2016 Public Works Expo A Year in the Life of a Protected Bikeway Mike Kennedy Director, Transportation Maintenance & Repair mike.kennedy@minneapolismn.gov (612) 673 3759 Matthew Dyrdahl Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator matthew.dyrdahl@minneapolismn.gov (612) 673 3642 1 Winter Cycling Congress This presentation was given at the 4 th Annual Winter Cycling Congress in Minneapolis, MN February 2, 2016 We will talk a little about that experience later in this session. 2 1
#1 Bike City: Minneapolis The unforgiving and frigid city of Minneapolis is the country's top spot to be an urban cyclist. Now we just have to figure out why. Minneapolis is receiving national recognition as a bicycle friendly community. That also results in: o A high level of expectations o Questions about long term operation and maintenance. o Design issues never before contemplated. o Conflicts with maintenance needs Agenda Vision of Protected Bikeways in Minneapolis Oak Street Protected Bike Lane Design and Maintenance General Equipment/procedures Other examples Budgeting Winter Cycling Congress Questions 4 2
Vision of Protected Bikeways in Minneapolis 5 Vision of Protected Bikeways in Minneapolis Take your pick: Protected Bike Lane Barrier Separated Bikeway Cycle Track 6 3
Why prioritize protected bikeways? 2011 bicycle master plan does not address protected bikeways other than trails 2013 Climate Action Plan calls for 30 miles of on street protected bicycle facilities by 2020 Several protected bikeways were underway 7 Why prioritize protected bikeways? Important tool to increase bicycling in Minneapolis Protected bikeways can extend the experience of biking on a trail to busy city destinations 8 4
19 corridors were identified for evaluation Criteria: High Bicycle Demand High Traffic Conflict Good Network Integration (connecting people to destinations) 9 Feasibility Analysis Example corridor from feasibility analysis 10 5
Implementation 55 miles of recommended projects Separated into 3 tiers based on priority and implementation opportunities Many projects are already planned and funded 11 2015 new and improved network: 19.4 miles Protected Bikeway Bike Lane Bike Blvd Shared Lane 6
250 Minneapolis Bikeway Mileage 200 150 Miles 100 50 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Shared Lane 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 5 5 9 10 14 15 14 Bike Boulevard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 19 20 21 Bike Lane 19 24 26 26 28 29 29 30 31 39 39 40 40 44 64 69 78 82 88 Protected Bikeway 62 62 64 68 71 74 76 80 81 84 88 89 89 89 92 93 95 96 102 Protected Bikeway Bike Lane Bike Boulevard Shared Lane 2015 Bikeway Summary Facility Miles Bike Lane 12.6 On Street Protected Bike Lane 3.8 Sidepath 2.4 Bike Boulevard 0.3 Shared Lane 0.2 Total 19.4* 6.3 miles of protected bikeways installed *Includes new and improved segments. Net increase in bikeway network is 12.3 miles. 7
Facility 2016 Planned Bikeways Miles 1 st Ave N Protected to Buffered Bike Lanes.5 Blaisdell Ave S Protected Bike Lanes 1.4 11 th Ave S Protected Bike Lanes.5 Franklin Ave E Protected Bike Lanes 0.3 Franklin Ave SE Bike Lanes 0.2 Nicollet Ave SBike Lanes 2.5 3 rd Avenue: 1.1 Broadway Street NE Protected Bike Lanes.75 Park/Portland Ave Raised Protected Bike Lanes (downtown) 3 BlockFaces Total 7.25* 3.55 miles of protected bikeways *Includes new and improved segments. Wirth Pkwy connection under construction Looking west along Farview Park 26 th Ave N Improved corridor Sidepath Theodore Wirth Pkwy to West Broadway Ave N Lyndale Ave N to 2 nd St N Lead agency: City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 8
26 th St E at 14 th Ave S 28 th St E at 13 th Ave S 26 th /28 th St E New corridor Protected bike lanes 26 th St E (Hiawatha Ave to 5 th Ave S) 28 th St E (Portland Ave S to Midtown Greenway) Lead agency: City of Minneapolis Looking west at West River Rd N Plymouth Ave N/ 8 th Ave NE New/Improved corridor Protected bike lanes, bike boulevard Plymouth Ave N (Lyndale Ave N to River) 8 th Ave NE (River to 5 th St NE) Lead agency: City of Minneapolis 9
Looking south at Essex St SE Looking south at Fulton St SE Oak St SE New corridor Protected bike lanes Washington Ave SE to East River Pkwy Lead agency: City of Minneapolis Oak Street Design Process Two Way System Hugging U of M 20 10
