The Lyndale Avenue redesign is a slow-moving ping-pong game between business owners and bus and bike advocates. The latest volley just bounced back.
By Susan Lenfestey
Watching the plans for the reconfiguration of Lyndale Avenue is like watching a slow-moving ping-pong game, with the ball bouncing between small business owners on one side and bus and bike lane advocates on the other. Only with higher stakes.
Business owners and their supporters say that the removal of parking places in favor of bus and bike lanes, and adding concrete center medians to prevent turns, will drive customers away and point to the reconfiguration of Hennepin Avenue as Exhibit A.
The bus and bike lane advocates say we must move away from our reliance on cars if we’re to have a chance of surviving as a planet, and that roads need to be made safer for those who walk and bike, and more convenient for those who ride the bus. And they say that businesses will be fine with a slower paced traffic flow that favors strolling and pedaling over driving and parking.
Lyndale Avenue is a county road, but the planning process has been a joint effort with the City of Minneapolis, and the City Council has final say on the plan.
After a lengthy community-input process to review various options — parking bays, bikeways, a dedicated bus lane, more crosswalks — and hearing passionate arguments from all sides, planners released a compromise plan last fall. Some parking would be retained, there would be no northbound dedicated bus lane and bikers and pedestrians would share a wider, winding pathway.
“The bike path will require the removal of 52 mature trees. People getting out of their cars will step into an active bike lane — one that encourages speed rather than slows it.”
The business owners and supporters thought this was a workable solution. The bus and bike lane advocates thought differently.
Among other things, the bike and transit proponents favored a dedicated bus lane over parking, arguing that this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make our roads more car free and more transit friendly. They cited safety concerns of putting bikes and pedestrians on the same path, noting that e-bikes and scooters move at higher speeds as well as the high potential for mashups. Their pushback was well organized and effective.
So effective that in March, the county released another plan reflecting their concerns. It puts back the designated bus lane, removes center turn lanes and retains lengthy concrete medians. Instead of a shared pathway, there will be a sidewalk and a separate, straighter bike path.
The business owners and their supporters returned the volley. The bike path will require the removal of 52 mature trees. People getting out of cars will step into an active bike lane — one that encourages speed rather than slows it.
The bus lane will not only take away much-needed parking, it will cause congestion. There is no place for plowed snow to go in the winter. It compromises the ability of emergency vehicles to move through narrowed traffic lanes.
Business owners suggest county and city planners hit pause and take an in-depth look at the effect a similar plan is having on Hennepin Avenue businesses and nearby residents before committing to any new plan on Lyndale.
What’s Next?
Due to the lengthy give-and-take, the deadline for finalizing the plan has already been extended.
A final plan will be submitted to the City Council in late spring.
The council will vote it up or down, and the mayor will have the option of a veto.
For now, construction is slated to start in 2028 and to take three years to complete.
The current plan can be viewed at beheardhennepin.org/lyndale-avenue.
Comments can be directed to the mayor at Jacob.Frey@minneapolismn.gov, to the City Council at councilcomment@minneapolismn.gov, or to individual council members.
Susan Lenfestey writes for the Hill & Lake Press. She lives in Lowry Hill.
It is incorrect to state that “People do not bike in the winter.” There a fewer people biking in the winter but the numbers remaining through the year are substantial. In my late eighties I have balance challenges and am mainly walking but
I biked for most city trips year around for more than 50 years. It is obvious that better bike lanes will encourage more people to bike, so the current numbers, if correct, are not the whole story. Biking is better for the health of the individual doing it, for air quality in the city and for the future of the planet. It is also cheaper than buses or cars.
So why do people get so upset about improving biking infrastructure? It seems to me that there is something irrational about the intensity, almost amounting to rage, of the opposition.
Woods Halley
The county has adjusted their plans to preserve as many trees as possible, in addition to planting more. Wouldn’t people who park on Lyndale also be getting out of their cars on a street with moving cars? But it’s the presence of bikes that are dangerous? Let this be the last stupid road construction to fight over. If we learned any lessons from Hennepin, it’s that it’s stupid to keep any street parking. Look at what drivers do now on Hennepin. They don’t use parking for parking. They drive in that lane. They also drive in the bus lane. Imagine if we used that space for wider sidewalks, trees, and greenery.
The bike mafia has imposed empty bike lanes on every other mode of transportation so this affluent microscopic subset of city dwellers can have their own personal bike freeways. The rationale is always fungible — whatever argument is needed at the moment to justify more bike infrastructure for militant bikers.
Bryant is already a joke. Now we’re going to have Hennepin, Bryant, AND Lyndale with mostly empty bike lanes?
The City’s own Hennepin study showed the corridor mode split was:
77% drive
13% transit
6% walk
4% bike
City of Minneapolis Hennepin Ave study PDF
Assuming most cyclists are not on tandem bikes, we are essentially dedicating enormous amounts of public right-of-way to a tiny share of users. What are we doing here? If anything, we should be prioritizing peds — not to mention the overwhelming majority of people who still get around by car.
By god, we are gonna force you and Nanna to get to her hip replacement surgery and your cello lessons via bike. Dopes.
https://www.minneapolismn.gov/media/-www-content-assets/documents/Hennepin_OnePager_Final_v3.pdf
Bryant is one of the most lovely streets in Minneapolis and the bike path is hardly empty. It’s one of the most used segments of bike infrastructure we have in our city. Not only have the number of people biking increased, but there’s way more people walking Bryant than in the past.
You’re modality split on Hennepin reflects what happened before construction. It was a corridor that favored driving. So, duh, most users are driving.
People keep overlooking what people prefer and want, which is different from what people do today with the infrastructure we have. I post this survey frequently because it helps explain why we have the policies and political support for the changes we are getting. https://go.minneapolismn.gov/draft-plan-overview/how-people-move
Were the survey respondents a self-selected sample, i.e., anyone could access the survey and choose to participate? If so, the results are far less meaningful than for a survey where respondents are recruited and drawn across demographics reflective of the area as a whole.
We live in a cold climate for much of the year. People do not bike in the winter and most people don’t bike to get from point A to point B. We need to face the reality of our situation and not make driving a difficult experience. Parking is already a challenge in this area. Let’s not make it worse by removing more spaces. Bryant Ave in south Minneapolis is a failed experiment. Let’s learn from these mistakes, versus repeating them.
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