Survey on bike plan open through Oct. 31

By JANE McCLURE
Since St. Paul’s bicycle plan was approved in 2015, Midway area neighborhoods have seen numerous improvements. Those include Energy Park Drive/Front Avenue, Pierce Butler Route, Transfer Road, Pelham Boulevard, Wheelock Parkway and sections of Como, Fairview, Minnehaha, Hamline, Shields and St. Anthony avenues.
Wheels are in motion for further improvements to St. Paul’s bicycle network, including a link to Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway. More separated bike lanes and ways to make it safer for children and families to bike to school are also sought, along with improved winter maintenance.
More than three dozen people were on a virtual public hearing Sept. 15, 2021, with many sharing their ideas. City staff is gathering input on the bike plan this fall, with meetings already held with almost a dozen of the city’s 17 district councils, bike and open space advocacy groups and other interested organizations.
An online survey has already drawn about 700 responses, a month before it closes Oct. 31. St. Paul’s first bike plan won city council approval in 2015. Since then the city has added 67 miles of bike improvements, including additions to the Grand Round citywide bike and pedestrian trail and bike lane system, and to the downtown Capital City Bikeway. The St. Paul Department of Public Works has also added bike lanes, street markings and other improvements when streets are rebuilt, or when a street surface undergoes a mill and overlay.
Not all of the projects have met open arms. Hamline neighbors had a mixed reaction to bike facilities on their street.
“We’ve made a lot of progress but we want to think ahead to what’s next,” said Jimmy Shoemaker, a public works planner leading the study.
The update will help public works prioritize resources going forward, said Shoemaker. Another goal is to see what gaps exist in the bike network, and how those can be fixed. A third goal is to tie updates to the city’s climate action plan and efforts to get people out of single-occupancy vehicles and onto bikes.
Making sure that future bike facilities meet national design standards is a fourth goal. Shoemaker said there is also a move toward more separated bike lanes, in the interest of safety.
Public input will be reviewed and the plan revised over the winter, with a second round of review and community comment in spring 2022. The goal is for approvals including city council approval in summer 2022. Shoemaker said public works already has gotten a lot of good feedback but welcomes more.
The plan won’t have an end date but will be reviewed and updated again on a regular basis.
Preliminary data shows the strong interest and feedback from Wards Four and Three. There’s strong interest in the Midtown Greenway, a 5.7-mile route (see related story on page 7) through a former Minneapolis railroad trench that connects the Uptown/Lake Bde Maka Ska area and the Mississippi River. Cyclists for years have clamored for a connection over a railroad bridge to St. Paul, the Grand Round and the new trail along Ayd Mill Road.
Another request made is that St. Paul do more to connect with bike facilities in adjacent communities. Bike lanes or trails sometimes stop abruptly, or there’s a gap between one trail’s end and another’s start.
One focus was on bike use to and from schools, especially in light of the school bus driver shortage. Shoemaker said it’s important to continue to expand the Safe Routes to Schools programs, which have been implemented at several schools. One challenge for those programs is for students who bike to not be put in danger by school buses and parents transporting children with motor vehicles.
Other people asked for the city to try temporary traffic calming measures when installing bike facilities. Another request is to stop use of share the road arrows or sharrow markings on pavement. One caller said those aren’t an effective type of bicycle facility and can instead create hazards for cyclists.
See the bike plan, take the survey and read related documents at https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/public-works/transportation-and-transit/bike-saint-paul/saint-paul-bicycle-plan