Kenilworth Trail Threatened: How you can help
The treasured Kenilworth Trail--which connects the Midtown Greenway with Cedar Lake Trail and carries about 3,000 people a day--could be eliminated if freight rail is co-located with the forthcoming Southwest Light Rail Transit line. The reality is that the freight rail decision is certainly the toughest around the SW LRT design and has hundreds of neighbors in St. Louis Park out promoting the co-location in Minneapolis so that they don't have impacts there. There are options that preserve the trail and allow the SW LRT to move forward.
We need a really strong show of support for preserving the Kenilworth Trail at the following upcoming public meetings (full details):
July 17: Minneapolis
Jones-Harrison Residence
3700 Cedar Lake Avenue, Minneapolis
Open House: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Presentation: 5:30 – 6:15 p.m.
Facilitated Q & A Session: 6:15 – 7:00 p.m.
Google Map
July 18: St. Louis Park
St. Louis Park High School
6425 W 33rd Street, St. Louis Park
Open House: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Presentation: 5:30 – 6:15 p.m.
Facilitated Q & A Session: 6:15 – 7:00 p.m.
Google Map
Other ways to help
1. Contact Governor Dayton and your Metropolitan Council Member. The Metropolitan Council will make the final decision on the routing; they are appointed by Governor Dayton.
Contact Governor Dayton: http://mn.gov/governor/contact-us/form/
Contact the local Metropolitan Council Members (or find yours here):
Susan Haigh, Chair: [email protected]
James Brimeyer (St. Louis Park and part of SW Mpls): [email protected]
Gary Cunningham (Mpls and Robbinsdale): [email protected]
Adam Duininck (Mpls): [email protected]
Message: The Kenilworth Trail is a critical regional assest that needs to be protected as part of the final SW LRT design.
*Include your personal story of why the trail is important to you and why you'd like to see both SW LRT and the Kenilworth trail.
2. Share this information with your friends around the region who care about the Kenilworth Trail. It is very important that the Metropolitan Council knows that this isn't just an issue for local residents, but a key part of our bicycle network and park system.
3. Write a letter to the editor. Submit to your local neighborhood paper or the Star Tribune in support of design for Southwest LRT that protects the Kenilworth Trail.
4. Get a lawn sign. The "LRT Done Right" group has lawn signs to show your support for protecting the Kenilworth Trail. To get one for your yard, submit a comment that you'd like one on this page.
BAC engineering group wants protected bikeways on Minnehaha
The Minneapolis BAC's engineering committee met this afternoon and discussed a few infrastructure projects.
Minnehaha Avenue
Discussing the public meetings about the Minnehaha Avenue redesign took up most of the meeting. Some committee members were caught off guard by the "open house" meeting last Thursday when they discovered the event would feature a long presentation and a constricted format for providing feedback. Regarding the content of the presentation, many in attendance echoed Ethan Fawley's criticism of the county's assertions about protected bikeways (also known as cycle tracks). Many studies over the last few years have shown that protected bikeways enhance safety and increase bike ridership. Many reasonable alterations to the proposal could minimize the tree loss in the protected bikeway configuration of Minnehaha. Surely, the county can design a better cycle track than the one in the current proposal. Grant Boelter recently wrote a great blog post debunking myths about cycle tracks.
A BAC member who attending the county's meeting with the Longfellow business community reported that some business-owners were misinformed about how the cost of the project will be borne. As councilmember Cam Gordon clarified at last week's meeting, the funds needed to rebuild Minnehaha Avenue will not be directly assessed from the local residents and businesses.
The engineering subcommittee reinforced points that the Minneapolis BAC has made in several memos: protected bikeways are safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and even motorists. Protected bikeways also boost the local economy. A well-designed protected bikeway along Minnehaha Avenue would best serve this thriving street.
The Franklin Avenue Bridge
A protected bikeway could be headed to the Franklin Avenue bridge, according to a team of county engineers. The bridge, officially named the Cappelen Memorial Bridge when it was completed in 1923, is named for its designer, Frederick William Cappelen, the Norwegian-born architect and civil engineer who also designed the Witch's Hat and the Kenwood Park Water Tower. The favored plan, of more than two dozen alternatives, includes two one-way cycle tracks on each side of the bridge and new outer railings that would draw inspiration from the original design. The engineers want to ensure that their design does not preclude any future improvements to intersections on either end of the bridge, but in order to secure $12 million in federal funds for the project, the planners need to move fast.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, July 17, 2014: Minnehaha Avenue public meeting at the Minnehaha Communion Lutheran Church (We need your help!)
Wednesday, July 17, 2014: Southwest LRT public meeting
Wednesday, July 24: Minneapolis BAC full meeting
Send an e-mail to Shaun Murphy, the city's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, if you'd like to come to a BAC meeting.
Photo of the Franklin Bridge by Flickr user dwallick.
