Bike Route? originally uploaded by Michael Cornelius
According to an article which appeared last week in the Star Tribune, Dakota County is providing tens of thousands of dollars in grant monies, derived from the State Health Improvement Plan. Unfortunately the money is going to pay for recreational trails, used by few, instead of going to provide something which would actually be of benefit to the South Metro.
I’m all about outdoor recreation and funding it (if you remember, I voted in favor of the Apple Valley park bond referendum and suggested others do so as well) but I do not see a reason for spending a couple thousand dollars on signs to raise awareness or planning for future trail systems which may never be built. Signs do not work, making attractive alternative facilities for recreation/travel do.
What do I mean? Well, there are plenty of park signs and trail markers all around the South Metro but there are still very few people who take regular advantage of them. Why? Simple: because these trails do not go anywhere useful. So what is this grant going to pay for?
1. Rosemount and Apple Valley are each in line to receive $25,000 from Dakota County to develop citywide bicycle and pedestrian plans.
2. Lakeville will receive $11,400 for signs and an additional $4,000 to develop a trail around Lake Marion.
$54,000 to develop plans?! Now the article doesn’t exactly say what “development” means but if it is just to design it, I will throw my hands up in defeat as that’s nothing short of wasteful spending from companies taking advantage of cities because they simply don’t know any better.
What do I suggest? How about taking that money and working on a much larger master plan at the county level and forcing the cities to abide. They are all individually concerned with themselves and not the grand scheme of having a viable pedestrian/bike friendly route so people could get around–and you know, across the river. Thankfully I’m not the only one who thinks this way. Check out this Star Tribune commenter’s own thoughts on the issue:
In an effort…to be suburban and not urban the planners from the 60′s and 70′s decided sidewalks would not be necessary in new developments. Good foresight. How are these walking and biking trails going to get me to work? Do you plan to have employers move to Dakota County or are we still at the mercy of a couple of bridges?
posted by elmi0001 on Jan. 20, 10 at 1:21 PM
While Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland seriously believes that this type of nonsense will attract companies to the South Metro, everyone else–you know, people who are not delusional, know that will never be the case.
So what do you think? Do you believe that $60,000+ in grant monies aimed at signs and development of pedestrian planning will be sufficient to attract business and promote good health in the county? Perhaps you think that this money would be much better spent on other programs? If you think there are better alternatives what would you like to see them use this money for instead? Whatever you think about Dakota County handing over money like it was candy, go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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January 25th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Seriously Bill?
Have you not noticed the large number of people using the bike paths throughout the metro–including the south metro?
Considering obesity is our largest public health care problem (pun intended) in the US, having access to paths seems like a fair use of tax payer monies.
Would you rather they spend on the money on diabetes care?
January 25th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Kirk,
We must have a much different understanding of what a “large number” is. I am out on trails in the South Metro for various reasons at all times of the year and to be frank, I just don’t see that many people using them and it has absolutely nothing to do with signage. It has to do with people not finding a valid use for them. Going around in a big circle is great and all but when you’re forced to truck your bike somewhere else to do it, it’s too much of a deterrent.
No, I don’t expect our tax dollars to be spent (without prior voter approval) on anything healthcare or park related.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:25 am
From the Dakota County Park System Plan http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/LeisureRecreation/Reports/PSPmain.htm, I get the impression that these dollars are only a drop in the bucket of what will be spent by Dakota County to improve their park systems and trails.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:26 am
I saw this article the other day and was again disappointed at how the stewards of our tax dollars choose to squander our money.
There are thousands of these little grants out there for all kinds of different things. Everyones little pet project. The govt is bleeding our tax money. You hear over and over about the state and local govts being forced to cut services to the bone, and then you hear about crap like this. I wish this was uncommon, or a surprise, but it happens every single day.
Shame on our elected officials. Get a handle on spending. Do us all a favor and cut our taxes so WE can decide how to spend our money.
