biking041708

Bicycling is about to get a whole lot better in the city of Minneapolis

Improvements include new bike trails, a bike rental/repair center, more bike racks and more bike lanes on city streets

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: April 17, 2008 - 6:56 AM

Bicycling is about to get a whole lot better in the city of Minneapolis, as the city uses a $900,000 grant from the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Project to promote biking and walking. The city also will restripe bike lanes on streets, add scores of bike racks, improve trails and open a bike rental-bike storage-bike repair center.

And to promote bike riding, the city is proclaiming May 12 to 18 as Bike Walk Week, an initiative to encourage people to leave their cars at home and bike or walk to work.

Minneapolis already does fairly well in that area, ranking second only to Portland, Ore. in the percentage of commuters who pedal to work. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.5 percent of commuters in Minneapolis reported that they rode their bikes to work in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available.

In the coming months, bike riders will have more places to park their two-wheelers as $200,000 worth of bike racks are installed throughout the city. And getting around should be easier, too, as the city will re-stripe about 33 miles of streets, adding bike lanes and lanes for other transit over the next two years.

Perhaps the most noticeable improvement will be seen when the new Freewheel Midtown Bike Center opens May 16. Located on the Midtown Greenway behind the Midway Exchange, located in the former Sears Building off Lake Street in south Minneapolis. Patterned after a similar center in Chicago, the Midtown Bike Center will offer bike rentals, repair, storage and showers for riders. Freewheel will operate a bike store during business hours.

The city also will spend money on four trail projects in the works. They are Bridge 9 to the new Gopher Football Stadium, the Hiawatha Trail/downtown connection along 11th to 9th avenues S., the River/Lake Greenway along E. 40th to 42nd streets, and the Cedar Lake Trail, extending ti from Royalston and Glenwood avenues to the Mississippi River.

In addition, the Midtown Greenway Bridge, which opened last fall, will be renamed to honor retired U.S. Representative Martin Sabo. A renaming ceremony will take place May 18.