Making Minneapolis more friendly for two-wheelers

With a Census-backed claim to being one of the top big cities for bike commuting, Minneapolis entered this week's Bike Walk Week in the Twin Cities doing lots of things right for cycling.

So let's ask what Minneapolis could be doing better.

This weekly bike commuter nominates these improvements:

• Give priority to spring sweeping of streets with bike lanes.

• Coach city workers to set a good example by not parking city vehicles in bike lanes.

• Enforce bike laws and those governing the conduct of motorists around bikes.

But first a quick review. Minneapolis offers 82 miles of off-street bike trails, led by its decades-old parkway bike trails. The Midtown Greenway and Cedar Lake Trail offer prime off-street routes. Just as crucial are 40 miles of dedicated on-street bike lanes.

The North Side is catching up on bike lanes, with recent additions on Plymouth, 26th and 44th Avenues and N. 2nd Street. There are bike lockers for rent downtown, and renters can shower in two locations there. There's a bike hub opening this week on the greenway at Midtown Exchange. A bike-sharing program for Minneapolis and St. Paul was announced last week.

Such investment helped propel Minneapolis to rank second among the 50 most populous cities in 2006 for percentage of residents who commute to work by bike. The city's 2.5 percent rate represents roughly 4,800 commuters. Added to the 7.1 percent who walk to work, that means almost one in 10 residents is getting to the job without consuming fossil fuel.

Some caution is needed when considering these numbers. First, they come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which due to small samples has a considerable margin of error. So the number of bike commuters could be anywhere between 2 and 3 percent. That's a swing of nearly 1,900 riders.

The survey asked what the primary mode of transport to work was the previous week. That excludes people like me who drive when weather or work schedule argue for that, and bike when they can. The Minneapolis numbers also count only Minneapolis residents, not suburbanites who ride to the city by bike. Offsetting that is the presence of a huge university whose students undoubtedly swelled the ranks of bike commuters.

So what can improve on this bike commuting track record? Building commuting facilities is one matter; keeping them in good order is just as important.

Spring sweeping is a good example. It's done mainly to keep sediment out of lakes and rivers. But sweeping also improves the utility of bike lanes. A winter's accumulation of sand traps broken glass. Drifts of sand can make thin-tired bikes unstable. All streets are swept sooner or later, but why not put those with lanes at the head of the list?

Bike lanes are also more usable when they're not blocked by cars. Cabs and school buses are chronic offenders. But I've also seen city police, fire and parking-meter-repair vehicles blocking lanes. Why is this bad? A biker is forced from the relative safety of a bike lane into the hazard of competing with traffic in the parallel traffic lane. That can sometimes force traffic to change lanes. The more lane changes, the greater the likelihood of an accident.

What to do?

There's no argument here against cops and firefighters parking where needed in an emergency situation. But cop cars seem to block the bike lanes on Portland and Park for routine stops, regardless of whether there's parking space adjacent. A call to the department's spokesman for an explanation of policy wasn't returned.

A meter repair spokesman said department policy allows employees to block a traffic lane when there's no parking nearby, but Public Works chief Steve Kotke said it's important to set a good example.

Enforcement is a trickier area. Let's concede that as a general rule, bikers should follow traffic laws governing them, and motorists likewise.

I get irritated when I see bikers blow through stop signs in heavy traffic -- which only breeds resentment among motorists. It bugs me when a biker uses a bike lane in the wrong direction. I also get irritated when a car door opens in front of me in a bike lane -- getting doored is one of the worst accidents a cyclist can sustain. I get especially irritated when motorists who obviously barely passed their written exam tell me to get off of the parkway and use the bike path. If I can chase them down -- and occasionally I can -- I refer them to chapter 169.222 of Minnesota statutes, which gives me virtually the same rights and responsibilities on the road as a driver.

Having said that, let me confess to situational ethics. If there's no traffic for a block in any direction, I'll blow a stop sign. It's against the law. For the record, I readily concede that if you do the crime, you ought to be ready to do the time.

For bikers, it's the equivalent of what many motorists do when they roll through a red octagon without a complete stop or turn right on red where it's not allowed. The physics of starting a bike from a complete stop are different from putting slight pressure on a gas pedal. An interesting colloquy by the Minneapolis Issues Forum on bike-car issues is available at: www.startribune.com/a4369.

Council Member Cam Gordon recently looked into adopting some of the explicit protections for bikers against motorists that Chicago adopted this year. The bad news is that state law preempts local action; the good news is that many current statutes can be interpreted to accomplish the same end, according to his aide, Robin Garwood.

That leaves education and enforcement as the keys.

Meanwhile, wear your helmet and be careful out there.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438