Road Construction Ramps Up Fury Over Minneapolis Bike Lanes

The massive road construction project underway on I-35 and I-94 has further exposed the folly of converting traffic lanes to bike lanes on major thoroughfares in Minneapolis.  Major closures have squeezed freeway traffic onto city streets that have been downsized in some cases to make room for bicyclists.

The frustration of drivers who wrote to complain about the city’s out-of-touch transportation policy all but jumped off the pages of the Star Tribune’s letters to the editor section this week.

This Minneapolis resident urged voters to hold local elected officials accountable.

Through letters to the editor when the subject came up of lobbyists demanding bike lanes on Park and Portland avenues in Minneapolis, I tried to warn city officials to choose other streets from these one-ways, which are heavily used already and will be increasingly so with closures on Interstates 35W and 94 (“Drivers on I-35W face epic headache,” June 6). Now, Robin Hutcheson, director of Minneapolis Public Works is described as being worried and bracing for increased traffic on these local routes — where there will be bus-only lanes, one bike lane and barely two traffic lanes — for a very long time.

Don’t forget, city officials, you voted “yes” to bike lanes. Ambulance drivers and motorists urged your “no” votes. Remember, people, elections are coming. Get registered now.

A Bloomington driver pointed out that light rail and other mass transit simply are not an option. He resents the anti-car culture among state and local transportation planners.

I find it hysterical when public officials and spokespeople for the Minnesota Department of Transportation make pleas for commuters to abandon their cars and use public transit to avoid their overly ambitious boondoggles. This nation was built on the freedom of the automobile, the ability to go wherever I choose at the drop of a hat. The convenience is why cars will always be king.

It takes me 24 minutes to get from Bloomington to my job in Minneapolis with a car. If I were to take public transit, the time would double. How exactly is that in my best interests?

Not to mention that the overhaul of I-35W, for all its necessity, has a net gain of almost zero for most commuters. All it does is add more bus stops, bike lanes and a single MnPass lane on each side. The whole thing stinks of another giant push to force people onto mass transit by simply infuriating them.

MnDOT’s customer service also came in for a stinging critique from another Bloomington commuter.

…Also a comment to MnDOT: I studied the website last night and was unable to find information on this exit closure. This is a major, major interruption — the information should be easy to access as we plan alternate routes.

It’s almost as if the letter writers in the Star Tribune have done a drive-by of American Experiment’s billboards and website exposing the political and ideological decisions behind the Twin Cities increased traffic congestion. Take a spin over to MNCongestion.com and join the movement to take back our roads and increase lanes for motor vehicles now.