Tim,
I can't say I know of any "official" City plan for biking and walking, but
I am familiar with some other groups, like Mississippi River Trail, Friends
of the Parks, Rails To Trails, the biker guy who goes to meetings, etc. who
seem to always be up to something.
Some off-hand comments on my personal experience with walking and biking in
St. Paul:
- The riverfront trails seem to be getting more attention this
spring. Let's hope it's not just because of GE04.
- Sweeping of the excellent bike lanes should be a regular City
service.
- There are more and more bikers and joggers on the Samuel Morgan
Trail every week.
- There should be more pedestrian crossings at Lambert's Landing.
- There needs to be more "Do Not Block Crosswalk" signs everywhere.
- There could be Park and Bike locations here and there, so people
could bike the last 2-10 miles into town (e.g. Battle Creek, Crosby).
- There is still no sidewalk connecting the West End to the
Mississippi River along Randolph. There is great potential in using
disused railroads. If this is not part of the R/W, then a lane can easily
be taken from the roadway for peds, bikes, and bladers. The ADM site has
been tidied up somewhat, and even the "dump" next to it - why is this, I
wonder...
- More and more people are parking at the Upper Landing and walking
to work. While this may be short-lived, it foreshadows what is to come.
These people have been seen jay-walking and walking along the town-side of
Shepard where there is no sidewalk for some reason (railroad related, I
imagine).
- Bikers who ride on Shepard Road instead of the trail should be
taxed.
- There has been little to no effort made in making it safer for
pedestrians as far as I can see.
- Many intersections only have two crossings painted instead of all
four. Much more pavement markings are in order.
- Where are all the bike racks anyway?
- There are not very many bike lanes that I have seen.
- It would help to have not merely a painted bike lane but a properly
isolated one.
- When my wife got her new bike last month, why didn't the bike shop
register her bike's S/N right then and there? And make her pay a bike tax
or something, to pay for the sweeping? Are bikes supposed to be licensed,
I forget...?
- True "Connect To The River" folks should revisit the pedestrian
bridge idea hanging off the High Bridge piers.
- Chestnut Plaza is sure to have bike racks, right?
- The sidewalks from Seven Corners to the river are less-than-ideal.
Not that anyone walks down the most historic site in St. Paul anymore, but
they might if Upper Landing sells. (But act now - "Last Chance" they
falsely advertise.)
- Every time I check the dog water fountain at Peace Park/Common Bond
Park/No-Name Park it is not working, nor are any of the human ones. Come
to think of it, for such a water-logged state, there sure aren't very many
drinking fountains around. Now that the danger of frost has passed, I'm
calling Parks next time I find they're still shut off.
On a side note, I took the bus home from work last week, since I just found
out a newish route goes through downtown without the need for a transfer.
When I drive, it is 8 miles, takes 16 minutes door-to-desk, and costs about
$1 in gasoline. To take the bus, I had to walk a mile, pay $1.75, ride the
wrong direction for a while, then got home one hour after I left the lab.
As much as I'd like to be a bus-rider, it simply is not nearly attractive
enough right now, I'm embarrassed to say. I'm also embarrassed that Metro
Transit has not made much of an effort to tap into the 8,000 or so of us
who work here. I could try to bike to work, and up to Highway 61 it would
be just dandy, but then the appeal is lost the rest of the way.
On an even sider note, there are more and more motorized scooters (and I
don't mean mopeds) on the streets and although I have mixed feelings about
them, they are loud, obnoxious, and dangerous (kids in dark clothes after
dark in the middle of the street). They should be taxed, and then banned.
AMH
Lance Armstrong Avenue
Andrew M. Hine
Corporate Research Materials Laboratory
3M Center 201-1W-28
St. Paul MN
55144-1000
USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tel: (651) 733-1070
Fax: (651) 737-5335
Lab 201-W110
Tim Erickson
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "St. Paul Issues Forum"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent by: cc:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [StPaul] Bike To Work Week
orum.org
05/17/2004 12:54
PM
In a snippet about bike-to-work week, in the Pioneer Press, I ran
across the following quote:
(Mayor) "Kelly has committed to making St. Paul a
more bike- and pedestrian-friendly city."
Now, I feel like I HAVE heard rumors of some events to promote
"biking" or "pedestrian friendly" planning.
However, I'm wondering if anyone might be able to point to any
concrete projects taking place in the city to make St. Paul more
pedestrian or bicycle friendly. Is this just talk, or are we making
any progress in St. Paul? And if so, where and how?
I just bough a "Trail-A-Bike" for my 5 year old. I'm hoping to bike
her to day care this week...... we'll see what happens to my good
intentions.
Thanks,
Tim Erickson
Hamline Midway
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
=================================================
Tim Erickson http://www.politalk.com
St. Paul, MN - USA 651-643-0722
[EMAIL PROTECTED] iChat/AIM: stpaultim
=================================================
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