Twin Cities Streets for People

We all know that Portland, Oregon frequently sets the standard for national bicycle infrastructure....  Here is an example of a bike lane I saw during my visit last weekend—notice the green paint at the beginning of the block, adequate width, buffer zones along the edges (for both moving and parked cars), and the bike corral at the end of the block.  

Here's an interesting video from NYC that shows how the addition of a buffered bike lane on a busy urban street created two groups of cyclists:  slower cyclists—who may not have previously felt safe riding on this street—riding in the bike lane and faster cyclists riding in car traffic.  The addition of the left-side bike lane brought about some additional obstacles for faster bicycle commuters, including delivery truck interference, taxi standing, pedestrians, left-turning cars, and bike "salmon."  Any similar observations in the Twin Cities?  

The "slow rollout" of the bike infrastructure continued recently as the city added lane markings to the Hennepin Avenue bike/bus/right-turn lanes. But just like the orange wands on 1st Avenue, it doesn't take a very long bike ride down Hennepin to see cars who don't understand the new rules. Depending on the traffic, it can be either very pleasant or very awkward toride down this lane. (I was buzzed by a red pickup that passed me heading down the street.)

What can the city do to make it obvious that this new Hennepin Avenue lane is not for regular traffic? Read more >