Apparently the neighbors voted down the one on Highland Parkway? Anyone know about this? A friend of mine who lives just off Jefferson Ave sent me this notice. She & her neighbors are all for the idea of a bike corridor so close to their house. I'm planning to attend this meeting.

BIKE FACILITIES PROPOSAL FOR JEFFERSON AVENUE

A presentation of this proposal regarding concepts and ideas for
Jefferson Avenue will be held at the Macalester-Groveland Community
Council’s Transportation Committee Meeting at 7pm on Monday, June 22^nd
at Edgcumbe Recreation Center. David Kuebler from the Public Works
Department will be on hand to lay out the proposal in detail, allowing
everyone a chance to see the plan, ask questions, and make suggestions.
Steve Clark from Transit for Livable Communities and Don Muske, the Ward
3 Representative to the St. Paul Bike Advisory Board, will also be in
attendance to share more information with interested folks. All
questions can be directed to David Kuebler (St. Paul Public Works) at
david.kuebler@ci.stpaul.mn.us <mailto:david.kuebler@ci.stpaul.mn.us>.

Argh. I have to work my second job that evening. I'll try to send a reasonable facsimile of myself.

I plan to send my husband and will bring this the attention of the MN Bike Alliance.

I hope to be there and it sounds like this will happen (my being there).

I will be there monday tonight and I hope that others can make it as well.

This was an interesting, but not necessarily edifying meeting. Some light was shed on the subject and some heat was generated.

A few people were rude, but those in charge of the meeting kept trying to curb this behavior.

There were several people who made comments (2 minute limit) after the formal presentations were finished. Thankfully, a lot of the comments in favor of the project came towards the end.

It was good to meet you tonight.

Was your facsimile there? I met a few other bikers tonight.

It was good to meet you too. We will be compiling and tallying all of the comments (both verbal and written). My initial guess/bet is that the supportive comments will be more numerous than the comments that were against the concept.

The weirdest part of the meeting was when that guy suggested that thieves scout neighborhoods on bicycles before calling in the rest of the troops (in cargo vans, I suppose) to loot your neighborhood while you are vacationing. I think this man actually believed what he was saying and not just trying to scare people.

Thanks to those who attended this. This is a route I use regularly (the entire stretch) and I hoped to be there. But circumstances ended up preventing me from making it.

I'm pretty sure I would have been unable to restrain myself enough to keep from laughing out loud at that point.

A number of us had a difficult time holding in the chuckles...




I agree. Things really came through in the last half. It looks like there might be a chance this time around (unlike the time with Highland Parkway)

I'm sorry that Marc or I could not make it. I'm glad bikers made it out and the anti-bike crazies didn't rule the day. Yeah, Summit Avenue - full of robberies and burglaries because of all those bikes.

My husband and I are regular bike commuters and recreational road bikers. We live a couple blocks off Jefferson and attended and spoke. Because we biked home on that hot Monday night we wanted to clean up and cool off for 30 minutes before heading down to the meeting so we were late on the public comment list. Hilariously, most of those opposed cited safety (yes, you read this right!) as their main concern. Concern that packs of road bikers would run over older people or fake concern that bikers would be hurt. Guess what? We're already biking Jefferson, we just want to make it safer.

We will make sure this makes it through, but those of you with friends in the neighborhood - have them call their Mac Grove transportation board member to provide them with support for this measure, because the opponents will surely be active. My husband and I talked to a fellow biker during and afterward and decided that the opposition was not really opposed to the Jefferson Avenue proposal per se, but rather just bicyclists. What else is new?

We will continue to be active. Please do provide support and encouragement. The committee was quite professional and even brave in their efforts to diffuse tension and to let people blow off steam and they deserve credit for that, and support from residents who support their plan. Here's a link of the council so you can figure out if you know someone who lives in the area. http://www.macgrove.org Even if you don't you can drop a note of support, of course, but constituents have a more meaningful say. A washed up Coleman aide was there too, what a joke! ...just trying to get attention. Pretty sad, actually.

Help us out, folks!

I think you sat right behind my son and I. He was the last person to commentTo whom are you referring? Someone who made a public comment?

At the end I was quite disturbed by the man who insisted on interrupting the moderator.
Thankfully, the timekeeper intervened and handled the situation.