Bicycle Infrastructure

[EOst]

At a red light, passing all the cars that are stopped so then they have to try and pass the slow biker once the light turns green)

Honestly, I feel much safer on a bike getting to the front of the line. If it means they have to pass me again, fine; at least they see me this way. I can't tell you how many times I've been almost hit by people not paying attention in a line of cars and not thinking about the fact that there's a bike there.

[go4guy]

As there seem to be a lot of cyclists on this forum. Quick question. Do you follow the rules of the road? Nothing annoys me more than when cyclists think they own the road and dont obey any traffic law or general courtesy on the road. (going thru red lights. At a red light, passing all the cars that are stopped so then they have to try and pass the slow biker once the light turns green) I just dont get it.

I bike to work everyday. I'll admit I go through red lights sometimes when no one is coming. I pass all the cars that pass me as well, but since I'm usually in a bike lane I don't feel that is a bad thing. Even when I bike on Bryant I pass all the cars at a red light. I don't feel bad about it at all though. It's a bike boulevard, if you're in a huge hurry, take another street. But I will say most drivers are great on Bryant, very courteous. Otherwise I think I follow most of the rules. I stop at stop signs (maybe only a rolling stop, but I let cars follow the proper order, etc.), signal my turns, etc.

I agree on the bike boulevards and streets that arent main arteries. It really frustrates me on streets like lake. There is barely enough room for the 2 lanes of traffic, and then you have to worry about passing a bike. Not to mention there is the dedicated Greenway 1 block away. Boggles my mind why any biker would take the traffic and lights on Lake when they have such a great asset as the Greenway.

[bubzki2]

The problem with saying you should always take the Greenway is that there aren't really many destinations on it. Most destinations in the area are on Lake street, which has relatively few access points to the Greenway. I couldn't believe they didn't preserve & convert the hills made during bridge rehab as new ramps. The analogy is basically "why would any car take a side street/frontage road when there are freeways right next to them?"

[LakeCharles]

Yeah, I did exactly that yesterday. Going east on the Greenway, wanted to get to Uptown Pizza. You have to get off on Bryant and take Lake for 5 blocks, including through the light at Lyndale. Otherwise you could go to Nicollet and take Blaisdell to Lake and it's only 3 blocks on Lake, but then you'd have to go 8 blocks out of your way. So I was probably one of those people who boggled your mind go4guy.

[EOst]

I think that's just it--the Greenway works better as a freeway than as an arterial. Just because it's there doesn't mean Lake shouldn't be bikeable.

[twincitizen]

You have to get off on Bryant and take Lake for 5 blocks, including through the light at Lyndale. Otherwise you could go to Nicollet and take Blaisdell to Lake and it's only 3 blocks on Lake, but then you'd have to go 8 blocks out of your way.

I live near Grand&Greenway, here's what I do: Greenway to (not-so-secret) Soo Line Garden exit up* to Harriet Ave. You can either go (wrong-way) south on Harriet for a block (either sidewalk or street) to Lake. Alternatively, if you wanna get directly to Grand Ave, you can cut through the parking lot of South Mpls Self Storage (2845 Harriet) to Grand. You're welcome

*If you ride a single speed, you might have to dismount to make it up the hill, but it's not that bad. Still way more efficient & safe than the alternatives you described. Watch out for peds & gardeners.

Now that the bike lane paint has all but disappeared from Blaisdell Ave, I'm done riding on that street. Nicollet or Grand are far more comfortable, despite the lack of dedicated space. Plus Blaisdell has approximately zero lighting. Much better chance of being seen on Nicollet or Grand. Grand has incredibly low traffic for a semi-commercial street.

[LakeCharles]

Thanks, but I think I'll still just take Bryant to Lake. It's a straight shot instead of going up a steep dirt hill, half a block north, through a parking lot, then back down. But I do appreciate the shortcut. I mostly ride Blaisdell from 28th to 40th and I think that stretch is great. The few times I've gone from downtown to 28th it seemed just fine as well. The lights are also timed pretty decently for the speed I ride.

