Lowry Bike Lanes and a Blogging Success Story

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, above image from Hennepin County, and photo below from the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition blog.

Last summer, I found out that the Lowry Bridge bike lanes initially planned were not up to the standards that I had hoped to see - nor did they meet what many bicyclist groups had wanted, nor did they pass muster in accordance with long-term plans for Lowry Avenue.  So I did a rather extensive post (linked above) about the topic.  What followed was a result that affirms why I put so much energy into both reading comprehensive area planning documents, and blogging about them as best as I'm able.

Obviously in this case I wanted to see a better design for bike lanes on the Lowry Bridge.  But after the initial post I did not have the time, energy, wherewithal, or connections to see things through to a full and successful end goal.  Others did.  The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition and a whole host of other cycling activists began a dialogue with Commissioner Stenglein around how to improve the bike lane designs.  That dialogue has proven successful, and I'm told that the bridge will have "slip ramps."

An example of a slip ramp, although the lanes on the Lowry Bridge will be much wider.

In a poetic twist, the bike lane pictured above is from the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, Oregon.

So thank you to Commissioner Stenglein, the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, and anyone else who helped the Lowry Bridge get much-improved bike lanes!  And check out the coalition's post for the specific details about how the lanes came about and how they will work.

We always knew the Lowry Bridge would be well-built, but now we can rest easier knowing it will be built right.

Bike Lanes on the Lowry Bridge

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, images from the Lowry Avenue Bridge website.

One of the bright spots (of which there are many) on the redesigned Lowry Avenue is the ample space provided for bike lanes.  Last week some cyclists and I had a very wonkish discussion about how those lanes would be incorporated into the shiny new Lowry Bridge.  If you'll notice from the design specs above, there don't seem to be any marked bike lanes.  If the bridge is built exactly like this, I see three possible prospects, all of them unappealing in their own right:  bicyclists will have to share the road with high-speed traffic, bikers will share the walkways with pedestrian traffic, or bikers will be required to get off of their bikes and walk with pedestrians if they're not willing to brave traffic conditions.

In an email exchange with some cycling activists and staff from County Commissioner Mark Stenglein's office, it's unclear how bicycling will be supported on the bridge.  A biker claims there will be no marked lanes while a staffer says there will be two 11-foot lanes of traffic and two 4-foot marked bike lanes in each direction.  For the record, the Minneapolis Bicycle Master Plan, passed in 2001, calls for the entirety of Lowry Avenue to have bike lanes.  Readers of both this blog and the Irving Inquisition will know how much I want to see the Lowry Bridge adhere to master plans.

With the formal public comment period over and done, and construction underway, changing the actual width of the bridge is out of the question.  But if the lane configuration needs to be tweaked, perhaps that can be done.  For instance, I'm told that...

Some Signs of Improvement on Lowry Avenue

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

Some time ago, these signs popped up along Lowry Avenue as part of its redesign.  I never got an explanation as to why, but when they initially appeared, they went only from Theo Wirth on to about Girard or so.  Well, today a colleague at Hennepin County informed me that the signs have been posted all the way down Lowry to the bridge.  Huzzah!

Down on Broadway we've got these funny-looking signs hanging from the light posts depicting abstract faces and, at best, abstract emotions.  While I appreciate the youth involvement in the community that went into the creation of those signs, I don't think they accomplish much.  Granted, this is just my own personal opinion, but I really like some of the signs I've seen like this along Central Avenue.  One part of the sign on the light post says Central Avenue, and another sign designates which neighborhood you are in.  That combination, to me, really gives you a sense of place, as if you're somewhere with a strong and proud identity.  I'd love to see something similar along Lowry, with all of the bordering neighborhoods identified and represented.

Now, borrowing from the Irving Inquisition, which manages to be ticked off at one ore more people in every blog post, I've got my own jerks du jour...