Oh, and even if I was in favor of bike/walking paths, its still a great pointless exercise. Pun intended. For these paths to have any actual value to people the planning needs to be done, as Bill said, on a larger scale.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:39 am
Mikeh, these monies are for the cities, not the county. Dakota County is dispersing the funds to the individual cities to come up with pedestrian/bike plans themselves. My problem with it is that they are not interested in coming up with a viable plan which will interconnect with other cities.
These dollars will come up with plans that will probably sit on the shelf for 7+ years while funding is squandered from other areas until the point when it’s time to put this together. Unfortunately by that time the landscape (political and physical) may have changed drastically and we are stuck with the decision to scrap the plan and do nothing, shoehorn it in, or come up with an entirely new plan which will be shelved (the last two requiring more money).
No thanks.
January 25th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
More of the same with the government.
I just did my taxes to see how much I get back; I actually have to pay in this year, and then I see stories of how the government ends up spending even more of my hard-earned money, when they should cut back like I’ve had to?
This kinda garbage makes me furious with elected officials up and down the spectrum.
January 25th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
One place those signs won’t point to is a trail across the river. Unfortunately, the old Cedar Bridge is now considered historic and must be preserved, keeping the cost of a replacement bridge out of reach.
January 25th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
If they have to preserve the bridge, why not allow the trail to run on it? Bikes can’t cause that much stress to structure like that?
January 25th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Yeah, but it is county money going to the cities for specific purposes, which tells me it’s part of their big program for parks and trails. It is their attempt to put some social engineering back into an area that has a history of being resistant to government intervention. Now I doubt 1/3rd the people in the area would know how to think if it wasn’t the government telling them how they should think. And the proportion is getting bigger.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
The money for planning more of a trail on Lake Marion is interesting to me. I am all for them getting as much trail as they can on that lake. Too much frontage is already gone. I know they can’t just show up with an asphalt truck, so planning any trail there will take some cash. Do it.
January 26th, 2010 at 5:30 am
I think the priority with the trails needs to be making them more functional and treating them like part of the transportation infrastructure rather than just recreational amenities. Like Bill said, they need to make a connection across the river already, as well as link up the various community systems to each other. I would also like to see them work on more links between neighborhoods and commercial areas in general.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Want to see a trail to nowhere? Drive to 35W along Cliff Rd E, then check the trail along the north side of Cliff.
Who’s using this trail? Nobody because it begins/ends at the playground along Cliff, goes west, and is located in the middle of an industrial section. No cyclist is going to ride Cliff to the playground unless they have a secret death wish, and access from Burnsville city center is nearly impossible because bicyclists need to cross fast moving traffic to get to the north side of Cliff.
Instead, cyclists wishing to access Black Dog Rd ignore the trail and use River Ridge Blvd, which is safer, allbeit it’s still no picnic to negotiate the traffic entering 35W to access the trail across the MN River. Once across the river, there’s still no route (bridge) to Bloomington unless cyclists use a rather isolated, non-paved trail, which, in my opinion, is safety questionable.
Aside from no logical access to Bloomington, there’s also no access from the residential area near Co. 11 to the playground along Cliff. Not very well planned, I’d say.
January 27th, 2010 at 7:37 am
There are plans for the trail network at the regional, county, and city levels, including a proposed river crossing in Eagan, and another at the Burnsville/Savage border.
http://gis.metc.state.mn.us/mapgallery/pdfs/parks_policyplan_2030_2.pdf
The plans between the different government levels actually are coordinated, it just takes time to get all of the pieces in place – roadside trails generally go in when the road us upgraded (from a rural section to an urban section), because otherwise it is too expensive to get the right of way for the trail. Off road trails are built when the land and funding are available – often when the adjoining property develops. Some trail money comes from regional funding, some from the county, some from cities, some from the feds, and some from development fees.
When I moved here 18 years ago, there wasn’t much for trails in my area – I could head up Cedar into AV, but that was it. Now, those connections are being made. I can ride throughout Lakeville, throughout AV, to Farmington, Rosemount, etc. I see lots of people on the trails – there is a big group of “regulars” on the existing portion of the Lake Marion trail, and the Lake Marion Association (a private group) has made significant donations towards improvements.
