Interim survey results released today by the Minneapolis Park Board regarding repair of West River Parkway show that 65% of respondents use the parkway for bicycling. Concerns remain that the board hasn’t found a way to keep the bike trail on the 100 yard section open during this summer and fall’s construction. A mudslide closed the trail in June 2014 and reconstruction has not yet begun.
Location of slope failure on West River Parkway
When asked about the overall design of the walls, roughly 10% of respondents said, in essence, that any design was fine and that the park board should just “get ‘er done.”
“Do it fast!!!! The bicycle trail’s absence is awful and the delay to fix painful and inexplicable!”
“My new commute adds twice as much time as it did when I could use the river road.”
“Not particularly concerned about design of the walls, but I do want a permanent and quick solution. Not having access to the area is a MAJOR inconvenience.”
Most (81%) of the persons answering the survey understood that historical significance of the Grand Rounds (which includes the parkway), and many had specific opinions about the design of the new retaining walls.
There’s still time to weigh in. The survey will be open until Friday, April 10th.
Thanks Paul. I fear the lawyers are in charge with this one.
Thanks for bringing this to our collective attention.
I had gotten a new job about 3 months before this happened which made this route my main bike commute.
I miss it terribly and want it back.
The fact that the landslide happened about an hour after I went by makes me less inclined to rush things, but it does seem odd that it’s taken so long just to get to the “let us know what you think of our plan” stage of the plan.
I do wish there was some way to keep the pedestrian/bike paths open during the repairs.
All that new asphalt they put down is just taunting me now.