On the way back home from Freewheel I took 1st ave and found this green, earth loving person parked near Butler square. I tried to wave down the parking cop I saw, but he just looked at me like I was going to mug him. I guess we should be thankful to the city for giving us the gutter to ride in so people can park like this.
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Looks like that person can't
Looks like that person can't parallel park with out bumping the curb. The city need to install little rubber bumpers so cars have a parking reference.
It really is the gutter
It is ironic that curb side bikes lanes get striped including the actually curb and gutter for rain water. I think this really demonstrates how clueless the Twin Cities can be. Why include 6-12" of unridable pavement as part of the bike lane. The width of the lane should be from the outer edge of the gutt er.
I really don't understand why they did't put a curb or striped buffer on 1st Avenue.
plastic bollards
I keep asking if the City can at least put those temporary orange bollards that were on Hennepin during construction at the edge of the bike lane -- it would help so much guide people to where they are supposed to be, and we know the City already has them.
Transit?
Two times in the last week or two, I saw a metro mobility paratransit bus parked in the bike lane! Last night there was a cop car in the bike lane. Come on! Even our public vehicle drivers don't have a clue!
I really can't blame any car
I really can't blame any car driver from parking partially in the bike lane. At the least, the city needs to install some temporary bollards (why can't they just go ahead and do this?); it would be nice to also see them paint the lane or install concrete dividers of some sort. Any word from the city on if or when it may institute some very minor (and almost zero-cost) modifications to make this work better?
City to implement changes this week
According to a post on the Minneapolis Bike Love forum from a City of Minneapolis staffer, they are planning on making changes this week:
Eliminate on street parking
Eliminate on street parking solves the problem.
This is proof that our space has more value in moving people than storing cars.
Wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and two way motor traffic with pocket turn lanes and sidewalk designated loading zones.
Seems nice, but not realistic.
Politically that wouldn't work. Also, for the vitality of the local businesses and downtown in general, having on street parking is crucial. Sure, it would be nice to even eliminate cars from downtown--period. But think about the implications of that in the long run. It would ruin the city.
there is plenty of off-street parking downtown
I take issue with your assertion that on-street parking is crucial "for the vitality of local businesses and downtown." There is enough off-street parking downtown to accommodate everyone who lives, works or plays downtown. Just look at the map of Downtown Parking Facilities on page 40 of the Downtown Action Plan of 2007. Almost every block has some kind of parking facility!
I personally am not cynical enough to believe that drivers will not figure out how to park in a ramp if on-street parking is not available. It is time to stop wasting valuable space and taxpayer dollars on street parking.
oh yeah, this needs to be topical
And to bring it back to the subject at hand, there was no reason to include on-street parking in the 1st Ave design. There are some 10000 off-street spaces in the blocks surrounding 1st Ave S (my estimate, probably low), next to which the 70 (my estimate) on-street spaces are a drop in the bucket. Including these spaces to appease either some merchants or the more conservative elements of Public Works staff may have proven to be a nail in the coffin for this redesign.
Parking is not needed here.
Parking is not needed here. I can get off the freeway park my car in a garage and take the sky way where ever I want.
Parking is simply to appease the selfish.
That has to be one of the
That has to be one of the worst bike lanes I've ever seen. I don't know how the city can seriously expect cyclists to ride there.
1. It's not wide enough.
2. It's in the door zone.
3. It's full of debris.
4. It has a nice wheel-eating crack running the entire length of it.
5. It renders cyclists invisible to other road users.
I would urge anyone who travels on this street to just use the regular lane.
Reporting offenders (DIY-style)
A website that lets you post photos of repeat offenders:
http://minneapolis.mybikelane.com
Seems like if there were enough photos up there and the news stations ran a story about it, it could be its own kind of social enforcement (and a lot cheaper than paying police).
Plenty of room for a 3 ft. buffer
It seems to me that this photo demonstrates that there is plenty of room to add a three foot painted buffer between the parking lane and the bike lane in addition to adding the candlestick bollards.
see-click-fix
I've been meaning to post a story about See Click Fix -- you can also report issues to this website, and it goes directly to 311 and various other Minneapolis agencies:
http://www.seeclickfix.com/citizens
A group in New Haven used the site to effectively advocate for new bus service to NYC, so it can be both a reactive (reporting problems) and proactive (suggesting improvements) resource.
The bollards are up on First
The bollards are up on First Avenue! They seem to be working.
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