This is a public policy forum that was established in 2006 by Minneapolis Second Ward (Green) City Council Member Cam Gordon and his policy aide Robin Garwood to share what they were working on and what life in City Hall was like. After serving 4 terms Cam lost his relection in 2021 but has continued to be involved in local politics and to use this forum to report and share his perspective on public policy. Please feel free to comment on posts, within certain ground rules.
Public Works staff has striped bike lanes on Riverside Avenue and 4th St S, all the way from 15th Ave S to Franklin. This was made possible - with no loss of off-street parking - by converting the road from a 4-lane to a 3-lane for much of its length.
posted by Robin Garwood @ 11:10 AM
4 Comments:
Just terrific! There are lots of places in Minneapolis crying out for similar 4 to 3 lane treatments.
What a great way to make Riverside more accessible for people. My wife and I pedal this area daily to/from work. This will make a big difference for a lot of people. Well done.
The car traffic backup on Riverside during rush hour is awful and cars often occupy the bike lane near corners. Bikers beware of car doors from the very narrow parking lane.
Anonymous said some things that should be clarified.
First, I have also noticed that "cars often occupy the bike lane near corners." This is actually *required* by law. The safe way for a driver to make a right turn where there is a bike lane is to merge into the bike lane and take the turn from there. These folks are, for the most part, doing what they should be doing.
When Riverside is reconstructed (which is slated to happen in 2011), we can make sure that there are sufficient right turn lanes to handle this sort of stacking, reducing the use of the bike lane for stacking.
Second, it's always the case that bicyclists should beware of car doors from the parking lane. However, this is much less of a concern on Riverside than on other streets, even other streets with bike lanes, for one simple reason: the bike lanes on Riverside are fairly wide in most locations. I ride on Riverside (and other streets, both with bike lanes and without) on a regular basis, and I can tell you uniquivocally that I now feel much more protected from dooring on Riverside than most other streets in the Minneapolis.
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