City to Finally Improve 1st and Hennepin Bike Lanes
Over the objections of the Warehouse District business owners, The City of Minneapolis is set to make two huge improvements over the badly implemented bike lanes on Hennepin and 1st Avenues.
On Hennepin, they will be painting the Shared bus / bike lane green, and on 1st Avenue they are adding a 'buffer' between the bike lane and the parked car traffic. Also, they will be removing rush hour parking restrictions for North-bound traffic.
This is an example of a roll-out or trial implementation of traffic changes, where cities try out an experimental change, and then (if it works and people like it), make it permanent after a study.
Of course, in my opinion, this is a rather strange example of a trial run, because hardly anyone seemed to like the test implementation. I've heard nothing but disdain from cyclists and drivers alike about how confusingly the two bike lanes were created. (Maybe things would have gone more smoothly if they'd just painted the bike lanes correctly the first time around?)
Regardless, the city seems to be making the right changes now. I can't wait to try riding on the new and improved bike lanes when they're completed!
Comments
Study? What study?
The fact that the city hired consultants to determine the best way to reconfigure the road, and then ignored their findings and did a half-assed in-between combination I think it what really made this project a train wreck.
Post new comment