urbanMSP

^Yeah, I was speaking in regards to implementing a similar design here. I am quite familiar with rainy Seattle winters, having spent the last 11 Christmases there.

Biking down in South made me wonder why some east-west streets have no bike lanes even if they're already wide enough. 38th seems like a no-brainer for removing a parking lane and inserting two wide bike lanes: there's just not enough room for a car and bike to share space, and there are only a handful of cars parked on either side of the street at any given time. I would think streets facing the same scenario would already have bike lanes added because not enough motorists care to use the lanes for parking, so why not turn them over to people who will?

And when will they put in some super sharrows on bike lane-less four lane roads like Lake, Broadway, Lowry, etc. If they're not going to put in bike lanes they have to do something for bikes, even if it's minimal: we are using those roads now afterall.

I think that's mostly because 40th is a bike boulevard (the "Riverlake Greenway"). 38th is set to get sharrows eventually, but I don't think lanes are in the plan

And when will they put in some super sharrows on bike lane-less four lane roads like Lake, Broadway, Lowry, etc. If they're not going to put in bike lanes they have to do something for bikes, even if it's minimal: we are using those roads now afterall.

This for sure. My gym recently moved down the road, which requires using NE Broadway. While I used to bike to the old location for as long as the weather remained decent (utilizing a bike boulevard and quiet streets), I've pretty much moved to driving to get the new place. Broadway is downright unpleasant for bikers. It certainly doesn't help that certain areas don't even have a curb and sort of turn into a crumble as they meet dirt/grass boulevard.

I hope when they rebuild the river road paths they make all the pedestrian paths asphalt like the bike paths - I don't like running in the bike lane but there's no way I'm running on concrete when there's asphalt right next to it. Hopefully they will all be asphalt.

Sort of a bike infrastructure related question, but I'm wondering what thoughts are on the "best" system for bike parking, particularly in apartment buildings.

My building just has a bunch of bog standard bike racks (just a bunch of bars in a row) and I basically hate it. It's really easy for people to take up too much space if they park their bike stupidly. I like poles in the ground in a row, but those have the problem where it's difficult for two bikes to use the same pole, which again feels like a waste of space.

Sort of a bike infrastructure related question, but I'm wondering what thoughts are on the "best" system for bike parking, particularly in apartment buildings.

My building just has a bunch of bog standard bike racks (just a bunch of bars in a row) and I basically hate it. It's really easy for people to take up too much space if they park their bike stupidly. I like poles in the ground in a row, but those have the problem where it's difficult for two bikes to use the same pole, which again feels like a waste of space.

There will always be poor parking jobs whichever the vehicle. But I think for bikes, it works well to have a spot for a tire to be held. It directs most people to understand what is and isn't a spot. It seems to save space more than the poles in the ground. Some examples below.

https://i.imgur.com/k4XOXqQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/94xyejy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HYwDMbf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/578eHuN.jpg

Maybe someday we will have parking lots... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... iigata.jpg

The problem with those "wheel racks" you shared is that you cannot lock up the frame with a U-lock. I think those are fine for temporary bike parking, like at a big outdoor event or something, where bikes are at least under some supervision so it's ok to lock only the front wheel. They're also ok at neighborhood park buildings for cheap kids bikes that are less likely to be stolen (again, still locking the front wheel).

For adult bikes at most city locations though, like a business or apartment building, I think the typical "bike hoop" or "post & ring" styles work best. With those hoops, you can almost always lock up two bikes, even if you have to jostle the already-parked one to get yours locked up. My building has like 5 hoops on a concrete pad in the parking lot, next to the dumpsters & recycling. It was likely just dead space before they put the bike racks there. For a 49-unit building it is not well used...I see the same 3 crappy old bikes locked up there permanently. Anyone with a decent bike knows better and keeps it inside. Bike thieves suck.

The problem with those "wheel racks" you shared is that you cannot lock up the frame with a U-lock. ... They're also ok at neighborhood park buildings for cheap kids bikes that are less likely to be stolen (again, still locking the front wheel).

Sorry, but the park board is one of the biggest culprits for bad bike parking facilities. It's not just kids trying to park their bikes at neighborhood parks. I've harped on them a bunch for this but they still have the same crappy wheelbenders they've had for years.

For extra convenience, I locked my bike outside of my apartment building on public sidewalk racks at LaSalle and Groveland for five years. Never brought it in. Other than one stolen wheel in those five years, the worst issues were mainly the occasional litter in my basket.

What do thieves do with stolen bike seats and wheels? How do they make money from the part? Is there some underground bike part market to buy this on, and who would buy just a bike seat off the street?

Feels like a black hole mystery, like where my socks go in the laundry...

Recycle that metal! MONEY MONEY MONEY!

Or the idiots try to sell it to the bike shop I work at. Also eBay

Cutest thing I've seen in Minneapolis. A couple on a tandum with a puppy on the back
WP_20140901_003 by grant.simons, on Flickr

Also...

https://i.imgur.com/tniXP2k.jpg

Also...

https://i.imgur.com/tniXP2k.jpg

"Concrete banding along the edges will be removed..."

Does anyone know why that is? I'm assuming ¢o$t, but could there also be a functional reason? It looks really classy and I've always liked that look around the lakes, as it's not present along Minnehaha Parkway where I do 99% of my walking/biking.

Just conjecture, but my thought is that it may make maintenance more difficult. Without the banding, they could fairly easily do some mill-and-overlay type work on sections of trail that are aging poorly. With the banding, they're forced to remove and place the asphalt by hand, which is more expensive and results in a poor quality finish.

Just conjecture, but my thought is that it may make maintenance more difficult. Without the banding, they could fairly easily do some mill-and-overlay type work on sections of trail that are aging poorly. With the banding, they're forced to remove and place the asphalt by hand, which is more expensive and results in a poor quality finish.

The pavement in the banded section certainly doesn't seem to have held up very well.

I remember as a kid when the banded concrete was being added - besides aesthetics, I recall the purpose of it being to prevent collapse of the adjacent fill which sinks the asphalt... the asphalt was supposed to stay in place more.

In theory, that makes sense. But based on observation, it seems like the unstable riparian soils that most of the trails are built on meant that the concrete was just as prone to move as the fill.