Bicycle Infrastructure

Roads - Rails - Sidewalks - Bikeways
4-d
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Bicycle Infrastructure

Postby 4-d » June 7th, 2012, 3:43 pm

Let's talk about that.

I think we should convert Portland Ave and Washington Ave into roads with protected bike lanes.

What do you think?
^ 4-d

mplser
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby mplser » June 7th, 2012, 6:22 pm

I would agree with your idea. Now that 35w exists we don't need these pre-highway arteries as much as we did back then. They can each afford to lose a lane for the sake of safe cycling.

Lancestar2

Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby Lancestar2 » June 13th, 2012, 11:00 am

I think that's a great idea!

Washington Ave could be reduced to a 2 lane each direction with turn lanes and the added space could go to a oversized bike lanes AND extended sidewalks! and eventually Washington Ave could be turned into another Hennipen [sic] Ave or Nicollet Mall. Although a lot of development would have to take place before it would become an attraction, however I think it would be a great East/West transit-way. With the future downtown park and the soon to be re-done riverfront their will be some demand for a decent transit-way.

WIth a cedar lake trail connection on the west side of downtown and a Hiawatha Bike trail connection on the East side Washington could become a "downtown greenway!" Ideally keep the bike lane in a divided center and they could have added space when turn lanes are not needed (or have green spaces like tree's or shrubs)

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby min-chi-cbus » June 13th, 2012, 12:29 pm

I think that's a great idea!

Washington Ave could be reduced to a 2 lane each direction with turn lanes and the added space could go to a oversized bike lanes AND extended sidewalks! and eventually Washington Ave could be turned into another Hennipen [sic] Ave or Nicollet Mall. Although a lot of development would have to take place before it would become an attraction, however I think it would be a great East/West transit-way. With the future downtown park and the soon to be re-done riverfront their will be some demand for a decent transit-way.

WIth a cedar lake trail connection on the west side of downtown and a Hiawatha Bike trail connection on the East side Washington could become a "downtown greenway!" Ideally keep the bike lane in a divided center and they could have added space when turn lanes are not needed (or have green spaces like tree's or shrubs)
Without a source to point to, I want to say that there is a Master Plan for Washington Ave that would turn it into essentially what you are saying: a 4-lane road separated by a landscaped boulevard, with bike lanes and street-side parking, in an effort to make it a major pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare that would connect to Nicollet Ave. I THINK it's part of the Downtown 2025 Plan, but am not 100% sure.

I may not know what I'm talking about, but Washington Ave from the SE does not seem like an enormous point of entry for people to come into downtown. So the more Washington can just be a great example of people meeting the street and beautifying the downtown area (something that Minneapolis frankly sucks at) and not so much a highway to connect to a freeway, the better.

Shawn
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New bicycle RFID polls popping up

Postby Shawn » August 2nd, 2012, 8:12 am

The U has an RFID bike program up and running where students who bike to campus 8 times a month get a $10 gift card, and other bike gear, while staff can get money off their health insurance. I think there are something like 15 ZAP stations around the east/west banks and st. paul. This program is open only to UofM students/staff, however.

As of the past few days, there have been these wifi/solar/RFID stations popping up in places such as 8th Street SE and 7th Ave SE, on the end of the stone arch bridge and on the 10th Avenue bridge. I can't find anything about them moving forward with a Minneapolis ZAP program online. Anyone have ideas or insight on this? I assume that they're moving forward with this project: http://projectadvisoryteam.files.wordpr ... oposal.pdf just a few years behind schedule.

Shawn
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Re: New bicycle RFID polls popping up

Postby Shawn » August 2nd, 2012, 7:22 pm

Update: All I found was an official "tweet" that said 5 new readers have been installed around Minneapolis and beta testing starts today. The UofM Bike Center followed up and said that those 5 readers count for UMN Zaps. Exciting news for those of us that use the program

NickP
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Re: New bicycle RFID polls popping up

Postby NickP » August 3rd, 2012, 9:28 am

I find this to be brilliant! Well done Twin Cities.

mulad
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby mulad » August 20th, 2012, 4:01 pm

This looks like a general topic thread, so here we go:

After many months of wondering what the hell they've been up to, it has finally become clear in the last few weeks that a bike path is being installed on the west side of Lexington Parkway south of Como Park in Saint Paul. The existing bike path runs as far south as Energy Park Drive, and the construction appears to be extending it to Minnehaha Avenue, which I think is a designated bike route (there are actual bike lanes on some segments, but they don't seem to be any near Lexington).

