The Peeve O' Matic Archive

I decided to use public transit today instead of bicycling due to the current icy conditions of Minneapolis streets and the fact that I need to keep my computer functioning and in one piece.  This scene is what greeted me as I walked away from the Target Field LRT station towards my office. 

Conditions such as this make life difficult for those of us who choose to get around the city without relying on a private motor vehicle.  Conditions such as this prevent many people from making the choice I made today. 

Crosswalks are supposed to make crossing the street safe. They mark off space where people are to be expected, so that cars know to approach with caution. They are a crucial means by which people and cars coexist. They are a big part of pedestrian safety.

So why is it that many crosswalks actually make it more dangerous for people. In the winter, this white paint at this crosswalk at the U of MN campus is like a Slip 'n' Slide. Can't they design something that better?

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

I was commuting this morning in multi-modality mode with the LRT and bike due to the storm. All the main drags and paths were pretty clear. When I got to Ft. Snelling the path to the Mendota bridge was not cleared, but easy enough to ride through, but the Mendota Bridge path was a complete washout. Blowover from plowing the bridge created a mile long 8-12 inch layer of breakable hard crust that was not hard enough to walk/ride on. It took me 25 minutes of pushing my bike to get across the bridge. I was tempted to hop the barrier and walk facing traffic since I would make better time. Does anyone know if MN has law that states one can use highways for travel if there is not an alternate route with an acceptable distance? I call MNDOT and talked with a Mark Fischbach at 651-234-7907 who told me there was no ETA since their main focus was cars.

I will try and get some pictures of this.

P.S. The beer trucks and cars busy today parking all over 1st ave N today including a few cars that got stuck parking in the bike lane by the snow :)

Devin

I saw this today on my commute in and watched the workers move 2 loads of kegs while I got the camera out. Why do companies (limos, valet, taxis, the city, etc.) feel the bike lane is a loading zone with either thier vehicles or thier stuff?

Of course I could be wrong and maybe Summit was hosting happy hour this moring for bikers!

I keep forgetting to get a picture of this, but the bike lane on 4th street that ends at Chicago Ave S with no safe way to get to the LRT trail or even across Chicago to the sidewalk. Also crossing 3rd st where 94W comes in is really dangerous with all the drivers coming around a blind corner at high speeds.

Does the city have any plans to fix these dangerous intersections as part of the bike plan?

Updated:

I took these on 12/3 and found it funny how MTC finds it okay to entirely block the only safish wayto get to the LRT by parking 2 HUGE trucks on the path between Chicago and the next street over and by 2 drivers. I guess MTC only believes in car-pooling for its customers.

Devin

I found this today on 1st ave N and 5th street. If the city is reading can you please explain why is makes sense to remove half of an already dangerous and too small bike lane by using as storage for construction barriers?

On a positive note I noticed no parked cars in the bike lane and a bike officer riding down 1st today!

P.S. The officer did not look too comfortable riding in the bike lane as he was riding really slow in the gutter are and away from the doors of the parked cars? If he is not comfortable why would you think other cyclists are?

Thanks,

Devin

I was at the central lib on Saturday and ran across this missed chance to show fair treatment by the city to cyclists.

Why does the city continuely make the error of endangering cyclists by allowing motorized traffic in a non-motorized lane with NO warning at all to anyone or closing bike lanes down to accomodate drivers.

If we really expect to even fathom catching much less surpassing Portland as a cycling city the city must start looking at what works and what does not.

Devin

On my commute to work I was headed S on 4th street near city hall and saw this. I could only assume he was trying to keep the drivers safe from speeders and light runners since he was in the car which by the way was car# 410 if anyone cares. I stopped at the light waiting for it to turn green and he did not appear to be too happy with me taking his picture.

On a side note, the bollards are still not working since there were still cars in the bike lane and the parking spot. 2 bollards in the middle of each block does not cut it Mr. city.

Tuesday afternoon was a rotten commute in downtown Minneapolis no matter the mode.  The rain was falling steadily and had been all day, fans were pouring in to watch the Twins in their (amazing!) tiebreaker game at the Metrodome, and thousands of workers were headed out.  It was just slow going.

I was in the car, inching along South 2nd Street, a street with a single auto lane each way, a bike lane on each side, and on-street parking.  The car ahead of me and the truck behind me, along with several other vehicles, seemed to feel that they would move faster if they straddled the bike lane stripe.  

I guess the tendency comes from traffic jams on freeways, where a driver might edge to one side or the other of the road to see what's ahead or what's slowing everybody down.  But as someone who commuted by bicycle in Monday's rainy rush, I know that it's hard enough to navigate around puddles and parking or exiting cars, never mind half of an idling half-ton pickup.  

So, stay in the lines and hope for sunshine tomorrow.