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East Side Bike Ride June 12

Last meeting our ride got rained out but this time we’re going to do it rain or shine. Meet at Black Dog Cafe at the corner of Prince and Broadway, across from the Farmers Market. We’ll ride up Swede Hollow out Margaret Street to McKnight and back downtown. Along the way, we’ll look at connections (or lack of) between the East Side and Downtown, examine what would be necessary to make Margaret Street into a Bike Boulevard, and check out the I-94 overpasses at McKnight and Ruth.

Jefferson Bikeway Public Hearing

Wednesday, April 4th, 5:30pm at City Hall, the Saint Paul City Council will hold a public hearing for the last section of the Jefferson Bicycle Boulevard. This is a hearing to finalize the western end of the boulevard from Snelling Avenue, west to Mississippi River Boulevard.

Treatments will include crossing aids at Cretin and Cleveland Avenues (pedestrian warning flashers, bulb-outs and beefed-up crosswalks), “Sharrow” markings on the pavement (the ones Pat Harris had painted over), and dynamic speed signs on Cretin and Cleveland to slow traffic on those cross streets. The Public Works Department is also proposing changing 4-way stop signs to traffic circles at 5 intersections— Macalaster, Davern, Wheeler, Finn and Mount Curve, though one or two of these may be negotiable.

Please come to the public hearing and speak in favor of the project! For more info see— http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=4620

Prior Ave. Bike Lanes Public Hearing

Wednesday, March 28, 5:30pm, there will be a city council public hearing for the Prior Avenue bike lanes and improvements, in the City Hall basement rooms 40 A/B. This is a great project which would stripe bike lanes on Prior from Marshall Avenue north to University Avenue (where there are already lanes north to Pierce Butler). The new lanes would be particularly useful for the 2 block stretch south of University, which is currently quite tight and has high motor vehicle traffic volumes. South of Marshall they will put in “Share the Road” signs and pavement markings down to Summit Avenue. We have been to some meetings for this project and it promises to be less contentious than most, however, they will have to eliminate a little bit of parking to make space for the bike lanes …and this can bring out the opponents. Therefore, we urge people to come to the public hearing and speak in favor of the project— especially if you live in Russ Stark’s Ward 4. There’s more info on the project website at—
http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=4896

MnDOT will be hosting another public meeting for their Statewide Bicycle Planning Study on March 29, 6-8pm University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach Center, 2001 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis, 55411 (Near the intersection of Penn and Plymouth Ave. N). The meeting is looking at creating inventory and guidelines for their upcoming study but people can suggest specific projects or needs and policy improvements, such as the Snelling Bridges (Taylor to Como Avenues), McKnight Road Underpass of I-94, or spending more money in the Twin Cities, where the lion’s share of the state’s bike riders live and ride. For more info contact Greta Alquist at 651-366-4164 or greta.alquist@state.mn.us