I think the article needs a translation:

When they say "safety committee" it means people that have no knowledge of bicycle/pedestrian safety and was formed to kill this project. What were these "concerns"?

"Go back and refigure" means "go away and do not return"

The city engineers have never heard of www.completestreets.org that specializes in retrofitting existing streets. If they did they would not leave you options of parking or no parking.

Mathias, if you think it is safe to bicycle on streets around here in Jordan, then you need to join me on a ride of safety shame. Even the safe routes to school plan did not plan to put the bike path around the most used area of 66.

If you bicycle, walk, run, skate this city is not a friend. Jordan Valley Bike Tour should donate all their monies earned over the years to Belle Plaine or New Prague.

There are so many great resources here in Jordan and none of them are connected.

Safety committee, you have to be kidding! Are they the ones that just put the 4 reflectors on the bike path you built that ends in a chain link fence? Are they ones who just completed a new road and left 6 inches of shoulder width on the roadway? Unfortunately, I can go on for hours pointing out pedestrian/bicycling safety issues, because I do bike.

Guy

I can say for one that I am a regular biker, I prefer mountain biking, but I do frequently ride in town as does my family. As far as installing trails, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars as a city in the past few years putting in trails, and where right of way issues occur and in neighborhoods we've installed sidewalks. The 6+ years that I've been on the council we have closed many of the gaps where connections between the different neighborhoods and the primary destinations in town were missing. It is a very costly and time consuming process, especially when you are going through private property, something I have a hard time doing unless the property owner is 100% ok with it. I see it as similar to taking away street parking, I try to avoid it if at all possible. Personal property rights supperceeds the desire for a trail, unless it is for the public safety.

As far as the trail that ends in a chain link fence, we tried to fix that before, after, and are still currently trying to find a solution. But the reality is it's on a county road and ends at a utility station, and the county won't allow us to have the trail end at the highway even if for that small section. As a city our hands are tied. We were lucky to have the county allow us to put in the other trails that are going in this summer along the county highways.

I voted against this trail plan for several reasons. The first reason being that it is to restrictive to the property owners on hillside drive. Second,the price tag of $5000+, I believe this money would be better spent in these lean times on neighborhood parks as opposed to signing trails. Third, the plan in general, I envision the city being a destination and a link to other regional trails, right now this is not feasible and this Phase I plan is not the answer at this time. Fourth, the safety issues, although unlike the safety committee I didn't really see this plan as unsafe.

I appreciate any input on this issue, I am a fan of a trail system, both local and regional. That being said, I am a conservative first, trail fan second, and every dollor we spend should be scrutinized.

-Jeremy Goebel

The mediocre trails we have aren't worth the price as they do NOT connect. As far as the money for signs & paint, the bike tour was willing to pay for it as long as the price was within reason. I priced the signs & they were 1/4 of what the engineer came up with for the same number & type signs.

Before a trail ends in a chain link fence you figure out what to do NOT after the fact which is what an engineer's job should be. This creates much more of a liability & insurance issue than signs or paint ever would. What happens when somebody runs into it at night or during a rainstorm?

Excuse me, but what gaps have been closed? You haven't closed a gap unless there is a clear cut connection. Again, we do NOT have a trail system in Jordan. All we have is fragmented expensive pieces that go nowhere & connect to nothing. The predominate mode has been narrow concrete sidewalks which are only good for walking, not biking nor blading nor running.

Please take a little trip to some other towns in the area & see what they are doing. On your bike try New Prague, Belle Plaine, Shakopee, Prior Lake, Chaska, St. Boni, Cologne, et al. Practically every town has done more than Jordan. The city's hands aren't tied, their eyes are closed.

