Nationally, bicycling advocates are wielding more influence, andthe mall restrictions are serving as a call to arms for some Minnesotacyclists.
by Mark Brunswick
Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 12, 1997
The line in the sand - make that asphalt - is expected to be drawn todayover a proposed ban of bicyclists on Nicollet Mall.
More is at stake than the 12 blocks along the mall, a prime bus routethat attracts bicyclists who find it safer and more pleasant than otherroads in downtown Minneapolis. The issue - whether bicyclists have a rightto ride the mall - is seen by some as pivotal to the future of bike advocacyin the state. "This is a call to action," said Jim Dustrude,a bicycle coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. "Thiswill test the body temperature of bike advocacy to see if anyone is alive."
The Minneapolis City Council's Transportation and Public Works Committeehas scheduled a public hearing for 4:30 p.m. today to hear comments ona plan that would ban all cyclists except licensed couriers on the mallfrom 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.
More than 200 cyclists - couriers, commuters and recreational riders- rode down the mall on Friday to support keeping the mall open. The eventwas peaceful - and a rare coming together of the eclectic Twin Cities bicyclecommunity in a show of tribal solidarity.
"We've been told, `Here is an extra lane with a little triangleand a bike painted on it; there you go,' " said courier and bicyclingadvocate Shawn Sheely, who helped organize the demonstration. "Withthe mall we are saying, `You are not going to do that to us again.' "
Throughout the nation, the call to arms is increasing as bicyclistsbecome more politically active - and, in the eyes of some motorists, moreirritating. The most notable display happened in July when more than 100cyclists were arrested during a 5,000-rider "Critical Mass" demonstrationthat jammed streets in San Francisco.
The demonstrations occur regularly in more than two dozen cities, stoppingtraffic and infuriating motorists. One driver in San Francisco reportedlyhas started a new organization to combat the cyclists, Drivers AgainstBicycle Anarchy.
A calmer climate
At least until the latest Nicollet Mall showdown, bicycle activism inMinnesota has been more tepid. This, after all, is the land of separatebike and running paths around the lakes and bicycle lanes in downtown Minneapolisand along Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Shoulders along rural roads are consideredsome of the best in the nation.
Cyclists have been involved in planning several roads. When plans werecompleted for road improvements along University Avenue and SE. 4th Streetnear the University of Minnesota, they initially omitted space for bicyclists.Planners believed space was available on adjoining streets. Cyclists andneighborhood residents worked with Hennepin County and state planners andrestored lanes for cyclists.
"There is always going to be something the cyclists aren't goingto care for and something the neighbors don't want, but there are waysto work things out," said Cordelia Pierson, a Marcy-Holmes neighborhoodresident. She and her husband got rid of their car 10 years ago and havebeen commuting on bicycles.
Cool ISTEA
Bicyclists range from weekend recreational riders to scab-laden couriersto commuters with enough safety gear to make them more reflective thana sophomore philosophy major. But cyclists represent a sizable, potentiallyinfluential portion of the population.
More than 53 million people participated in bicycling activities in1996, according to a survey of the National Sporting Goods Association.In the survey, bicycling finished third behind walking and swimming inpopularity. About 16 percent of those riders rode more than 110 days ayear.
And big money is at stake in this battle to be king of the road. Sixyears ago, Congress passed landmark legislation that set aside fundingto accommodate alternative forms of transportation, including bikeways,rail-to-trail conversions of railroad lines and even bicycle storage lockers.
The legislation was called the Intermodal Surface Transportation EfficiencyAct, or ISTEA. In the 18 years before the law was passed, the federal governmentspent $40 million on bicycle-related programs. It has spent $1 billionin the six years since ISTEA was enacted.
And there has been money for biking beyond that legislation. U.S. Rep.Martin Sabo, D-Minn., has secured $1 million for the Hennepin CommunityWorks 29th Street Corridor project, which will provide green space andnonstop bicycle paths and walkways along the corridor one block north ofLake Street.
Different views
The Nicollet Mall issue draws disparate voices from within the localbicycling community. The Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee recommendedthe ban, suggesting instead that lanes be added on Marquette Avenue and2nd Avenue S. But even the committee is split.
"There is something wrong with a city that doesn't acknowledgethat the mall is for everybody," said City Council Member Lisa McDonald,who as a member of the advisory committee worked to allow couriers to remainon the mall.
The Transportation Department's Dustrude, who is not a member of thecommittee, worked to open the mall to cyclists in 1993 and still believesthey should be allowed. But he also can read the writing on the wall. Hehas suggested that the ban be instituted for one year and that cycliststhen would be allowed back on the mall on a trial basis. Bus drivers andpolice officers would be schooled on enforcement of rules.
"I suspect peer pressure will take over," Dustrude said. "Issuea few citations, and word will quickly get out that you can't blow trafficlights anymore."
Sheely, the bike courier and commuting advocate, said more work is neededto coordinate the different forms of bicycling in the state. Bike pathssuch as the recently completed Cedar Lake Trail need to be connected toother paths, and entrances and exits from the paths need to be better coordinatedfor commuters, he said.
"I know recreational riders who want to take that next step andbegin riding into work, but they are absolutely afraid," Sheely said.
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