I don’t know the specifics of the grants, but I would rather see the money go to trails, than for the County’s previous health effort, which was to ban outdoor smoking in parks.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
This seems a good place to ask this question. I’m an infrequent, with hopes of becoming a more frequent, bike rider. I have a bike but it has been sort of neglected by me for a while. Any tips from anyone out there on getting it ready to ride? I know that I can take it to Erik’s or Penn for about $75 to get a tune-up. But that’s most of the cost of the bike. I’m interested in things I can try and do myself.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
1) 60K for signs is stupid.
2) Development? WTF are these people getting paid to do already? No, I call BS
3) 60K for new parks, trails and actual usable facilities, OK… NOT fscking signs.
I’m so irate over this, I’m getting on a plane and leaving MN!
February 18th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Tearitup:
Check out Google of course for tips on truing up your wheels, and basic upkeep. You may need to get a few basic tools (Park Tools makes excellent bike tools) but you can keep them with you on the trail etc as well. – Tuning up brakes, shifters and ensuring things are lubricated are the rudimentary skills to hone, which is best done with hands on experience, or combined with some guides online, or other reading material!
February 18th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Tearitup – If your bike cost around $75, you may want to invest a little more in a decent bike if you want to start riding more. Bikes from Target and Wal-Mart (assuming that is where you bought it) are cheap, throw away bikes not intended to be ridden more than a few hundred miles before they completely fall apart. By no means should you dump a fortune into a new bike, but talk to the nice guys at Penn Cycle about what you are looking for and they should help you find what you need.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Thanks Tim and Sarah. I appreciate the quick reply. While I admit that I have a “cheap” bike I’m not currently in a position to chuck it and start over. I would like to get through this upcoming season with it if at all possible. Due to the on-again, off-again nature of my relationship with bile riding, I want to make sure I’m committed to it before I invest in another bike.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Tearitup, I’ll take a stab at your tune-up question… feel free to send me a private email for more info.
If you’re going to become a more frequent bike rider, your options are 1) pay the $75 for the tuneup and plan on paying bike shops additional $$ every time something breaks in the future, or 2) learn to do your own maintenance.
1) taking your bike to a bike shop every time it needs adjustment is annoying and inconvenient. I understand not wanting to pay mechanics to do stuff. I do all my own maintenance.
2) doing your own maintenance is a good idea, although you’ll quickly learn that doing anything other than the most basic adjustments requires a whole host of special tools that will cost you more than $75. If you don’t plan to invest in tools or aren’t interested in learning your own maintenance in the long-term, you’re probably better off just paying for the tune-up.
Assuming that your bike is in decent shape, and doesn’t require replacement of any parts (just basic adjustments), you can get away with not having special tools. You’ll probably need to oil the chain, and adjust the 4 cables on the bike (two brake cables, two derailleur cables). Brakes are pretty simple and if you’re mechanically inclined, you can probably figure them out just by looking at them. Derailleurs are also pretty simple, but can be tricky. Google derailleur adjustment and you’ll find plenty of help online.
Several years ago, my wife bought me a $20 bike repair manual that I never would have bought for myself because I thought I was too cool for it. It has been invaluable and I highly recommend it for anyone doing their own maintenance. You can find some on Amazon for $10. I continue to refer to mine often.
So my quick recommendations:
1) oil & clean your chain
2) play with the barrel adjusters on your brakes and derailleurs (consult google for help if needed)
3) decide if you need new brake pads (consult google)
4) make sure your tires hold air (don’t fuss around with tubes that hold air for 2 days and then go flat – if it’s not holding long term, it needs replacement – also, don’t fuss around with patching tubes… just replace it)
5) consider buying a headlamp and rear red blinky (plan on spending $50+ for this)
February 18th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Thanks for the great advice Reuben. I’m going to check out the stuff on Google and see how much if this can be taken care of ourselves. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my question.