Peeve O' The Day: December 10, 2009
Thu, 12/10/2009 - 11:10am | by Anonymous
Equal treatment?
No picture again due to not wanting to pull the gloves off to take it with my phone, but today I was riding down Minnehaha from Lake to 46th and have to ask the city why is the bike lane not cleared to the same quality as the main car lanes? Most of the lane was obliterated with left over snow from plowing the car lanes which left no lane for us to ride in. This forces us to take the lane which increases tension between cars and bikes and makes it unsafe for everyone.
Devin
Comments
The city is undergoing some
The city is undergoing some major budget issues, and to be honest, the amount of people using the bike lane in these weather conditions is going to be quite low compared to the rest of the year. It is safe to assume that most of the people that are out riding currently are experienced, and thus can handle riding with traffic as they do on other streets. Perhaps thorough plows of bike paths might not be feasible or necessary at this time.
What does experience do for safety?
I hear talk about "experienced" cyclists a lot -- and I really don't understand what this is supposed to mean. I've been bicycling basically daily for almost 10 years in three different cities. I suppose this makes me "experienced." However, I hate riding in traffic that's going more than 30 miles an hour, I prefer as much protection and separation as possible. I commute and run errands on my bicycle, and prefer to go about 15 miles an hour, so I would like traffic signals to be timed to that speed on bike routes (as in Portland and San Francisco) rather than 30 miles an hour. And anyone bicycling should be able to expect that the routes will be cleared of snow. Car drivers can "handle" driving on streets that aren't paved (or plowed), but we would never use that as a standard. I'm tired of hearing about what people can "handle" -- if Minneapolis is serious about wanting people to bicycle (and one would think so, listening to our elected officials declare we are soon to be the #1 city for cycling) than we need higher standards. What does plowing the bicycle lane, when streets are already being plowed, have to do with the budget? Does it cost more to plow in the bicycle lane when the crews are already out on the streets?
The argument that
The argument that Minneapolis should plow the streets to be serious about getting more people to bike might not be quite valid though. At this point, with cold weather and snow, adding bike lanes to all streets and plowing them well would probably see hardly any increase in riders because right now, the only people that are biking are the die-hard riders. Plowing the bike lanes would help us, but thinking of it from the city's standpoint, it really won't attract more riders.
To sum that up, the fact that the bike lanes aren't thoroughly plowed isn't what is keeping people from biking right now. Most people that choose not to ride in the winter do so because of the cold and the snow and ice that would still exist even if the lanes were clear.
People tell me they aren't biking
I've heard from a handful of people this week that they did not bicycle due to the road maintenance conditions. These people told me that they would have transported themselves by bicycle if the roads were in a condition in which they didn't have to travel in the general traffic with cars and trucks.
According to city stats, 1/4 of people who commute by bicycle in Minneapolis continue to do so during the winter. I don't think 25% of this population qualifies as "die-hard riders".
Personally, I would bet that improved conditions on Minneapolis streets during the winter would increase that number. Of course, we cannot make any definitive statements regarding wether or not this is true until we try properly maintaining our roads for all road users rather than just for automobiles.
Growing the bicycle share
Another major aspect of this issue is the need to increase the number of people who are biking day in and day out - increasing the bicycle mode share. Ensuring quality infrastructure year round is necessary to achieve that goal.
Keeping bike lanes and paths free of ice and snow makes biking a more dependable and realistic way to get around the city in winter; considering how long our winters are, that’s a big deal. Part of the goal is to change the perception that ‘die-hard’ bikers are the only ones who could possible bike in winter.
We’re Minnesotans! We can’t hibernate four months out of the year.
Increased tension is an understatement
If the city is not planning on clearing the bike lanes they should at least step up the enforcement of the 3 foot passing law. Too many times I have had to take the lane and as a result, have been treated with honks and curses. I can handle those - but when the drivers lose patience and gun past me with inches to spare, that's when it gets dangerous.
Bike lanes are generally
Bike lanes are generally used to hold snow on streets in the winter has been my experience. On a lot of streets the city won't make drivers move their parked cars (or if they do, it's very infrequent, and only after very heavy snowfall) so all the plowed snow ends up in the bike lane. The only real solution is to start requiring parked cars to be moved once a week like they are in some swept streets in St. Paul and the like.
Otherwise bikes will have to continue to bike far on the left, in the regular traffic lane, and deal with and angry motorists looking through barely-cleaned windshields.
Parking limits
Parking on city streets is permitted only for a few hours. This is enforced only when someone complains.
See city ordinance "478.100. General time limits for parking." It's available online at http://www.municode.com/Resources/gateway.asp?pid=11490&sid=23