Word on the Streets

Update on West 46th Street Repaving Project

On March 4, Council Member Betsy Hodges, Project Engineer Bev Warmke and Bike-Ped Coordinator Shaun Murphy presented the final plan for the West 46th Street Repaving Project, pending City Council approval, to a community meeting. The project runs 4 blocks from Lyndale to Dupont Avenues South on West 46th Street.

The plan includes advisory bicycle lanes on both sides of the street for that four block stretch. The plan should be on the city’s website within a week.

After a few questions from some attendees who were confused regarding the purpose of advisory bike lanes and statements from other attendees who wanted to vent about inattentive bicyclists and who wondered why bicycle routes could not be confined to side streets, a few attendees got down to their main complaint that the plan calls for bump outs at Aldrich, Bryant, and Colfax when the businesses along the plan are unanimously against them. The businesses say they are concerned about the loss of parking spots.

When pointed out that the bump outs cover areas where it is already illegal to park, the discussion then moved to complaints about snow removal on bump out corners, and how city businesses are over-regulated, over-taxed and are being run out of business. CM Hodges addressed the snow removal issues directly and said it was her call to put in the bump outs and that she had to balance year round pedestrian safety against possible snow removal issues. Hodges also said she would meet one-on-one with business owners on their taxes and regulatory concerns.

The panel also indicated the city would be looking at bicycle facilities on West 46th Street east of Lyndale and across 35W when that part of West 46th Street is up for repaving.

Bill

posted by | March 05, 2013

West 46th Street Repaving Project

The City of Minneapolis Department of Public Works will hold its final public meeting regarding the West 46th Street repaving project this Monday, March 4, at 6:30PM at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on the corner of West 46th Street and Colfax Avenue South. The re-paving project covers a four-block stretch on West 46th Street from Aldrich to Dupont Avenues South.

I understand the city will purpose to keep parking on both sides and put in advisory bike lanes on both sides of the four-block stretch as well as put in zebra striping for the pedestrian crosswalks at West 46th Street and Bryant Avenue South. Council Member Betsy Hodges, who is running for mayor, supports this proposal and will be at this meeting. However, based on previous community meetings, there is a vocal faction that would like to move bicycles off West 46th Street and designate West 48th Street as a bicycle route contrary to the Minneapolis Bicycle Master Plan. These folks apparently do not want to deal with bicycles on West 46th Street and consider them a nuisance. This group was portrayed by the KSTP-TV news report at the last community meeting as the citizens who are blocking bicycle lanes on West 46th Street.

If you care about the Minneapolis Bicycle Master Plan, which calls for bicycle facilities on the entirety of 46th Street, please consider attending this meeting to support advisory bicycle lanes on this West 46th Street portion and counter those residents who want to move bicycle lanes off West 46th Street on to West 48th Street.

Bill

posted by | February 28, 2013

BAC Meeting, February 18, 2013

The Engineering / Equity / Evaluation Committee of the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) met on February 19th, 2013 from 4 to 6pm. The BAC is a committee that advises the Mayor, City Council, and Park Board on bicycling matters here in Minneapolis. The committee is composed of representatives from the 13 wards of Minneapolis, plus representatives from the City Council, Public Works, the Department of Transportation, and other city agencies.

1. Nicollet-Central Corridor

Anna Flintoft from the City of Minneapolis presented the results of a study that the City is conducting on the Nicollet-Central Corridor. The goal of this project is to study the transportation needs of this nine mile long corridor and to figure out options and recommendations to improve public transportation on this route (currently bus routes 10 and 18).

The City is exploring a number of exciting options, including sleek modern streetcars (which would be on rails), "enhanced" bus services (with a dedicated busway and timed traffic signals), and new bike lanes. The BAC analyzed the plans, paying particular attention to bicycle safety issues, and expressed concerns that bike wheels might get caught in streetcar tracks. The city is still in the exploratory phase of this project, but if all goes well we can expect these improvements to begin in the next few years.

2. Resilient Communities Project

Brendan Slotterback from the City of Minneapolis spoke about how the city has applied to the University of Minnesota's Resilient Communities Project for advice on planning out a network of cycletracks (protected bikeways). The Resilient Communities Project matches the needs of an organization or community with experts and graduate students at the U of M. If all goes well, experts at the U will help us plan a logical, systematic network of cycletracks that will connect the city and allow people of all ages and abilities to get where they need to go by bike. This would be even better than putting in one cycletrack at a time!

3. 36^th Street South

The BAC heard an update from David Peterson on the plans for 36th Street, along Lakewood Cemetery. The city is planning to make this section of 36th Street safe and comfortable for all kinds of riders and pedestrians, especially those who may use it to connect with the Lake Calhoun bike trail. The potential plan includes a separated, two way cycletrack on the south side of the street, running from Lake Calhoun to Dupont Ave. The plan also includes a much needed pedestrian walkway on the south side of the street-- currently, passengers exiting eastbound buses step off the bus onto a tiny curb rather than a sidewalk and are in danger of being struck by passing cars.

4. City Repaving Update

The BAC looked at a list of city streets that are found on the Bicycle Master Plan that are scheduled to be repaved or seal coated in 2013 and discussed which streets should be prioritized for specific improvements to make them more bicycle friendly. In particular, the committee discussed the importance of creating bike paths that connect major bike trails, such as the potential North Minneapolis Greenway, to popular destinations, such as downtown Minneapolis.

There are lots of awesome projects in the works to improve transportation in Minneapolis!

BAC meetings are open to the public. If you are interested in attending, check the City of Minneapolis web site to find out about upcoming meetings.

posted by | February 25, 2013