I Bike Minneapolis (and St. Paul)

On a hot summer day in my hometown, I began a 30 mile bike adventure through the twin cities. I was having some difficulties with my mom’s bike. The seat was constantly pushing me off and the right front brake pad was rubbing the tire. I knew this would be okay for a short while, but not for the entire adventure ahead. I rode to a friend’s house in uptown just a few miles away and dropped the bike there. From her house, it was just a short walk to the nearest bike share station.




This summer, I’ve been greatly enjoying my internship with a bike/ped planning firm doing Safe Routes to School planning. It’s been great going out to the field and re-designing intersections to make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists. However, I can now never look at an intersection without immediately assessing its quality. I shared my newly found obsession with my friend, pleasantly noting that Uptown intersections had advanced stop bars and pedestrian scaled lighting. I also saw new bus shelters scattered throughout the city, just simple shelters that provided some relief from the elements.


Next, we were onto the bike share station, conveniently located at a very busy intersection, Lyndale and Lake, right off the midtown greenway. The rental station was easy to use. Now with a brand new fully functional bike, my “Nice Ride” we were prepared to continue our adventure. The first notable piece of infrastructure was the bike path on Lyndale right before a very busy area where the road intersects and turns into a freeway. This would be a really scary place to be on a bike, but Minneapolis planners thought ahead and replaced the sidewalk with a 2 directional bike path. Sidewalk converted to a bike path? I was impressed. We cut through Lowry Park to get into downtown Minneapolis. A lot of the great bike infrastructure in the city centers around an amazing park system. The lakes and parks typically have separated bike and pedestrian paths that are well maintained.


We ended up on Hennepin Ave. This road was recently converted from a 1 way to 2 way street. However, I’m not sure if I can get 100% behind this project. Before there were 3 travel lanes heading north, and then a contra-flow lane for buses and taxis. Now there are 2 travel lanes in each direction, and the right hand lane is for bikes, buses and right hand turns. The on-street symbols are already deteriorating and drivers did not obey the right hand turn only directive. Maybe this is a more appropriate place for a colored lane? I’ll be curious to see if this current configuration stays.


We crossed the river for the first time and headed to NE Minneapolis and towards the University of Minnesota to pick up the next member of our bike crew. University Avenue is a one way street with on-street parking on the north side only, and a bike lane on the south side. It was nice to be in a bike lane where you didn’t have to worry about the door zone. From there, we went into Como neighborhood, picked up my brother and the last member of our 5 person bike crew and headed towards St. Paul for the “Taste of Minnesota.” 


Como Avenue had another bike lane, and it was wide enough for two people to ride side by side comfortably. 

As you entered St. Paul, the bike lane ended. However, after a few miles the bike lane re-appeared. As a transportation planner, it’s frustrating to see an incomplete bikeways system, especially one that comes so close to being connected. But the area without the bike lane was still very safe, and we did not encounter any problems. The only problem is that St.Paul is hilly and the “Nice Ride” was heavy and wasn’t the easiest bike to climb hills with. However, these are made for durability and that’s a good thing. I did see some great pedestrian crossings along the way. Bulb-outs, zebra striped crosswalks, and warning signs, oh my!


After making it into downtown St. Paul, we were at our destination, Harriet Island. Both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul are situated on the Mississippi river, providing excellent views. Harriet Island is in the middle of the river, with a beautiful park development. 

We locked the bikes, and headed into “The Taste.” What does Minnesota taste like you ask? Cheese curds, beer, and one of the favorite local hip-hop group, Atmosphere.

 


For the ride back at night, I was pleased to see the “Nice Ride” had front and back lights installed. We rode on Summit Avenue, noting the grand architecture even at night. Some of the most expensive homes in St. Paul are located on Summit, along with the governor’s mansion. Summit Ave. runs into the river, and we rode the Mississippi River 2-directional bike path back into Dinkytown, the University neighborhood.


We destroyed burritos at a favorite late night eatery, and crashed in the University neighborhood. I was able to return the bike at a different share station, very close to my friends place. In total, the bike rental cost me $5.39. We rode about 30 miles and had an absolute blast. This is just a small sampling of some of the great bike infrastructure in Minneapolis. I’ll be back for more time in August, so I’ll be able to report on bike boxes and hopefully the bike boulevards will be ready as well!