urbanMSP

Did we miss the 38th St decision last week? It's administrative, so the real dynamics and influences behind this decision will remain in the dark.
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 199058.pdf

Disappointing.

I didn't see it until a staffer for Johnson emailed me today. Actually twice, the first time to say Public Works would decide and again saying she didn't see they already did.

Disappointing but honestly, could have been worse given the (ridiculous) opposition.

And at least the bike lane doesn't disappear entirely like at 46th & Bloomington (seriously just giving you crap)


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I would like to at least see some extra paint on the road where the parking is permitted to catch the eye of drivers and slow them down, like the entire road green for that stretch. Maybe some radar speed limit signs with extra flashing lights. Stuff like that to get people to slow down where bicyclists have to merge into traffic. Are things like this hard asks?

In an ideal world, where bicycle infrastructure is perfect

In an ideal world, where bicycle infrastructure is perfect

When I look at this picture I think "That would be nice", but then I look again. There are no buildings, and the quadrant in the upper left looks a lot like a cornfield. I think constructing in cornfields is the only way to build this now without tearing down a lot of useful density.

The exact design probably won't fit in most Minneapolis intersections, but bits and pieces of it can be implemented at various major intersections, especially where two protected bikeways meet, like at Washington where it meets 3rd or the future Hennepin lanes.

In an ideal world, where bicycle infrastructure is perfect

When I look at this picture I think "That would be nice", but then I look again. There are no buildings, and the quadrant in the upper left looks a lot like a cornfield. I think constructing in cornfields is the only way to build this now without tearing down a lot of useful density.

Oh for sure, it definitely would be a pain to put into already built up urban environments but man oh man would it be nice to have such fantastic protected bike lanes like this. That being said, I'm excited for the somewhat separate ones to be done on Washington Ave. The little raised bike area should hopefully negate the impatient people who try to use the bike lane as a 'zip ahead' lane.

In an ideal world, where bicycle infrastructure is perfect

Just think of how fast traffic could move on those wide boulevards with open sight lines. Those are some seriously wide ROWs, with no consideration for space.

I hate it.

I like cities, I like density. I'd rather see woonerfs and shared infrastructure than wide, divided infrastructure with every space dedicated to a single use. Slow those cars down, make them nervous that cars and bikes - and kids playing - could be cutting in front of them at all times. De-prioritize the travel speed and travel time of SOVs.

Which is why the image isn't in a developed area, probably. This looks great for something on the outskirts of a town, where all modes are travelling relatively far and value speed.

Just want to note that the image posted is in a video game

Doesn't look so great for pedestrians.

As a pedestrian, I find crossing a bike facility to reach a large waiting area to then cross only 2-3 lanes off vehicle traffic, where I'm much farther out into right turning cars' field of view, much better than almost all of the alternatives.

YMMV, of course. But having walked around similar facilities in the Netherlands, my experience was that it can be pretty daunting if bike traffic is heavy (and more so if space is too tight to allow a "large" waiting area).

Does anyone know if there are any plans to reconstruct Franklin Avenue? I am thinking in particular of the portion between Hennepin Avenue and Hiawatha light rail. It would be wonderful to see a protected bike lane. I know that they recently added protected by Queens to Franklin Avenue as it goes over the river.


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The very short stretch between Hennepin and Lyndale was included in the 5-year capital request by the city for a reconstruct, and they're looking to widen the ped space (but I don't think they've presented any preliminary plans to any group yet).

I think we've talked about Franklin between Hennepin and ~Portland/Park before here somewhere. It's one of those arterials (it's also a county road) where it's really hard to say what the right design choice is. It's currently 4 lanes with sidewalk to back of curb - no boulevard space with trees, often so narrow it's not ADA-compliant (when obstructions like utility poles/etc present themselves). I know some here think 4 lanes on the bridge over I-35W are necessary because of the stacking in the eastbound direction that would make WB->SB left turns not possible, but I'm not one of them. That said, even pursuing a 4-3 everywhere else would leave room for either a bike lane OR expanded pedestrian space. You could get both if you made Franklin 2 lanes, but good luck doing that. Would a 4-3 hurt the 2's travel time? Maybe! Anyway, no good answers - would have been nice if city planners had the foresight to make Franklin 90-100' wide (rather than the 60-75' we have) a hundred years ago.

I think the Franklin bridge over 35W is scheduled to be replaced as part of the big 35W/Lake St construction project (according to MnDOT's project page, Franklin is one of the first bridges to be reconstructed in phase one of the project). Does anyone know which government entity gets to design the layout for the new bridge? MnDOT, or Hennepin County, or some combination of both?

Citylab: Some Bike Infrastructure Is Worse Than None at All: It’s time to put the sharrow to rest.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/bicycles/shared-lane

Sharrows are the worst, enough said.

I would rate the mini-roundabout on Bike Blvds as my favorite relatively low cost improvement.

I like sharrows, as a somewhat newer cyclist I like seeing them on either very wide car lanes OR double car lanes, that way I know It's OK for me to bike there safely. Never had any issues so far. Sure they are not the best option but they are far better than none.