From the City of Minneapolis:

Due to bridge rehabilitation work, the Midtown Greenway will have intermittent and partial closures through June.  The work is taking place to improve safety for bicyclists and extend the useful life of bridges.  Between Cedar Avenue and Hennepin Avenue, a mobile operation is blasting off loose concrete (which has been falling onto the trail) and making repairs on the undersides of approximately 30 bridges.

In order to protect the safety of trail users, the Midtown Greenway will be closed and detoured for short stretches at times.  Detour routes following 28^th Street and 29^th Street will be posted in these instances.  Work will take place on weekdays beginning at 7:00am and last until 4:30pm (although it will typically be completed by 3:00pm).  At times when it is safe for bicyclists to go through the work site, crews will direct trail users to the side.  Please respect your safety and the safety of city crews by following posted signs and closures.  The trail will remain open at all other times (including evenings, nights, and weekends).

Further west on the Midtown Greenway, bridges over Lake Calhoun Parkway, the Lake Calhoun-Isles Channel, and Dean Parkway are also undergoing bridge rehabilitation work.  This work is taking place to widen the trail and extend the useful life of the bridges, and will last through mid-summer.  The trail at these bridges will not be closed, but will be narrowed at times.

From the City of  Minneapolis:

On Monday, April 11^th, Nicollet Mall was closed between Grant Street and Washington Avenue.  The closure will continue for approximately four weeks, and will facilitate curb, gutter, and concrete slab replacement on the Mall.

The suggested detour route follows Marquette and 2^nd Avenues.

Happy Riding,

City of Minneapolis Bicycle Program

In 2008 the pedestrian bridge connecting Bryant Ave on the north and south sides of Minnehaha Creek in Minneapolis was closed for safety reasons. The bridge is now open. A quick survey shows that it has a new wooden deck, new approaches to the bridge from both sides and a new paint job. According to a press release by the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board, structural changes also included reinforcement of the bridge superstructure and enlargement of the concrete piers.

According to reports from neighbors just before the bridge was closed, kids would stand in the middle of the bridge and rock it back and forth for entertainment. In the interest of bicyclist’s safety, I tried to rock the new bridge. It held firm.

Updates to the Twin Cities Bike Map will once again include the bridge as part of bike route options in south Minneapolis.

I will be presenting a new program at the Outdoor Adventure Expo on Friday, April 15 at 4:00. The program will feature metro area trails plus a special segment on combining bikes and the North Star Commuter Rail.

The trails part of the presentation reflects the extensive research I did last year for the latest edition of the Twin Cities Bike Map. That research underscored how rich this area is in bike trails and other bicycle amenities. For Twin Cities residents, it means you don’t have to travel far to ride some great bike trails. For residents outside the metro area, I recommend considering a bicycle vacation in the cities.You will be surprised at just how enjoyable it can be.

Last fall Metro Transit asked me to explore bike route options around the North Star Commuter Rail stations. They see bicyclists as a potential source of “reverse commuters,” who can take the train out to the exurban areas between the metro area and St. Cloud. Metro transit has a brochure and free online pdf showing some of the options. I took it a step further and explored options to Lake Maria State Park, station to station options and scenic loops. We’re developing a downloadable map of the routes and hope to have it posted within the next couple of weeks. Friday’s presentation will give you a sneak preview of the options.

Midwest Mountaineering’s Outdoor Adventure Expo is free. The Expo offers over 100 free outdoor adventure presentations and over 70 exhibitors. Details at OutdoorAdventureExpo.com. I hope to see you there.

The updated 2011 Madison and Dane County Bike Map reflects the ever changing landscape of this bicycle friendly county. We’ve updated the trails, changed some routes to reflect changing traffic and bicycle patterns and made important design changes.

We’ve added Sun Prairie to the urban side of the map, making it much easier to follow the connections between this nearby suburb and the urban center. We’ve also cleaned up the graphics, changed some of the map symbols and generally made the map easier to use.

This is the third edition of the Madison and Dane County Bike Map and it keeps evolving to meet the needs of Madison area cyclists. Some things, however, haven’t changed. We’ve kept the popular tear and water resistant paper. It will hold up to the most rugged daily use, stay fresh in your panniers or jersey pocket and show you the way home even in a drenching downpour.

We’ve also maintained the focus on field research and user needs when evaluating bike routes for inclusion in the map. Roads that don’t meet our standards have been eliminated and new routes developed. New and expanded trails have been added. The transitions from the urban side of the map to the rural county roads are easy to follow and every road or trail leads somewhere. The Madison and Dane County Bike map won’t abandon you on a road that suddenly turns ugly.

The new Madison and Dane County Bike Map is available at bike shops and bookstores throughout the county, or you can buy it online here at bikeverywhere.com