Oak Street Design Process (Continued) Project connected river trail system to the heart of campus High demand route (1,110 bicyclists/day, 10,000 pedestrians/day) Parking buffer with striping and plastic bollards 21 Oak Street Design Process (Continued) Majority of on street parking preserved Offset parking bays marked by paint and white bollards Better access to campus destinations 22 11
Temporary Northbound Transition 23 Oak Street Protected Bike Lane Plan South Segment Solid Barrier No Parking 12
Oak Street Protected Bike Lane Plan Middle Segment Delineators and Parking Oak Street Protected Bike Lane Plan North Segment Delineators and Parking 13
Oak Street Protected Bike Lanes Public Works Paving Construction & Bike Ped Group Pilot Project for Physical Barrier/Separator Part of design was to try a true barrier separation Short section precluded a mechanized (slip form or other) installation. Hand forming an option, but ended up going with precast curb stop sections City forces installed the pilot section Oak Street pre project conditions: No bike lanes Oak Street Protected Bike Lanes Public Works Paving Construction & Bike Ped Group Pilot Project for Physical Barrier/Separator City standard today is the (pick your name): Delineator Bollards Channelizer Posts Pedestals Candlesticks Hit sticks Wanted actual barrier 14
Oak Street Protected Bike Lanes Public Works Paving Construction & Bike Ped Group Pilot Project for Physical Barrier/Separator The project scope included the milling of asphalt pavement, forming a notch for the precast barrier to be placed into and secured The barrier needed to form a strong rigid foundation and barrier to: Create a solid, safe separation between bikes and vehicles Stand up to the rigors of traffic, and snow and ice control equipment Barrier Construction Precast concrete car stops Dry cast concrete for enhanced durability 10 ft. (3 meters) long 12 in. (304.8 mm) wide 16 in. (406.4) high 1,700 pounds (771 kg) each Delivered to site and off loaded with 3 c.y. (2.3 cubic meter) loader with forks 15
Barrier Construction The asphalt pavement was Marked Milled (notched) with a small milling machine The millings shoveled out by hand and Millings removed, and cut completely cleaned Barrier Construction The result was a neat, clean cut in the pavement to set the barrier Straight, with uniform depth 16
Barrier Construction Precast car stops set into place with a smaller, tracked machine with forks The result is a clean, uniform and high quality looking, physical barrier Barrier Construction The final step is to place concrete in the gaps to set the curb stops permanently into place Final end treatments provide the finishing touches 17
Barrier Construction Cost Summary 10 foot precast car stops delivered plus misc. materials: $29.50 per foot. Labor and equipment: $21.00 per foot. Total furnished and installed: $50.50 per foot. If more permanent bike barriers of this type are desired, would investigate slip form concrete construction rather than precast car stops, for a potential lower materials estimated cost of $15 per foot, giving a revised total F&I estimated cost of $36 per foot. Protected Bike Lane Maintenance We are talking about Sweeping/cleaning Snow and ice control Not talking about Signing Striping/pavement markings Lighting Pavement maintenance 36 18
Summer cleaning Problem: Winter sand and debris migrate to the gutters and settle between the delineators in the buffer zones 37 Summer cleaning In many cases, standard street sweepers fit and can maneuver between the tube delineators, or extend or retract brooms to fit May require special trips or multiple passes, leading to extra time or costs Many on street bike lanes swept weekly, and plan that LOS for Cycle Tracks 38 19
Summer cleaning May also need alternative equipment and procedures. Sometimes you can purchase what might work, otherwise field staff come up with ingenious solutions. Leaf Buncher created by subbing bristles for snowplow cutting edge. Broom and pan attachment. 39 Summer cleaning Looking at different equipment; either what you have, or new ideas. Skid steer with broom. Small regenerative air sweeper demo 40 20
Winter Maintenance Challenges Lessons Learned How we are adjusting New equipment and procedures Budgeting Etc. 41 Winter Maintenance Two way bike lane allows for the use of a standard pick up Can just barely maneuver the Washington Street entrance, but could get challenging with large snowfall. Curb separated section easier to maintain 42 21