[David Greene]

http://www.wired.com/2014/06/a-new-bike ... ave-lives/

[grant1simons2]

Wasn't that video on here already? Is that what Minneapolis is going for?

[Minneapolisite]

As there seem to be a lot of cyclists on this forum. Quick question. Do you follow the rules of the road? Nothing annoys me more than when cyclists think they own the road and dont obey any traffic law or general courtesy on the road. (going thru red lights. At a red light, passing all the cars that are stopped so then they have to try and pass the slow biker once the light turns green) I just dont get it.

I bike to work everyday. I'll admit I go through red lights sometimes when no one is coming. I pass all the cars that pass me as well, but since I'm usually in a bike lane I don't feel that is a bad thing. Even when I bike on Bryant I pass all the cars at a red light. I don't feel bad about it at all though. It's a bike boulevard, if you're in a huge hurry, take another street. But I will say most drivers are great on Bryant, very courteous. Otherwise I think I follow most of the rules. I stop at stop signs (maybe only a rolling stop, but I let cars follow the proper order, etc.), signal my turns, etc.

I agree on the bike boulevards and streets that arent main arteries. It really frustrates me on streets like lake. There is barely enough room for the 2 lanes of traffic, and then you have to worry about passing a bike. Not to mention there is the dedicated Greenway 1 block away. Boggles my mind why any biker would take the traffic and lights on Lake when they have such a great asset as the Greenway.

If you ever try a biking to somewhere all questions will be answered and mind unboggled: you should try it sometime.

[woofner]

Please dismount if you exit at the Soo Line Garden; someone has to replace the wood chips you throw off the trail with your rear wheel.

[PhilmerPhil]

“Wearing a helmet is one of the best and most simple ways to protect your brain,” Mayor who chose not to support protected bike lanes in her own ward as council member said.
http://www.southwestjournal.com/news-fe ... ers-market

[RailBaronYarr]

Will they also promote helmet usage for regular household chores, driving, walking around, etc? Full disclosure: I wore a helmet on my commute today despite it being almost entirely on trails/paths.

[LakeCharles]

Will they also promote helmet usage for regular household chores, driving, walking around, etc?

Are you regularly a few feet off the ground on a wobbly object while moving >10 mph when you wash your dishes? If so, maybe you ought to be wearing a helmet.

[RailBaronYarr]

Will they also promote helmet usage for regular household chores, driving, walking around, etc?

Are you regularly a few feet off the ground on a wobbly object while moving >10 mph when you wash your dishes? If so, maybe you ought to be wearing a helmet.

What % of those 4,000 head injuries vaguely reports come from bicycling-related crashes? Last I checked, people get on ladders, fall down the stairs, slip while shoveling, etc etc etc all the time and there are no campaigns for wearing helmets while doing so. The helmet discussion has been played out here already so I won't go any further, just wanted to point out that it's way easier for an organization like AAN (or even the city itself) to promote/give away helmets (while a nice gesture) while doing XXX than to meaningfully fight to drastically reduce the incidents themselves via infrastructure. Northern Europeans have figured it out, and subsequently don't wear them for most trips.

[mullen]

well mandatory helmet laws have proven in some places to turn some people off from biking, australia comes to mind. but i agree they're generally a good idea.

[ProspectPete]

On the east side of 35E there is a fresh new bike trail opening up. Nice blacktop, get it while you can rollerbladers. It's called Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary Trail.

http://www.stpaul.gov/DocumentCenter/View/65816

[LakeCharles]

That's the west side of 35E, but it should be a nice little addition. Doesn't make up for removing the gateway bridge though.

[ProspectPete]

Oops! East is correct. Yes bummer about the gateway bridge being removed last week in the dead of night. Kind of like when the Colts left Indianapolis in the cover of darkness.

[ProspectPete]

I know I've posted a picture of this before. But this is such a cool bicycle infrastructure project. Kind of like the Sabo bridge on steroids.
http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/ ... oundabout/