Thank you Rep. Kahn for sharing this with our list. I too would like to see Minneapolis continue to work toward becoming a city that makes it easier to bike in. When it's not below 35, I bike both for recreation and for commutting. I appreciate having bike lanes and places designed for me to lock my bicycle. Most imporantly, I appreciate all the cars on the road that do respect my right to use it along with them.
That said, I still feel that we have a long way to go as a community when it comes to improving in this area. There are so many things that can be done. Some of the things that I would like to see are yet more places for securing a bicycle. Just as developers are required to have X number of parking spaces, I would like to see Y number of spots for bikes on bike racks. Another is adding more bike lanes to our streets and improving the design of existing ones. I mention the design because there are situation such as when one is northbound on Hennipen Ave downtown where without warning the bike lane ends. There's nothing like having to get other through 3 lanes of rush hour traffic that helps you both appreciate that the lane is there to use and also make you curse at the city engineer for the situation. The one thing that I am most interesting in seeing Minneapolis work on is enforcement of traffic laws in regards to bicycles and bicycling. It would be nice to have the park police ticket some of the vehicles that pass me on river road at inappropriate times. During a 1/2 hour ride on river road, I normally have at least one time when I a car passes me when there is on coming traffic. While this puts me at risk, I am more concerned about them forcing on coming traffic to get er lest they collide head on. I would also like to see cyclists ticketed for doing things that put themselves and others at risk such as riding down a one way street the wrong way or being on the streets at night without lights. I realize that enforcement won't solve these issues, just as ticketing speeders has not eleminated the issue of speeding. Nevertheless, I would like to believe having some enforcement of these things would help a lot to improve the safety on our streets. Allen Graetz Kenwood > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Behalf Of Phyllis Kahn > > > Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 3:37 PM > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Subject: [Mpls] Minneapolis Biking > > > > > > > > > This is a bike league post that SHOULD be Minneapolis specific IE, > >Mpls > > > should do this. > > > > > > CHICAGO: THE CITY THAT BIKES > > > This summer, the City of Chicago will go the extra mile to welcome > > > bicyclists. The City will offer free "Chicago by Bike" summer tours > >of > > > historic and cultural areas, distribute thousands of free Chicago > >bike > > > maps, and provide complimentary valet bicycle parking at most major > > > city > > > festivals. The City also plans to add several hundred more bike > >racks > > > and > > > make major improvements to the Lakefront bike trails. > > > > > > "Bicycling is a great way to get around Chicago. It's fun, healthy > >and > > > good for the environment. I've worked hard to make our city one that > > > bike > > > lovers can be proud of," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. Chicago boasts > > > more > > > than 125 miles of bikeways and 9,400 bike racks, more than any other > > > city > > > in America. "My goal is to make Chicago the most bicycle-friendly > >city > > > in > > > the United States but I can't do it alone," Daley said. "With Bank > > > One's > > > support, we continue to make great strides towards reaching that > > > goal." > > > > > > Bank One is sponsoring the City's Bike Chicago 2004 program, which > > > runs > > > from May through July and encompasses 150 different cycling > >events.... > > > > > > Phyllis Kahn State Rep 59B > > > > >snip > > > >REMINDERS: > >1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > >2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > > >For state and national discussions see: > >http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > >For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > >________________________________ > > > >Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn > >E-Democracy > >Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > >REMINDERS: > >1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > >2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > > >For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > >For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > >________________________________ > > > >Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > >Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
