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New Bike Lanes
Jeff Long, September 26, 2012 | Posted in Police Blog
This is an exciting time in Edina with a lot of change – and it’s not just the color of the leaves.
As you drive around Edina, you will notice several new bike lanes. Some of these new bike lanes were just painted, specifically in the area of Wooddale and Valley View Road. This is something new for Edina and will take some time for all of us to adjust.
I thought this would be a good time to remind both bicyclists and motorists that we share one roadway. When the new bike lanes opened on West 70th Street, my phone lit up with concerns from drivers of each transportation mode. It is good for us to hear your concerns, but please remember that it is better to call us than to try to handle the “issue” out on the roadway. That often leads to unnecessary conflict.
Our enforcement response to the new bike lanes will be the same as it is when a new road opens. We are going to allow time for vehicle traffic to adjust before we conduct any enforcement. I encourage everyone to be patient during this process.
Below, I have included a copy of the City Extra email that was sent on Sept. 25 regarding the use of the new “Advisory” bike lanes on Wooddale Avenue. I hope this helps! It’s a great time of year to get out and enjoy the beautiful colors of fall. Happy biking!
Advisory Bike Lanes
Advisory bike lanes are used on streets that are too narrow for dedicated bike lanes. Advisory bike lanes look like dedicated bike lanes, except a dashed line is used in place of a solid stripe. A dashed line signals to drivers that they may drive in the bike lane space when a bicyclist is not present.
Advisory bike lanes do not narrow the travel lanes or reduce the amount of roadway space that can be used by motor vehicles.
Advisory lanes bring greater awareness to the roadway as shared space and can help to reduce vehicle speeds and improve roadway safety.
Advisory bike lanes are found on Wooddale Avenue, between West 50th Street and Valley View Road, and on West 54th Street, between France Avenue and Minnehaha Boulevard.
When you drive:
- Drive as you would on any road without a center stripe, staying to the right of oncoming traffic.
- It is OK to drive in the advisory lane when a bicycle is not present.
- If a bicycle is in the advisory lane, move to the left, fully into the center area, to pass.
- If there is oncoming traffic in the center area, hang back behind the bicyclist until it is safe to pass.
- When passing, state law requires motorists to leave at least three feet of distance between their vehicle and the bicyclist.
When you bike:
- Watch for motorists driving in or merging into the advisory lane.
- Always use caution and assume that turning or merging motor vehicles may not see you.
- When leaving the bike lane (such as to make a left turn) look behind you and signal your intentions.
Are advisory bike lanes experimental?
Experimentation is a formal process by which the Federal Highway Administration evaluates the safety and efficacy of new traffic control devices. Devices that are shown to be safe, to perform as intended, and to be understood by the general public are eligible to be considered for inclusion in a future edition of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the publication that governs the use of traffic control devices on public streets and highways.
Advisory bike lanes are currently being evaluated in Minneapolis and Edina.
For more information, please call the Edina Engineering Department, 952-826-0371.
10 Responses to New Bike Lanes
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The City of Edina
4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424
mail@EdinaMN.gov 952-927-8861
Why are the Advisory lines so far from the curb on a street like Wooddale on which so few cars are parked? As a long time biker and bike racer, it has always been perfectly fine to bike as close to the curb as possible until coming upon a parked car, then checking behind and pulling around when possible. This was safe for the biker and left plenty of room for the cars to pass. Putting the lane closer to the middle of the street, Advisory or not, is ridiculous and unnecessary. I can say from experience that older, more timid drivers will end up pulling over into oncoming traffic as they misjudge the timing and distance needed to swerve around bikes in the bike lane. By the way, I intend to stay close to the curb as I always have, to the right of the bike lane, consistent with approved practice where there are no painted lanes.
“We are going to allow time for vehicle traffic to adjust before we conduct any enforcement. I encourage everyone to be patient during this process.”
I really hope that this doesn’t mean that it is the City of Edina’s intent to allow the drivers currently driving down Wooddale in the center of the road as if it is a one way street or the drivers that are now driving completely within the “advisory lane” as if the white dotted line has replaced the yellow center line to not be advised that they are placing themselves and other drivers at risk until “they get used to it”. Taking a thoroughfare such as Wooddale and modifying it so significantly and unnecessarily is absurd. The city has placed both drivers and bikers at increased risk as a result, and now we have the Chief of Police indicating that his department will do nothing to try to curb the risk. I hope that the folks hospitalized due to this negligence demonstrate the patience that you ask for while recovering from their injuries.
Robert, according to Director of Engineering Wayne Houle, advisory bike lanes are used on streets that are too narrow for dedicated bike lanes. The parking lane was retained at the request of adjoining neighbors. When we mark lanes on a roadway, we separate the parking lanes from the travel lanes. We do this to avoid the weaving that you described. This way the motorist will see you in the bike lane and can react in a consistent manner.
So now drivers can act in a consistent manner by weaving instead of the biker. How, exactly does this make sense? It seems that allowing the biker to react to road conditions allows them to determine when it is safe for them to make necessary adjustments based on road conditions. The advisory lane places this responsibility on the driver- a vehicle is far more likely to take more risk because of their perceived safety. The willingness to take more risks will undoubtedly lead to more incidents.
What would possess someone to remove the center paint lines that are present on all major roads, even the divided interstate Hwy has a single yellow line painted on the hwy. There are roads without center lines but 100% of those have no shoulder paint either. I can see people driving right down the center of the road now. I can just see a head on collision during a rain storm at night when you are already having trouble seeing your lane. At lease most Edina residents are young and have good eyesight.
This is the dumbest and most counter intuitive idea I have seen in a long time. Please fix it before you kill someone, for an unnecessary bike lane. At least put a dashed yellow line down the middle.
Can you provide an explanation of the usage expectations for roads that are now painted with the large Bicycle image with BLVD (bicycle boulevard)
thank you
Bonnie,
Thank you for the question and for taking time to read my blog.
According to Chad Millner, Edina Assistant City Engineer, the “BLVD” with the bicycle image is a pavement marking to raise the awareness of bicyclists to the motoring public. It’s there so they realize bikes and cars are both using the road and that this particular route may see more bike traffic.
I hope this helps. If you have any additional questions, you may reach Chad Millner at 952-826-0318.
Thanks Jeff for explaining the Bike BLVD signs that appear south of 62. As I have to look out my front foor each morning to see this very ugly and oddly crafted white paint on the middle of the street it is good to know the intent – bikes use roads too. However, I see little real benefit to this, especially when the eye sore created is weighed against the benefit – many neighbors agree. Thanks more maintaining the blog.
Where are the bikes? I’ve seen three in the past month.
The bike lanes are a total waste of money when you add up paint, labor, stencils, and engineering time. This expenditure is a good example of government wasting my money whether the money came from Federal grants, State funds, matching grants, and I hope not Edina local funds. The paint will soon wear off and need to be refreshed nearly doubling the cost in two years. The paint on Valley View (Green) is over-kill; the paint on Wooddale is confusing (See the above blogs); and the paint on 58th is a waste.
Placing a simple sign with a bike graphic to mark the route would make sense and be a whole lot cheaper. The signs are for the bikers, not the vehicles. Trail signs cost about $6.00 each and a metal pole about $6.00 each. One sign is needed per block to mark the route. Teach the bikers where to ride.
The bike lane fiasco is another example of the Edina City Council coming up with a solution for a problem that did not exist.
Instead of allowing drivers and bicylists to use common sense, taxpayer dollars are wasted and everyone confused.
And now we’ll see more taxpayer dollars wasted to return the roads/striping/signs back to the original condition.