Editorial: Don't let thugs derail bike trail use

With gas prices near $4 a gallon this summer, the Midtown Greenway at times resembled a bicycling version of Interstate 94 during rush hour. Thousands of commuters jumped on bikes and used the 5 1/2-mile route and the connecting Hiawatha LRT Trail to get to work and school in Minneapolis, St. Paul and nearby suburbs.

First-timers joined four-season veterans who have made the greenway one of the most popular trails of its kind in the country, with ride counts estimated at up to 1 million a year and climbing. Although usage drops when the weather turns, each year more cycling commuters are making daily rides a year-round habit. That environmentally friendly trend won't last if street thugs continue a recent pattern of targeting greenway and Hiawatha trail cyclists. It's a situation that demands the full attention of police and local leaders.

Last week Minneapolis police issued a safety warning after several bikers were robbed in about six separate attacks. In the most disturbing of those incidents, Star Tribune employee Troy Melhus was forced off his bike at gunpoint by three men on the Hiawatha trail just south of the Franklin Avenue light-rail stop on Dec. 4. "I'm going to shoot him,'' one of the men said as Melhus lay face-down in the middle of the concrete path with a gun held to the back of his neck. Melhus, a former Marine, was robbed but not shot. He told his story in a chilling first-person account published in Monday's Variety section.

The attack on Melhus and the other incidents fit a pattern. Lone riders are targeted after dark by what police believe are several groups of young men, some with weapons, who seem most interested in wallets and electronics. Certain portions of the greenway and Hiawatha trails are more dangerous because of the surrounding geography and inadequate lighting.

As executive director for the Midtown Greenway Coalition, Tim Springer has been a leading advocate for the trail. Despite heavy traffic this summer, relatively few crimes were reported, said Springer, whose group reports incidents on its website, midtowngreenway.org. He blames the recent spate of attacks, in part, on the economy, and he says the police and city of Minneapolis aren't ignoring the threat.

Springer said better lighting would make the trails safer, and the coalition is in the early stages of planning a public art project that would use solar-powered light along the greenway. Raising money for the project will be a key hurdle for the coalition -- a nonprofit advocacy group that relies on donations. Financial help from public and private sources would be worthwhile investments in the city's transportation infrastructure.

An increased police presence along the trails, especially bike patrols, would be the most obvious crime deterrent. Although some security cameras are in place, higher-tech cameras with better night vision are needed. The coalition is interested in starting citizen patrols, but covering the insurance costs is a major challenge.

The most immediate step cyclists can take is to avoid riding alone, especially at night. "In eight years, I've only heard of one incident when a group of more than one has been victimized,'' Springer said. To that end, bike commuters can find more information on group rides -- and contact other riders -- through the coalition's website and at the terrific online forum mplsbikelove.com.

The Midtown Greenway and Hiawatha LRT Trail are among the most successful such commuter routes in the country. Let's not let a few street criminals do any additional damage to an increasingly important community asset.