Winter Maintenance Two boulevard conditions South end allows for snow storage in boulevard North end, sidewalk adjacent to curb. Little storage, may need removal operations Sidewalk crews throw snow into bike lanes 43 Winter Maintenance Conflicts Sidewalk crews push snow into bike lanes 44 22
Winter Maintenance Plowing the parking lanes? It s rare that buffer zone is available for cleaning. People must walk over snow windrow to pay parking meter 45 Winter Maintenance What do I do now?! We can just fit down the two way protected lane with the pick up and plow, but crew and bike conflicts can happen. 46 23
Winter Maintenance Level of Service discrepancy Bare pavement harder to attain in bike lanes. Bikes don t have the volumes or power to get to bare pavement in same time frame as vehicles. 47 Protected Bike Lane Maintenance Equipment 48 24
Articulating snow break v plow helps in plowing around delineators day and night! Removing Snow as needed to maintain widths Windrow removal with blowers and loaders 25
Winter Maintenance Sometimes equipment won t fit Might be on just part of the facility requiring a special trip 51 Brooms and blowers 26
Protected Bike Lane Maintenance Equipment Bridge and bike lane clearing equipment Snow and ice control 53 Pretreating / Anti icing 27
Other Facilities Examples Plymouth Bridge 55 Another Parked car Protected Bike Lane First of a kind in MPLS, installed several years ago downtown Over time, it turned out to not be liked by business owners, or even bikers Being reconfigured in 2016 to put cars against the curb and buffered bike lane between cars and traffic, while sacrificing another driving lane 28
Bike Lane Maintenance Budgeting All new to us; just beginning to gain enough experience to accurately create unit costs Mayor and Council have accepted that you need to fund long term o&m of new inventory Have been funding new equipment and ongoing maintenance for new bike lanes. Different rates for different facilities If you want to do this Level of Service goals you have to fund this. 57 How are we doing? Are our efforts providing results? Local Fair Trade/Organic Coffee distributor: Peace Coffee Sent us a lovely letter of thanks (and a couple pounds of coffee!) 58 29
How are we doing? Are our efforts providing results? Facebook post: Jan 12, 2016 59 Next Steps for Protected Bikeways 2016 project delivery Protected Intersections Winter Maintenance Study/Evaluation 60 30
Winter Cycling Congress The 4 th Annual Winter Cycling Congress in Minneapolis, MN February 2, 2016 Three day conference including lectures, educational sessions, workshops and riding tours Approximately 400 international attendees 61 Winter Cycling Congress Local host Committee organized the event. Co chair was a Contributing Director of Nice Ride MN, our local bike share program Organized home stays for traveling delegates Created bike sharing between attendees Arranged riding tours for conference Had very high initial expectations of the City We want every trail and bike lane leading to the conference hotel to look like the World Cup Bicycling Championships were on them! Approximately 400 international attendees City, County, Parks, Universities and other agency professionals Planners, designers, vendors, academics, elected officials, media representatives, organized advocates as well as those from the general public 62 31
Winter Cycling Congress Sessions organized into three main themes: Build it Bike it Maintain it Topics ranged from: Winter City experiences Best Practices Maintaining friction Successful advocacy strategies Growing interest in your community Biking equity Year round biking Roundtable discussions Mobile tours 63 Winter Cycling Congress Everything was going fine, and then this hit on Tuesday morning 10 Snowstorm that resulted in our having to declare a Snow Emergency But by the next morning, our crews had everything cleared and opened. 64 32
Winter Cycling Congress There were four scheduled Mobile Tours where groups rode trails and bike lanes. All facilities were open and ridable, with one minor exception; a private development trail. Mobile Tour on Thursday featuring the Oak Street protected bike lanes, and Public Works crews and equipment. 65 2017 Winter Cycling Congress Montreal Canada will be the next city to host the Winter Cycling Congress in 2017 as part of its 375th anniversary celebrations. 66 33
So, why NOT bicycling in a winter city? What barriers could there be? If you can surf in Minnesota, why not bike? Hanging ten on Lake Superior s North Shore. 34