Minneapolis has a plan for increasing the number of bicycle lanes throughout the City but not on all streets. Unfortunately, I could not find a copy of the bicycle plan on the City's web site. All I found was an old survey form, used a year or two ago to obtain additional information before the City adopted the current bicycle plan.
Nicollet Avenue is not a designated bicycle route. The nearest designated route is Pleasant Avenue. While Pleasant is great, it does not cross Minnehaha Creek. That leaves a major whole in the official bicycle system. The citizens task force that planned the changes to the Nicollet Avenue bridge considered whether to designate bicycle lanes on the bridge. The conclusion was not to do that. A major consideration was the fact that Nicollet Avenue is not a designated route north or south of the bridge. Also, the task force didn't want to encourage kids to ride their bicycles on such a busy street. Another point was the fact that bicyclists can use the 7' "buffer lanes" even without their being marked for bicycles. To respond to an earlier question: Yes, the City will continue to plow the sidewalks on the Nicollet Avenue bridge. Public Works does not believe the "towers" would provide any snowplowing difficulties. In fact, when plowing the road during deep snows, the towers will remind snowplow drivers of where the widened sidewalks occur. It's great seeing how many folks are starting to walk or bicycle across the bridge now that the wider sidewalk on the west side provides a safer environment. Dore Mead Tangletown _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
