The SPBC met on May 15, 2018, in Rondo Library on Dale Street at University Avenue, at 6:30pm. In attendance were: Ethan Osten, Theresa Nelson, Brian Martinson, Mike Foley, Tom Basgen, Steve Bergman, Nita and Brian Hanson, Zack Metzinger, Rob Wales, Laura Neilson, Laurie (from Lowertown), Pete Grasse, Andy Singer, Reuben Collins and Ward 4 City Council candidate Mitra Nelson.
The following is a rough summary of the meeting.
We discussed our reaction to the death of Alan Grahn, a 74 year old man who was traveling west on the Summit bike lanes when he was hit by an east-bound school bus that was turning north at the intersection of Snelling Avenue (a so-called “left-hook” crash). The man driving the bus was 80 years old and it was full of school kids from Ramsey middle school. Grahn was biking home from lunch at Dixies on Grand. There have been multiple bicycle and pedestrian crashes at this intersection including an almost identical left hook crash that put a middle-aged guy named David Wuest in the hospital for weeks.
Tom introduced a petition from Sustain Ward 3 calling for protected bike lanes on Summit (and other stuff).
We discussed the city’s limited staff and resources to focus on Summit and Brian Martinson suggested a federal funds solicitation or safe-routes-to-schools as a way to get money for a study and improvements (Parking-protected bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, left-turn-on-arrow-only signal phase, reengineering intersection to eliminate one or both carriage roads, etc.)
We discussed need to report bad vehicle and bus behavior. Andy promised to get crash stats for the Snelling/Summit intersection from MnDOT.
We discussed upcoming Women On Bikes Fish-hatchery trail ride on June 6, 6:30pm, meeting in the Battle-creek parking lot to look at the trail washout, the detour and possible solutions– https://www.facebook.com/events/2146917362198252/ Also the June 23 Saturday Afternoon “Bikes Mean Business” Brewery from 2-5pm. Meet at Dual Citizen Brewing, 725 Raymond Avenue at University Ave. For more info, see– https://www.facebook.com/events/181360649251795/
We discussed planning for Bike to Work Day on May 18, from 7-9am and the various groups of riders leaving from Macalester, Indian Mounds Park, St Bernards Church in the North End, Horton Park in Midway, Rebecca Noecker’s house on Robe Street on the West Side, and Quixotic Coffee in Highland Park.
We briefly discussed the next meeting will be a Business Appreciation Ride on Cleveland Avenue on June 19.
We discussed upcoming slow-roll rides on June 13 in Frogtown, 5:30-7:30pm, starting from Model Cities, 839 University Avenue– https://www.facebook.com/events/373154939854616/ and on June 27 on the East Side, 5:30-7:30pm, starting from Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, 788 E 7th Street– https://www.facebook.com/events/807752286089457/ …and the annual May 19 “Tour de Highland”– https://www.facebook.com/events/180660569232887/
Lastly we discussed the City Council approval of bike lanes on Hazelwood/Prosperity and Lexington Avenue …as well as the Saint Paul Dockless BikeShare Request For Proposals (RFP) and the fact that the city has gotten several credible proposals …and the upcoming street repaving projects on Forest Avenue, Prior and Western. These will all have bike lanes, in accordance with the city’s Bikeways Plan, though the nature of the lanes on Forest is yet to be determined (two way versus one way).