Hello Steve and Issues Folks, I often use the bike paths by Nokomis in the morning and evening. Here is a little information for those of you that are not familiar with the bike paths in this area. At the Nokomis Recreational Center, the path crosses the parkway and heads in a north-east direction toward Hiawatha, and gradually moving moving east and close to 47th St. The path eventually ends up at Hiawatha and then you either need to turn north or south towards 50th St, which crosses Hiawatha. You can also choose a path close to the west side of Nokomis that will take you in a circle around the lake. The path is very useful if you are biking towards the 46th St, LRT station but for those bikers headed towards West Mississippi Parkway or St. Paul it is not the most direct route. I am assuming many of the bikers that are riding on the parkway instead of the path are trying to bike the most direct route. I understand how that might be frustrating to vehicle drivers, but vehicle drivers need to understand that the city is designed for car transit and bike transit takes a back seat to appeasing those that are confined to automobiles, so bikers more often then not use the roads out of nessessity. Bikers are very aware of the dangers of biking on the roads. I am sure that most bikers would prefer that roads have more dedicated bike paths to make for safer travel. I always try to avoid the roads because it is very dangerous. My co-worker has a family member that is currently in a coma because she was hit by a vehicle on her bike, and her chances for recover are very slim. While i t might be frustrating for vehicle drivers lack of dedicated paths have created life threatening conditions for bikers. Ken Bradley
Steven Houdek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I think it's totally senseless for bikers to use a parkway when a bike path is next to them. Isn't that what it's for? Bicycles? The bikes paths around lakes such as Nokomis are just that: Bike paths. I don't drive my car on the bike paths, bikers should stay off the parkway until they need to turn. I know it's a few people that do this, but it is very annoying, especially at rush hour time. Cars then get backed up because everyone is trying to be careful around the biker. Steven Houdek Nokmois 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 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Meet the all-new My Yahoo! � Try it today! 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
