Downtown Bikers - What is wrong with the bike trail? (Minneapolis: dangerous, safe)

[minneapolis612]

I want to preface this with saying that I bike all of the time downtown minneapolis. I enjoy riding my bike. I feel safe and Minneapolis has done a great job of keeping up and developing new trails.

With that said, why is it that some (not all) bikers choose to use the road when there is a perfect new wide bike trail following the road? I can understand if it is a sidewalk or joint walking path and biking path.

My example is on west river parkway downtown. I travel it everyday to and from work. And everyday there is a line of 20 cars backed up because a biker is up front on the road while there is a beautiful empty bike path right next to them. Why do we even pay to make these paths if only half the people use them?

I am just curious if anyone else runs into this issue and if so, do you care?

Thanks for listening to my rant.

[xandrex]

There are few places downtown where people have dedicated trails. I can only think of the parkway and the the Cedar Lake trail. Both of those don't exactly go through downtown and have limited connections. So if you actually want to be biking downtown, you have to be on the streets.

[minneapolis612]

There are many dedicated bike lanes on the streets. 1st Ave, Washington, 2nd st, Marquette, etc. These are the lanes that I use when I bike around.

My issue is when there IS a bike path right next to the road that you are driving on and the road doesnt have a bike lane.

And Minneapolis is one of the most bike friendly cities in the country. We actually took out driving lanes for bike lanes. And Again I am just annoyed that Minneapolis goes through all this and they still dont use them.

[wtfci]

Issue the biker a citation. Make the penalty $500 for failing to use the bike path.

Good luck on enforcement though. This is one of the many good arguments against the funding of bike paths. As much as the biking community wants it to be a legitimate form of transportation, you shouldn't expect any funding at all without being prepared to pay the penalties for failure to use it.

[codydog2]

Bikers have been issued citations for speeding on the paths.

There is a speed limit on the bike paths, which almost everyone seems to ignore. It is 10mph which is pretty slow. Most people dont have a computer and would be surprised how really slow it is. It is dangerous to peds and other bikers to be doing 15+mph on the bike paths. It is also illegal. The speed limit for cars is 25mph on most of those roads. A cyclist doing 20mph belongs on the road not a bike path that is frequented by joggers hogging both bike lanes, peds crossing every which way and people enjoying a leisurely ride. The signage indicates that cars are still expected to see bikers on the road. They need somewhere to ride and if the path is off limits because of speed the road is the place to be.

I feel the other way. I have been tooling along at 8-10mph and had road bikers fly by me and the kids on the bike path on the parkway. It is about safety for everyone. I ride my road bike on the road, unless I am going slow enough to meet the speed limit.

I am guessing you are talking about the area along the river near Stone Arch Bridge? There may be a backup of cars because there are several areas near there that are not safe to pass a cyclist. Going under some of the bridges there is a median which causes the lane to narrow on each side. Most bikes I have seen, myself included, will take the lane for this portion to prevent cars from trying to squeeze by (and they will). The cyclist moves over after the narrow portion and traffic moves on.

While we are at it, why do the joggers always run on the bike path when there is a perfectly good path for pedestrians right next to it? I am honestly wondering since there might be a safety reason behind that too, I am just not sure what it is.

[1stpontiac]

I run down there pretty regularly during the summer. Joggers use the bike trail for the same reason bikers use the road...because there are too many slow people on the path they are supposed to be on. I'll admit I sometimes use the bike trail, although I try to stay off to the side, and only use it when it seems pretty empty. But I'm sure a biker or two has been annoyed by it.

I imagine the codydog2 is right as far as why bikers use the road. I have noticed that before as well, and wondered why they wouldn't use the path, but I'm sure its just a matter of taking the fastest way. Usually I only see pretty serious looking bikers up there, not the casual riders.

[dravogadro]

Codydog hit the nail on the head. The paths are not made for transportation but recreation, managed by the park board and not the city (unless you like your transportation at 10mph, which is pretty slow for the average adult). If you want these paths to be for older adults toddling along, kids out with their friends, dog-walkers, strollers, etc., you cannot have bicycles, moving quickly, in the mix. They don't put sidewalks next to the highway, only separated by a painted line for a reason too.

Something else you may not appreciate is that the condition of the bike path that runs north of the Stone Arch Bridge is in terrible shape. Cavity-filling-rattling shape. It is very uncomfortable to ride on it, particularly if you are not on a cushy, upright bicycle.

Also, the path section between the Guthrie and the Stone Arch bridge is wooden, bumpy and terrible. If I am going downhill, I use the road. Uphill, I use the path; it doesn't hurt as much.

[tvdxer]

As a bicyclist myself, I can say that there is a portion of the cyclist community that is subversive and has a "stick it to the man" sort of attitude towards cars. Even though lobbying for the funding of bike paths, they will still ride on the road as a sign of protest against motorized transportation.

However, there are also practical reasons for not staying on the paths. One thing I noticed whilst biking in Minneapolis is the speed limit on the paths is often extremely low - 10 mph. I don't know if this applies to all paths, but it does to the Chain of Lakes bike trail. It is rather difficult to maintain that low of speed in a flat city like Minneapolis, even if you are overweight and on a non-optimal bike.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

As a bicyclist myself, I can say that there is a portion of the cyclist community that is subversive and has a "stick it to the man" sort of attitude towards cars. Even though lobbying for the funding of bike paths, they will still ride on the road as a sign of protest against motorized transportation.

However, there are also practical reasons for not staying on the paths. One thing I noticed whilst biking in Minneapolis is the speed limit on the paths is often extremely low - 10 mph. I don't know if this applies to all paths, but it does to the Chain of Lakes bike trail. It is rather difficult to maintain that low of speed in a flat city like Minneapolis, even if you are overweight and on a non-optimal bike.

turn about is fair play on this and I have driven down bike paths around Lake of the Isles and Calhoun when the street traffic gets snarled heading in and out of Uptown and you'd think by the reaction of some of the bikers who have to drive onto the grass, was that they had some type of god-given right to their little patch of asphalt. make a hole, comin' thru people!

[codydog2]

Originally Posted by dravogadro

Something else you may not appreciate is that the condition of the bike path that runs north of the Stone Arch Bridge is in terrible shape. Cavity-filling-rattling shape. It is very uncomfortable to ride on it, particularly if you are not on a cushy, upright bicycle.

^ This too. I go south from Plymouth and there are areas where it is horrible even when I am on my bike with (relatively) fat tires at low pressure. I love the double "speed bump" areas on the path that can be launched off of at 10mph.

Another note regarding car backups, I also drive W River Road frequently and usually have a string of 2-5 cars build up behind me. Why? Because I drive close to the speed limit. The speed limit on the parkways is 25 not 35. Those roads are not designed for fast cars especially in the area along downtown with numerous pedestrian crossings. Not that the speeding cars actually stop for the peds so maybe not an issue for them...