SPBC Meeting Summary, March 20, 2018
The SPBC met at 6:30pm in the Party Room at Oxford Jimmy Lee Recreation Center, corner of Marshall Avenue and Lexington Parkway. In attendance were: Ethan Osten Andy Singer Steve Bergman Gene Gjerdingen Pete Grasse David Rudolph Theresa Nelson Brian Martinson Mike Foley Nita Hanson Brian Hanson Betty Lotterman Paul Nelson
We discussed upcoming events …and other potential rides and events we could do.
Saturday, March 31, 11am, 30 Days of Biking kickoff ride will start at the Capitol south steps. We’ve had 250 people respond so far to say they’re going. Last year we had about 40 participants. So, if 250 people actually show up, we will need better organization. We discussed a possible route– John Ireland, to Summit Avenue, to the “Otis Wiggle”, to Pelham Avenue, to Raymond, to the Transitway, ending at Surly Brewing. This year we resolved to go slower. Ethan volunteered to lead, Andy to sweep at the back and Brian (and hopefully others) will cork intersections, if we in fact get over 100 participants. The discussed route and plan could be subject to change depending on turnout, weather and other factors.
Friday, May 18th, 7-9am, will be “Bike to Work Day” at Saint Paul Union Depot, sponsored by Saint Paul Smart Trips and Women On Bikes. There will be groups leaving from different neighborhoods towards Union Depot including: Councilwoman Jane Prince and others from the East Side, down Margaret Street; Some folks from Macalester (and maybe Patagonia) leaving from Grand Ave, down Summit; A group from/down Rice Street; Some folks from the West Side, including councilwoman Noecker; A group from Highland Park.
We also discussed a possible “Bikes Mean Business” ride down Cleveland to stop at the 4 restaurant/bars that have installed bike racks and give them some kind of award and a little business. These would be Tillie’s Farmhouse, Stewarts, Davannis and Bar Brigade. It was suggested that we give businesses information on the Bicycle Benefits program (but we need to research who is currently administrating it).
We also discussed possible participation in parades including Grand Old Days and summer “Slow Roll” rides that will be happening every other week starting June 13, starting in Frogtown, then Rondo, then the East Side …and back again. Women On Bikes is inviting Mayor Carter to the first one.
Betty Lotterman suggested that, as a group, we do something for “World Carfree Day” on September 22 …perhaps in conjunction with Minneapolis groups. She is also looking for businesses on Raymond that want St Anthony Park bike racks …but has, so far, been unable to find any who are interested.
IN OTHER NEWS:
MnDOT has temporary bike counters (either with tubes or optical) that can be signed out. We discussed the possibility of getting a permanent one on Summit or some other high-traffic bikeway that displays the number of cycles each day, maybe using a District Council grant.
UMN is doing a study to measure the automobile yield rate to pedestrians as part of city wide enforcement campaigns at Snelling at Hewitt and Dale at Jessamine. These are multiple threat spots (4-lane roads). They plan to give out tickets that force people to go to court.
Someone has started a Twitter handle “@tcblockedlanes” or “#tcblockedlanes” where you can post photos of motor vehicles blocking bike lanes with license plate numbers. See– https://twitter.com/tcblockedlanes/
We discussed the need for parking-protected bikeways for winter so we don’t have on-street bike lanes that aren’t plowed or are impassible due to parked vehicles compacting the snow and ice. Public Works says it lacks plowing vehicles small enough to plow parking-protected lanes (on Summit or Marshall) but they have a “Honey Badger” and other small vehicles for bridges.
The next SPBC meeting will be Tuesday, April 17th (3rd Tuesday of the month) at 6:30pm at an as yet undetermined location. Bill Dermody of the City Planning and Economic Development department will be giving a presentation on transportation elements of the draft 2040 Comprehensive Plan.