It is festival season in the Twin Cities. And between Grand Old Day and this year’s return of the Rondo Block Party (August 3rd) in St. Paul, and Aquatennial in Minneapolis (July 24th – 27th), you can hardly turn a corner without seeing the markers of a parade, carnival or some other seasonal event to draw us outside and keep us there. Suburban cities have long held events of their own, emphasizing local amenities and food vendors, and drawing residents to parks and other gathering spaces.
West St. Paul Days, a series of events and a parade, took place June 6-9. Amid all of the performances and parades was the fourth annual West St. Paul Rider. The community bike ride is sponsored by the West St. Paul Reader, an online, self-described “hyper-local” newsletter. The ride started in celebration of a key component of the River to River Greenway: the Robert Street Tunnel, which allows pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross this busy commercial corridor. According to Kevin Hendricks, founding editor of the Reader, “We supported and lobbied for it in the face of local opposition, and we wanted to celebrate.”
110 participants gathered in the parking lot of Garlough Environmental Magnet School. A speaker blared U2’s upbeat “Beautiful Day.” Families arrived with children: some with kids astride cargo bikes, others leading a small fleet, a bike for every member. Next to the registration table, tables were set up with bike swag and granola bars. Nearby, I met two people over 60 eager to talk about their e-bikes, first acquired during COVID-19 lockdowns. Hendricks offered an overview of the route: a family-friendly 6.2-mile loop through two city parks, two bike tunnels and Dodge Nature Center.
It was, indeed, an easy ride for children and under-experienced cyclists. Most of the route was off-road, thanks to efforts by the City of West St. Paul and Dakota County to build separated trails. Volunteers and local police were on hand, directing bike traffic at street crossings. Along the way, I could hear parents coaching their children in safe cycling practices: “Stay to the right!” “Announce yourself to pedestrians!” Colorful, animated signs offered encouragement to younger riders. The signs were left over from a previous Reader event, Hendricks explained. A bike rodeo held at Wentworth Library in May offered bike tune-ups for kids, as well as helmet fittings and a safety course.
As riders returned to Garlough, booths were largely dismantled. Only a couple of bike bells were left on the swag table. On the speaker, the downbeat song “We’re Going to Be Friends,” the White Stripes’ homage to childhood, was playing. I caught up with Connie and her companion Uriel, tethered to his doggie carrier. “His name means ‘God’s bringer of light,’” Connie explained. “He came to me during COVID, when I was in a particularly dark time.” On this particularly bright, breezy Sunday, a whole lot of people turned up carrying some of what remained of the pandemic’s sadness. For many of us, what started as a way to cope with isolation has turned into habits that sustain us.
For others, cycling has become a way of life. I met the Hanson family, Heather and Kyle, and their three children, who participated in the ride. They are newly transplanted from Madison, Wisconsin, well-known for its bike-friendly climate. Kyle reported choosing West St. Paul for its quality schools and its steadily improving bike infrastructure. The Hansons value building a sense of independence for their children. Teaching their kids to safely ride cultivates self-confidence and “offsets the rapid increase of mental health issues in young people,” according to Karl. The Hansons are deliberately completing household tasks by bike; they model the safety and ease of cycling for the benefit of other, more bike-averse families in their community.
That’s not always easy. Their son Hayden was struck by a car while riding to school with his friends one day. No one was seriously injured, but Hayden takes greater care to cross at intersections with a larger group, hoping to use the “safety in numbers” effect to his advantage. Kyle argues if the city could take greater care in designing intersections that favor pedestrians and cyclists. He points out that the speed limit outside Hayden’s middle school is 35 mph, while St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as their former home of Madison, have reduced default speed limits to between 20-25 miles per hour.
However, in a School Travel Safety Assessment conducted in April 2021, Heritage is listed as being in a “low-speed” zone. By the assessment’s metric, anything below 40 mph is “low speed.” In spite of the fact that a new pedestrian crossing and a brand-new sidewalk have been constructed on the approaching Bidwell Street specifically for student safety, speed limits on this two-lane road have yet to be adjusted, based on the report’s recommendations (p. C 54).
Much can be said about the way suburban cities have been building up their pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Like a lot of similar showcase trails — the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, the new Robert Piram Regional Trail in St. Paul and the future Summit Avenue Regional Trail in St. Paul — the River to River Greenway connects cyclists to bodies of water, parks and other recreational amenities. It is first and foremost, by design, a recreational trail.
Kevin Hendricks and friends have been doing yeoman’s work through their efforts in the West St. Paul Reader. They have brought children and families outside to cultivate cycling habits, and on brand new bike trails! As more people take advantage of improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists in suburban communities, opportunities remain to discourage the kinds of driving behaviors that put them at risk. Now it’s up to City Hall to follow their lead.