • Bicyclists are not riding in a predictable manner
Direct from the City of Minneapolis Website:
The Summary of the report: Understanding Bicyclist-Motorist Crashes in Minneapolis, Minnesota(4.6MB)
Full Appendix of the Report: Full Report(34.7MB)

Also, the Strib has an nice interactive version of the Map PhilmerPhil posted above.
The Story:Cyclists, drivers equally to blame for crashes in Minneapolis
And The Map: INTERACTIVE: Motor vehicle-bike collisions in Minneapolis

Edit:
Also, for anyone here who doesn't live and breathe cycling the city put together a nice primer on proper etiquette for Mlps bike lanes. I didn't know everything they included, and I'm guessing most motorist don't either. :o
[BBvideo 530,330]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeDDYfU ... r_embedded[/BBvideo]

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Nathan
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby Nathan » January 16th, 2013, 12:48 pm

Not sure if anyone posted this yet or not, but the North Minneapolis Greenway published it's latest report and is moving towards design and implementation. I'm really surprised at how supportive the North mpls residents are to this! It's great, and the comments are great.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/health/shi ... isgreenway

UptownSport
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby UptownSport » January 16th, 2013, 1:04 pm

I wanted to let everyone know that Bryant avenue is a designated cycling street;
It is located only several hundred feet from Lyndale (Running parallel), and has a dedicated bridge to cross Lyndale.
North of that bike bridge there's a dedicated bike path all the way to downtown.

here is a link to that bikeway:
Bryant Bike Boulevard .pdf

I'd strongly suggest using Bryant if perceptions of Lyndale as a bike route are negative

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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby Viktor Vaughn » January 16th, 2013, 3:58 pm

I agree Bryant is a good bike route for through-traffic, but there are many destinations on Lyndale that should be safely accessible via bike.

PhilmerPhil
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby PhilmerPhil » January 16th, 2013, 4:25 pm

I see bike infrastructure and people friendly streets as more than something more than a convenience and comfort for the minority of people who don't get around via car. There is a huge placemaking aspect that has a role in our street designs, and the configuration of Lyndale north of Lake St. does absolutely nothing to make this stretch a great place to live, shop, walk, bike, and simply be on, even if you're driving a car. Sure, there is a bike boulevard two blocks to the west, a great bypass that I use frequently, but Lyndale Avenue has potential to be much better than it currently is. For example, take a look at Nicollet Ave north of the K-Mart, even with a lack of bike infrastructure, it is a fantastic example of a great urban street. Franklin west of Chicago has dramatically improved since it's road diet, as has Riverside Ave.

Check out this Streets.MN article that was just posted yesterday: https://streets.mn/2013/01/15/4-to-3-ro ... y-of-life/

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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby twincitizen » March 2nd, 2013, 11:04 am


Minneapolisite

Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby Minneapolisite » March 2nd, 2013, 5:58 pm

Doubled the number of cyclists from 2007 and peds are also way up at about 25% more. Now we just have to build on that momentum and try to get similar results in fewer years. Mpls almost doubled its number of bike lanes/boulevards over the past year and the LRT system is going to double also with two whole lines in just a year, so that might be much more doable than it sounds. Although I wonder why September is chosen as the month for annual counts, since it can get pretty bad quickly after August. I would think May or June would provide more impressive numbers.

talindsay
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby talindsay » March 4th, 2013, 12:48 pm

May and June don't have the college students.

MNdible
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby MNdible » March 4th, 2013, 12:54 pm

Also, if you can't handle biking in September, you'd better buck up, little camper.


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