Wish it was Easier to Bike in Duluth?

Please come to any of these meetings to give your input (you only need to attend one):
-	Thursday, April 22 at the Morgan Park Community Center (1242 88th Ave West)
-	Monday, April 26 at the Piedmont Heights Community Center (2302 West 23rd St)
-	Tuesday, April 27 at City Center West (5830 Grand Ave)
-	Thursday, April 29 at the UMD Garden Room (1208 Kirby Dr)
-	Monday, May 3 at the Central Hillside Community Center (12 East 4th St)
-	Tuesday, May 4 at the Portman Community Center (4601 McCulloch St)
   
All meetings start at 6:00pm
These meetings are open to the public.
Participants can attend any meeting that is convenient, regardless of their home neighborhood.
Food will be provided!
 
Quick Summary:
The results from these meetings will help determine what a 
long-term bicycle network in the City of Duluth will look like. 
Over time, as roads deteriorate and need to be rebuilt, the roads that are identified as part of this bike network will need to be redesigned with bike lanes or shoulders to safely accommodate for cyclists as well as automobiles. (See example on right) 
In addition, these meetings will address other long-term planning involved with the bicycle network related to bike racks, route signage, and scenic bike routes.
For more information, visit www.fitcityduluth.com/bike
or contact...

Codie Leseman
Program Coordinator, Fit City Duluth 
(218) 940-3186
[email protected]

I wouldn't call Duluth the most bike-hostile city in the world. . . I almost got hit elsewhere once by a trucker who considered me invisible b/c I was not driving a car and almost turned into me at an intersection. And, yes, I was obeying the rules of the road.

I feel like motorists here are pretty cool, and give me the right-of-way when I bike without getting obviously pissed off. 

But I think we can do better than we are now. i've been riding my bike a lot lately and it's sad that there are no bike lanes anywhere, even near the colleges. My friend and I rode on Skyline Parkway from Chester to Enger the other day, and it was an exercise in avoiding getting in the way of traffic. 

Copenhagen and Stockholm are ancient cities and there are way more bicyclists on the streets it seems than cars. And Chicago has fabulous bike lanes *everywhere.* If such cities can do it, Duluth can too. I firmly believe if more bike lanes are created, more people will bike.

The DTA keeping the bike racks on the buses year-round is a fine start. 

BTW, my favorite bike routes are Skyline and also the Lakewalk -- in its entirety.

image post fail...

I've had two buddies hit by cars in the last couple of years in Duluth. Both were biking legally and reasonably at the time. 

I don't bike the Lakewalk anymore because there are so many pedestrians. One thing Minneapolis has going for it is that many places have two paths, clearly marked: one for pedestrians and one for bikes.

Duluth is an okay place to bike.  To travel safely on most roads, though, you really have to go on the sidewalk. I mean for roads like Arrowhead, Haines, Central Entrance, etc. - there aren't any people actually walking on the sidewalks on these roads, so that isn't an issue.   Sure, you can be one of those people who is all like "THE LAW SAYS I'M LIKE A CAR" and that's great, until   a car proves the difference to you in an unpleasant manner.

The cold, snow and ice are major drawbacks too, obviously.  Other than that, between April and October, Duluth is pretty okay. You can get around on a bike.  

If anyone wants to make it better, well... hmm, that gigantic hill in the middle of town could use some improvement.   I'm neither the most hardcore biker nor the most wimpy, but coming up from Canal Park to the top of the hill is not a mild ride by any means!