From: Carlo Axados Date: 10:54pm, May 30
I saw a lady biking on University Ave. last weekend from Snelling to Fairview, where I turned off. It basically shut down the entire avenue. Granted, there were a couple of drivers that did not seem to realize there are two lanes, and it looked like it was her first time on a bike, but holy cow.
Aren’t there supposed to be bike lanes or something? I’ll need to look closer next time. I believe Sheldon previously brought this up…and I told him to put his bike on the bus. Oops. It is going to get really hairy once the trains start running, especially when LRT riders start using the slam-on-your-brakes crosswalks. It’s going to be a bloodbath.
From: Tom Goldstein Date: 4:05am, May 31
As far as I know, there are no bike lanes planned for University. That’s among many of the reasons why the University Avenue choice for light rail has been questioned. The solution appears to be the planned bikeway for Charles Ave, which has been discussed at length on either this or the Hamline-Midway forum. Others can comment on the wisdom of that choice; I’ll merely note that doing so bypasses Sherburne Ave. I also don’t know how soon the Charles Avenue bikeway will be ready. A bigger concern I have is that the city has done little in the past several years to develop bike options, particularly north and south (although a north-south route is apparently planned for Griggs.) Snelling, Hamline, and Lexington are all unsafe for biking, which makes it dangerous to get over to Summit or any other east-west routes to the south. You can certainly take Minnehaha toward downtown, but it’s pretty rough riding given the condition of the road. Or Pierce Butler; again, heading north in order to go east. So, there are ways to get around, but not easily. Mayor Coleman has promised all sorts of bike improvements–just as soon as he figures out how to replace the $1.3 million slated for the Midtown Greenway connection that he diverted to help fund the Saints stadium that is proving to be a hit with Lowertown residents.
Tom Goldstein
From: Carlo Axados Date: 5:37pm, May 31
I’m with you Tom. The fact that the Midtown Greenway does not extend in to St. Paul is pretty sad.
From: Frederick Melo Date: 6:40pm, May 31
I’ll top that, I just saw a man — not long for this world– biking The wrong way down the center of university avenue westbound, between two car lanes, headlong toward traffic… D’oh!
Sent from my iPhone
From: Bryan Kennedy Date: 7:16pm, May 31
While biking on University is rarely my first choice for an East-West passage it is sometimes absolutely necessary. So drivers and bikers alike, please remember that bikes have the same rights and responsibilities on University Avenue and all of our city roads (not highways) as do cars.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.222
Please resist any urge to honk, roll down your window and yell, ask them to get on the sidewalk (prohibited in this business district), clip them, door them, throw things at them, or otherwise disregard their right under the law to be there. And bikers, let’s recognize that there’s likely going to be some frustration around this newly narrow roadway. Wear your lights, use your signals, and be respectful when riding on this road.
Now if it would just stop raining so much so I could ride more, bryan kennedy
From: S Mason Date: 8:25pm, May 31
University was actually a pretty darn good bike route pre-LRT. Despite the high traffic volume and busses, the road was so wide that I found it a viable way to get to University businesses, as well as to be a good route to get to and from UMN. The shoulder was so wide that there was plenty of room for motorized traffic, turn lanes, parking and bicycles. In fact, it was nicer and safer to ride on than say, Selby, with the anti-bicyclist and anti-snow removal bumpouts. I brought this up a few times during early LRT planning meetings and was always told essentially: LRT is more important, ride your bike elsewhere. Even bike-promotor and City council-member Russ Stark told me pretty much the same thing.
Of course people have destinations they want to get to on University so the bikes will come. I hope ‘blood bath’ is an exaggeration, but only time will tell.
Sonja
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