Simply we have no vision of what this community should look like in 5,10,15 years:

1.Planning is the most cost affective method of developing a comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle travel. There is no planning.
2.We have had NO plan of connecting the following: Downtown, Lagoon Park, Mini-Met, home developments on the bluff, Bridle Creek, Coffee shops, County Fairgrounds, Mobile Home park, the river.
3.This city is sub-divided and sub-divided by Highways, unsafe roads or dirt roads. All these create dangerous choke points with no solutions. All of this segregation makes it even more needed to have plans to re-link it all.
4.Areas that were supposed to be multi-use asphalt trails were made into concrete sidewalks. Why! A planner told me that everyone wanted them more than multi-use trails. I am still trying to figure out what runner, walker, skater, bicyclist, etc wants to hit a concrete break every few feet or be on a surface that could lead to a repetitive injury. This is planning.
5. The planning department here has ignored multiple statutes and MNDOT manuals when it comes to pedestrian/bicycling issues. I will be glad to produce these manuals and statutes.
6.Go to Belle Plaine, New Prague, Chaska, Prior Lake, Lakeville and look at what they have done in developing safe pedestrian/bicycling facilities. We missed the memo!
7.Developers were supposed to put in facilities for pedestrian/bicyclists. Woops that didn’t happen either.
8.Aberdeen and Route 66. Hope you have a mountainbike on those roads. You have bicyclists all day long on Saturdays stopping at the top of the hill on 282 and turning around.
9.Bicycle lanes make bicyclists happy and also make motorists happy because bicyclist stay in those lanes. A more peaceful coexistence.
10.I think from the comments people missed the point that the Jordan Valley Bike Tour was going to pay for the signs and paint.

Source Complete Streets:
"Close to 5,000 pedestrians and bicyclists die each year on U.S. roads"
"A recent study comparing the United States with Germany and the Netherlands, where complete streets are common, found that when compared per kilometer traveled, bicyclist and pedestrian death rates are two to six times higher in the United States
Sidewalk bicycle riding, especially against the flow of adjacent traffic, is far more dangerous than riding in the road due to unexpected conflicts at driveways and intersections."

National Bicycling and Walking Study.
"Bicyclists and pedestrians represented more than 16 percent of all traffic fatalities in 1993, and then dropped to 12.3 percent in 2003."

“Bicycling and walking facilities will be incorporated into all transportation projects unless Exceptional circumstances exist.” 2000 FHWA Federal Guidance

Rework the plan by not affecting the Hillside Drive parking and having the Jordan Valley Bike Tour paying for it, I would guess it would have a very good chance of passing.

Also, just because every resident doesn't come to the council meeting to complain about a proposal doesn't mean they're ok with it. That's why we are elected.

I do have one question for those who have blogged here, what sections are you referring to when you stated that sidewalks were chosen over trails?

I have been a proponent of trails, and continue to be, I just didn't like this latest proposal.

what sections are you referring to when you stated that sidewalks were chosen over trails?

The new Second Street, Creek Lane, and any newer development should have trails going in and out of it as part of any devolpment plan.

Second St is our "Main Street" is there any other city around that you can't bike down their main street? You can't bike on the sidewalks and I certainly wouldn't bike on that road. This city is the most bike UNfriendly city around. There are kids that can see their school from their house but can't walk safely let alone ride a bike to school. That is a result of poor or no planning.

Great idea, I'm in! Tim, I know you have put a lot of time into making Jordan a bike friendly city that I would gladly ride with you to look for opportunities to make things better.

I agree - I think a group ride would be a great idea, and something I can say for certain I would be interested in going on.

(Katrina Styx is a staff writer for the Jordan Independent. She can be reached at kstyx@jordannews.com.)

I started a map of issues in Google Maps. You will quickly see the multitude of places that are unsafe or prevent you from getting in or out of the city or to our resources. I have not completed the downtown area yet. I started on the outside and was working in.

Copy and paste into the browser

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=1112409043513680...

By the way, biking was up 10% on Minnepolis trails this year and retailers are up 15-20%

Guy

Whoever would like to join this ride, please e-mail me (timbee205@gmail.com) for the best day & time. probably a Saturday morning, Sunday afternoon or weekday evening is my thought. Bring water, snack, notebook, camera & please wear a helmet.

Please view Guy's photos, especially #253 of our infamous "trail to nowhere". This is our city planning & engineering at its best. Sand Companies offered to donate funds ($80,000) but was forced into this debacle. Why not find a way around it OR wait until a trail route was established on CR66 to tie into? This is but one small example of our "Bike Unfriendly" city.