U of M Bike Trail

[Didier]

A Star Tribune Sunday story basically said it will be open in a matter of days, but having run down there on Sunday I don't remember seeing any barrier stopping one from using it.

I believe the Strib article said around 1,000 people currently use the Bridge 9 daily (600 walkers, 400 bikers), but that number is expected to go up.

It also mentioned that there is a growing movement to rename this bike path the Dinkytown Greenway.

Also, there are new bike-specific lanes open adjacent to the sidewalk in front of all those new science buildings north of TCF Stadium. It's not totally necessary, since there's hardly any traffic there except on game days, but it's not bad. These bike lanes connect to the new trail as well.

[MSPtoMKE]

On Tuesday, there were still signs saying the trail was closed, but it seemed pretty much done:


U of M Bikeway by MSPdude, on Flickr

Here is the Cycle Track that it connects to:


Biomedical District Cycle Track by MSPdude, on Flickr

[PhilmerPhil]

Beautiful cycle track. Are the intersections handled well? Or at all?

[talindsay]

The signs indicating it's closed are gone now so i guess it's officially done. The intersections aren't especially elegant up on the "cycle track" but then there isn't any cross traffic on any of those streets so i think it's fine for now.

[mulad]

Much like I have trouble calling Metro Transit's arterial bus plans "BRT", I have trouble calling a bike path on the side of a road a "cycletrack" unless it does a good job with intersections.

[talindsay]

Yeah, so i guess "bike path" isn't cool and that's why we say "cycle track", which combines imagery of track (a high performance sport) with "cycle" (not the thing kids call their bikes)? I'm not trying to be snarky, i just haven't seen a "cycle track" that's different from a nice bike path.

[orangevening]

I think "Sidepath" is technical name name for this type of bike path. Like the path along side of Lyndale north of Loring Park

[mulad]

Hmm. I guess I use "sidepath" for arrangements where a bike path along a street plays a dual role as a sidewalk, but maybe that's just me -- that's a common setup in the suburbs around here, though in this instance, pedestrians and cyclists are separated.

In my mind, proper cycle tracks give bicycles the same priority as the automotive traffic running on the adjacent road -- cars turning off the main road and and cars coming up on cross streets are supposed to yield/stop for bikes. At intersections, bikes should just cruise on through almost all the time, and there should be as little transition as possible between the bike path surface and the street surface -- none of those metal or concrete plates with bumps like at sidewalk curb cuts. Either the bike path should gradually come down to the street surface level (if it was raised at all in the first place) or the street should have a bump up (like a speed table) so it meets the level of the cycle track. Bikes should only need to stop at the same times that cars on the adjacent road do -- intersections with stoplights or stop signs (the latter preferably replaced with roundabouts or some sort of shared-space junction).

[MSPtoMKE]

I am not sure if it is an issue with the design, or just people acclimating to the new setup, but I think I only saw 1 bicyclist use the cycle track (or whatever you want to call it), while perhaps 4 or 5 bikers used the street in the few minutes that I walked past. Not a good sample size, I know, but I didn't observe anything dangerous about the path, although there is a sharp turn where the trail exits onto the cycle track/side path. There isn't much special about the intersection treatments, but they are all basically driveways right now.
It does seem that there should be a better connection between the path along 6th and the Transitway, such as bike lanes along 23rd Ave.

[TheUrbanGopher]

If there was such a trail along that stretch, you could technically bike from Chaska to the St Paul Campus on segregated trail the entire time. The route isnt ideal (parts of gravel trail, road crossing stops), but the fact is still pretty awesome.

http://goo.gl/maps/Rrh4W

[lordmoke]

Now Open:
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/218164961.html

[Minneapolisite]

I saw that was openly recently and also recently just discovered that that bridge is a bike-pedestrian bridge. Very nice views from there.

[orangevening]

I saw that was openly recently and also recently just discovered that that bridge is a bike-pedestrian bridge. Very nice views from there.

Yeah that has been a Bike/Ped bridge since 2000 I believe. Too bad it is hard to access it, although the new trail plus the Bluff Street trail will help a lot

[TheUrbanGopher]

Went to the opening ceremony this afternoon. Lots of key players were at the ceremony, including Rybak, Gordon, Hodges, Pam Wheelock from the U, and Steve Kotke from Public Works. There was also a pit stop at the Surly site, with the owner of Surly and the architect in attendance talking about future plans.

The trail is very nice! The ride included some pit stops pointing out potential future connections to Dinkytown, which would address many of the concerns that this thread has pointed out. The connection over the #9 bridge (now to be called the Dinkytown Greenway Bridge apparently) will be very monument for connectivity within the city.

[Silophant]

Cool! I wanted to make it to that, but moving took longer than I expected yesterday, and ran into today, and I couldn't really tell my roommates "Bye, gonna go bike around now!"

Can you say a little more about where the Dinkytown connections might be? Honestly, if they just found some way to ramp up to the sidewalk on University between 14th and 15th, (by the Downhowe building) I'd be content. Not that I'll be a University student by the time it gets completed, but I hope to still be in the area.

[TheUrbanGopher]

Some Public Works/TLC/Bike Walk Twin Cities people said that the next MPLS budget includes a connection at the corner of 15th and 4th across from CVS. They said the slope would be too steep for a trail, so it will be a staircase with a metal tire ramp like the one on the MN 5 bridge by Ft Snelling. They also said that they have plans to connect to 14th near University somehow, but I couldnt really understand what they were saying about it. Still though, any connections will help dramatically!

[Silophant]

Awesome. It'll be used a lot in it's current form, I'm sure, but a connection right into the heart of Dinkytown will open it up to everyone in Dinkytown and Como as well.

[ProspectPete]

This is so great. I've taken this trail several times and at the east end of bridge 9 there is a coffee shop. I spoke with an employee there and she stated that this is the first summer they decided to stay open. And ever since the bike path opened up its been good for business. Was there some talk of being able to go from stone arch near or river place all the way to the dinky town green way?

[exiled_antipodean]

You can go from the Stone Arch all the way to the Dinkytown Greenway, but you just have to ignore the signs that say UMN steam plant employees only. At "rush hour" there are so many people knocking off work at that steam plant, and jogging and biking home it's amazing. Lots of people in medical scrubs wandering along there. Guess they must work at the steam plant.

Which is a way of saying, it's not strictly legal, but it's widely used on bike and foot.

[ProspectPete]

Paved? Dirt trail? Is it BNSF property?