New bike bridges are going in over Pierce Butler Route and the BNSF tracks just north of that. The bridge over Pierce Butler was in place when I went by today. As strange as it sounds, Pierce Butler is also a bike route because of its wide shoulders -- I'm wondering a bit if they'll try and make a direct connection down to that, but I'm guessing not.

Curb cuts have been reconstructed at several intersections along the way, though I'm still never going to be happy until bike paths start being designed with cycletrack-style raised speed tables at intersections or have the bike path surface lowered to be level with the road. I hate riding over curb cuts...

MSP
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby MSP » August 21st, 2012, 9:01 am

Here's a link to a map of Minneapolis' bicycle master plan...
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/gro ... 081436.pdf

The stretch of Washington through downtown will have bike lanes according to the plan.

Didier
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby Didier » August 21st, 2012, 11:59 am

This isn't directly related to bikes, but aren't there plans to add a new 35W ramp on 4th Street (maybe something changed with the Vikings stadium?)? If so, would Washington still connect to 35W? Either way, that would reduce traffic on Washington quite a bit.

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Nathan
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby Nathan » August 21st, 2012, 12:16 pm

In Regards to Washington Ave, there used to be a master plan, creating a Grand Blvd. I had downloaded it at one point, but it's unfindable now. They are working however on Reconstructing it from Hen to 5th in the next few years.

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cip/all/ci ... o5th_index

http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us/portal/sit ... fe4689RCRD

seanrichardryan
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby seanrichardryan » August 21st, 2012, 4:55 pm

Looks like Park & Portland will become more bike friendly in the future-

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/166947146.html
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MNdible
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby MNdible » August 21st, 2012, 8:14 pm

From that brief explanation, it sounds like this will be a good compromise. I think that two lanes should be adequate, assuming that they are sized appropriately to deal with winter conditions. Hopefully, there will be some accommodation for turn lanes.

Minneapolisite

Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby Minneapolisite » September 30th, 2012, 2:38 pm

Wow, I biked to Nicollet south of Grant and bike lanes just popped out of nowhere. Nice.

PhilmerPhil
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby PhilmerPhil » September 30th, 2012, 5:07 pm

Yea they are pretty nice. Hopefully they get extended to Franklin to connect with the bike lanes that will be striped there next year.

MSPtoMKE
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby MSPtoMKE » September 30th, 2012, 10:03 pm

Yeah, I noticed those, too. I assume they are meant to better connect Nicollet Mall (a "shared street") to 15th as well as 1st and Blaisdell, since both of those sort of peter off. There are also new lanes (and sharrows in some areas) on Central, as well as a lot of new and repainted brighter green paint all over the place. I wonder when they will finish repainting Hennepin...
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Uptown46
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby Uptown46 » October 1st, 2012, 8:02 am

Just to clarify about Franklin Ave, there is a planning study going on right now through Transit for Livable Communities/Bike Walk Twin Cities to design bike lanes. However neither the city nor the county have committed to actually implementing the recommendations for bike lanes and improvements.

min-chi-cbus
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby min-chi-cbus » October 1st, 2012, 8:31 am

There's a bike lane planned through East Franklin Ave? Wow, how times have changed! I still don't know what would prompt anybody on two wheels to stroll through there but I guess if it's in that much demand perhaps the area has truly transformed from its former self as recent as the early 2000's!

MNdible
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby MNdible » October 1st, 2012, 8:43 am

Most of Franklin is probably fine with two lanes and a turn lane, but I'm skeptical that the section from 35W to Chicago will work with that configuration -- it's usually pretty badly congested as is. It will be almost impossible to find any more ROW through there.

Based on recent experience, the city will plow ahead with this anyway and the cars will magically disappear and everybody will start riding their bikes and it's a party!

PhilmerPhil
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Re: Bicycle Infrastructure.

Postby PhilmerPhil » October 1st, 2012, 8:48 am

Nice recap of the latest news on Franklin: http://mplsbike.org/blog/?p=2647

It's really disappointing that the county won't consider 10' travel lanes.


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