From: http://www.startribune.com/509/story/988400.html

It took months and a dozen alternatives, but planners for the new Minnesota Twins ballpark have found a route for the Cedar Lake Bike Trail that bike users could accept -- and it would go right under the stadium. The 20-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path would run between the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks and the stadium, actually cutting under the building for 700 feet.

The bike trail, long sought to connect the Cedar Lake and Kenilworth trails to the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis, was scheduled to be built this year but the ballpark project delayed it. The tight stadium site has made it hard for designers to find a route that would stay on-grade, which cyclists prefer, rather than changing levels and crossing streets.

To make space, both the stadium wall and the Burlington Northern tracks would be moved so the proposed route can run in between. Tracks for the planned Northstar Commuter Rail also will go under the ballpark.

Cyclists like the on-grade route but raised concerns about safety in the long, covered section. Stadium architect Bruce Miller of HOK Sports said the designers would pay close attention to lighting and security.

"If they can satisfy us that the trail can be safe and secure, [the alignment] could be OK, or more than OK," said Keith Prussing, president of the Cedar Lake Park Association.

Resolution of the trail awaits a final decision from Burlington Northern. The Minneapolis City Council's Transportation and Public Works Committee will vote on the route Tuesday.

As soon as I read that it would be underground, my attention immediately turned to safety... Hard to say if bums would find it amenable, but I can definitely see it as the perfect place to mug a cyclist late at night, out of sight of others. Security cameras left and right might scare would-be crooks, but I really don't see how it is going to be that secure. We'll see... I'm looking forward to it anyway. It would mean that almost my entire commute from Minnetonka during the summer would be on trail.

700 feet- that's longer than a city block!
I would hesitate to ride through there alone.

Put a donut stand at both ends and have a cop ride between them.

You made me laugh out loud here at work. A little embarrasing, but worth it.

I even feel a little uncomfortable at some places on the Greenway because there are too many places for someone to conceal themselves and mount a sneak attack. If I see a shady situation, I can avoid it. If I'm going past a bridge abutment and a stick is suddenly shoved into my front wheel, there's really not much I can do besides crash and hope the thug only wants my wallet.

If they can build this underpass so there is literally no place to hide, there should be very little trouble as long as it is patrolled often enough to keep people from loitering inside of it and it is well illuminated. The walls will need to be smooth and the approach should be angled gradually so there isn't a corner to hide behind.

Any way you cut it, a level trail is indeed much nicer than a huge detour or a big grade change. At least they got that part nailed.

Glad to be of service!

The thing is, on any "normal" street, there are even more place for ne'er do wells to hide and jump out.

I guess if you could see end to end and it was well lit and somehow they discourage people from loitering it could be OK, but time will tell...

P.S.

sneak attack... adds 1d6 damage. Ouch, that could be lethal to we commoners.

Aye, but the Hobbits are hardy folk.

Well, it could be a moot point now.

[Edit] Gack, beat me by one minute!

But not so fast...


From: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/991147.html


County says new ballpark site might become necessary

Hennepin County's top negotiators for a new Minnesota Twins stadium said they have begun considering the need to find another location for it because of a stalemate over land negotiations and other problems.
Though Thursday's announcement was viewed by some as a negotiating tactic, county officials also postponed actions related to the $522 million stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

That would make it unlikely that construction crews will begin work on the site in March as scheduled.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

I'm all for moving the Twins back out to Bloomington.

For me the issue is, "When are they going to finish the bike trail?" We're stuck waiting for the Twins' issue to be resolved before they can finish it which might take forever. If they finish the path, the community can try to take it over the way they have the Greenway. Of course the utter lack of residental property along the proposed section will certainly make it a problem.

I have to add that safety on this stretch and on areas of the Greenway are a concern to me as well. The beauty of the Greenway for me is the community atmosphere of families with kids and gardens. I want women to feel they can walk, run or ride through there by themselves. I want kids to be able to say to their moms "We're going to ride to Lake Calhoun! Be back for dinner!" I'm not so much worried about me. At 6-3 & 225lb, the fucker that throws a stick through my spokes better kill me outright if he wants live longer than 5 minutes after he does it. I can't tell you how pissed off I am when I see tags spray painted on the community garden signs or broken glass on the path. I need a titanium handled, collapsable whisk broom that fits on a braze-on.