ECOLOGIAL RESTORATION
ER
AT CEDAR LAKE POINT BEACH (AND BEYOND)
My pup Ted, a year ago helping with moral support of Buckthorn removal What does the dog photo have to do with biking in the woods? Nothing. I just couldn't capture of the guy on his BMX e-bike on Cedar Lake Point Beach Ridge Trail last month. An electric BMX bike? Really?
But I do want to discuss biking in the woods. To begin, I enjoy biking. I would like to call myself a biker, but I always feel like would come off like I'm a poser. Okay, I am a poser. I just don't want to be a friggin' poster. So I try to stay in my lane. But my road bikes (one of which is attached to a Zwift trainer), my commuter bike (that right now is rigged with a studded rear tire), and my fat bikes (one with studs, the other without), and that my next vacation is a bike trip, might classify me as one who likes biking. And I've got a lot of friends who bike. So I've been thinking about and having conversations with my biking friends bout what they think about the proposed bike lane though East Cedar Woods. Cost-Benefit Analysis After all the previous consideration of the "costs" of adding of a new two-way soft surface bike trail to East Cedar Woods, I spent some time contemplating the "benefits". Who benefits, and what are the benefits? Mountain and Fat Biking: No Value My mountain biking friends, who also include fat bikers, and including a friend of a friend who who sits on the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC) board of directors confirmed what I expected. Mountain bikers do not value this area for mountain biking and either know little about this proposed plan nor would they see it something to advocate for. The bike path is so short and non-technical that it offers zero value as a mountain bike trail. Most all mountain bikers who are traveling from south Minneapolis to bike Wirth Trails commute via West Cedar Lake Parkway. Those who live in Kenwood or East Isles use the Cedar Lake Regional Trail. If anything, the pedestrian trails inside the woods are fun to ride. But mountain and fat bikers I know do this with a sense of hesitation. There are one or maybe two No Biking signs posted. But it's not so lear, so there's always a sense of gently riding though with a "let's just get along" and as a biker, I will yield to pedestrians. "There's too many people walking dogs in that area," explained one mountain biker. As a mountain biker and a dog walker (see photo above), I totally agree. If the area was more clearly established and communicated as no biking, such as the woods surrounding Eloise Butler Gardens, I expect responsible bikers would respect and even help communicate these off limits for the sake of getting along. But establishing a trail through the woods creates confusion of what is allowed and what is not, and it's inevitable that those following the formal path with stray into the pedestrian trails, out of curiously and sense exploration. Road Biking: No Value Obviously, the area has no value for road bikers. The regional trails, especially once fully re-opened after LRT construction might be completed, and parkways are primary conduits to accessing the exurban rural roads and bike paths. Street Biking/Commuting: A 1 to 2 Minute Joy Ride That leaves us with street bikers, including commuters. This is a bike contingency that has been replacing car lanes with bike lanes throughout the metro. It's confusing for me to see their plans resulting in plowing down of hundreds of trees, again justified as a way to save the environment. As a bike commuter, I am saddened by the hardline of removing on street parking that hurts street front businesses. I have never experienced more anger from car drivers than now after biking streets for more than 60 years. But this issues is not about street lanes. It's about a two-lane soft surface bike path through a wooded section that has been worked for decades, trying to protect and nurture nature. And for what benefits? The best I can assess is that this bike path is for street bikers is for a joy ride, with is maybe 0.3 miles in length delivers about one- or if your riding really slowly two-minute of recreational biking. This path provides no tangible circulation benefit to street bikers or commuters. There's already a paved Kenilworth Connector Trail within eyesight of this wooded path. This path does not make it safer to go between 21st Street and the Cedar Lake Regional Trail. If I wanted to use the Light Rail to access the area, ride another 0.3 miles to the next stop and cross over there. This path sanctions the area and invites more bikers to infiltrate the woods. Few bikers use this area, but even at its low volume is still very disruptive to the natural environment. What can you do? Please provide your input to the Cedar-Isles Plan by March 10th.
2 Comments
3/9/2023 05:29:42 am
I think much of this is opinion, and I think the fact that it is being discussed is proof that there is significant value to the bike community.
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Steve Kovis
5/14/2023 09:37:55 pm
Just reading this comment two months after the post. Whew Bruce, kind of coming out aggressive. I thought we were friends. I'll try to notch it down a bit but will start with some facts.
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March 2024
AuthorI'm Steve Kotvis, volunteer Park Steward for the Minneapolis Cedar Lake Point Beach peninsula who has a newfound love of restoring this natural area and more. I'm learning as I go, and enjoy sharing that with those who have an interest. I'm also a photographer, so the photos in this blog are mine unless otherwise labeled. |