Bikeverywhere has just released a minor update to the Twin Cities Bike Map. Map changes reflect new research and suggestions from map users. Some changes include the addition of the Aldine St bridge in St. Paul, a trail connecting Fish Lake Park to Elm Creek Park Reserve,  a corrected alignment of the LRT trail out of Hopkins and a number of changes in the inner suburbs north of Minneapolis.

This update is part of the ongoing research that keeps Bikeverywhere maps as current as possible. The irregular pattern to the minor updates reflects the realities of publishing. When I run out of maps, I reprint and incorporate any changes since the last update.  I don’t usually make a big deal of the change. The cover and ISBN numbers are the same. The only way to tell the difference is to look at the back cover. Just above the price you will see “Rev 8.2.”  The original version doesn’t have these words.

This is the first time I’ve labeled the revision numbers, and ironically, I did it wrong.  This is the 9th edition of the map so I should have labeled it Rev 9.2.  And those of you who care about this sort of thing at all will wonder “Why 9.2 instead of 9.1?”  The answer is that I did another minor update about a year ago, but didn’t label it. Check your map. If it has a break where the I-35W bridge collapsed, it is 9.0, the major update. Rev 9.1 reconnected the bridge. It also has other small updates, but it would require some deep sleuthing to discover those changes.

[caption id="attachment_874" align="left" width="150" caption="Diagonal Trail North"][/caption]I spent a couple of hours revisiting the Diagonal Trail at New Brighton Blvd and I-35W on Sunday. The visit generated a series of changes and updates to the Twin Cities Bike Map. The most obvious change is the addition of a second leg to the trail at New Brighton Blvd and Stinson Blvd. The Stinson Blvd segment runs south to Hennepin Av. From there 18th Av is signed as a bike route south to Elm St. SE. This makes a good north-south connector in an area that has been underserved by bike trails. Use caution on the Stinson Blvd bike trail, however. It runs next to the road and intersects driveways and streets in an unsafe way. The problems are inherent with any two way bike trail placed next to a street.

Minneapolis has designated Talmadge St as a bike route between 18th and 27th. It’s a pleasant residential street and connects student housing to the greater campus area. It’s a good local connector, but it is short and doesn’t serve the larger area covered by the Twin Cities Bike Map very well, so I haven’t symbolized it as a bike route. While researching it, however, I discovered a very good alternate to the Industrial Blvd/Hennepin Av/29th Av SE route. See the attached map for the alternate. I’ve also added Ridgeway Pkwy between Industrial Blvd and Stinson Blvd. This has always been a very pleasant road, with a substantial hill in the middle, but it didn’t connect well to the rest of the routes until the Diagonal Trail was built.

Just north, on the overview side of the map, I added part of Long Lake Rd and 33rd Av and eliminated most of W. Co Rd C. The new routes, although not as direct, are more bike friendly.

This area still needs some work. One intriguing possibility is to run the Stinson Blvd bike route north to Silver Lake, then connect with 44th/Cty Rd E. If anyone has insights into this option, please let me know.

This is a note I received today from Brady Clark of Smart-Trips.org, a group dedicated to helping folks get around via non-automotive methods.

Hi Doug-
We were producing a neighborhood amenities map for our Smart Trips Neighborhoods program, and noticed that the Twin Cities Bike Map is missing the Aldine bike/ped bridge. Here’s an aerial shot of it:

http://bit.ly/F5cKz
Brady Clark
Communications &
Outreach Specialist
651.224.8555 x23
brady@smart-trips.org

I’ve connected it via Pierce and Carroll to Fry south of I-94 and added Aldine going north to Minnehaha Ave north of I-94.

Thanks to Brady and the folks of Smart-trips.

Maps are dynamic. Bike routes change, new trails get built and old ones extended. Some trails get shut down, temporarily, because of nearby construction or because the trail itself needs an overhaul. Well post the updates here, then provide a permanent, one-top page for all of the posts within each of the metro areas covered. If you want to see what’s chqnged since your copy of a map was printed, click the links below. If you have update information that we should know about, please email us by using the contact form here.

Madison Map Updates

Milwaukee Map Updates

Twin Cities Map Updates

The new Hwy 12 bypass directing traffic around the Long Lake business district is finished. The impact on cyclists should be minimal because most bike routes through the area avoided the busy main drag. Gear West, the venerable bike and ski store in Long Lake, will lose some exposure with the re-routed traffic, but cyclists wishing to visit the store by two wheels will be able to get to and from the store without risking their lives.

The Griggs St. bike/ped bridge over I-94 has been closed due to loss of concrete on the bottom of the bridge beams. DOT hasn't decided whether to repair, replace, or remove the bridge. Considering the current budget for infrastructure work within DOT, bicyclists should consider the closure permanent and hope to be surprised.

The bridge closure affects the north/south bike route along Griggs St. If you own a copy of the Twin Cities Bike Map, please mark the following changes on your map. The changes will appear on an updated version of the map.