A letter from Jefferson Road
A couple of weeks ago, I sent an informational packet to 25 affected homeowners on Jefferson Road. Four have responded, two quite courteously. Just before leaving for Scandinavia, I received a rather aggressive letter from one resident. Since the letter was anonymous and had no return address, I cannot respond to the resident’s complaints directly. So instead I will do it here, piece by piece. The full letter is available at the bottom of this post.
Mr. O’Leary,
You state that my street is a critical bikeway from downtown to Cub/Target/multi banks, but did you know that you can take actual bike trails that go by the schools and thru neighborhood parks? This will bring you out behind Target.
This is misleading. The Parks/Trails Master Plan shows all existing trails and asphalt sidewalks. In order to take the bike “trails” to Target, a biker would have to go through about seven parks and seven streets — and that’s after getting to the Division Street sidewalk, where these trails begin. From many points in town, this could double the distance for the cyclist. Before even starting on the “trails,” the cyclist would still have to get to the Division Street walk, as well as traverse the W Jefferson Parkway crossing, which has no curb cuts or crosswalk.
If you are leaving from St. Olaf Avenue, why not take the bike trail that goes to Dundas?
Again, this is not a full picture. While a bicyclist could take the Mill Towns’ Trail to Dundas (and add more than a mile to the trip), s/he would still have to ride through Dundas streets, across the very bike-hostile County Road 1/Hwy 3 intersection, and make an awkward left turn to the Target trail just a couple dozen yards from the Hwy 3 intersection. Either of these options involves emerging and entering many trails and awkward crossings. Most bike accidents happen turning and at intersections. Using this route is considerably less safe than riding on the road.
I have never seen anyone use the new bike bridge over the Cannon River, but if you took that you could take the frontage road all the way to the Target light.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. The west frontage road (Bollenbacher Drive) winds around aimlessly for a while and ends completely at the Furlong site. The cyclist would have to ride on Hwy 3 to access Heritage Drive or the light at W Honeylocust Drive.
Maybe you can convince the powers that be to finish the actual bike trail that goes from County Road 1 to behind the church, where it abruptly ends.
This was discussed, but would have added significant cost to the project. Highway 3 is Mn/DOT’s road, and it should not be the City’s responsibility to fix their mistakes. I would love to see the Hwy 3 sidewalks completed, but that would be a lower-quality cycling facility, at a much higher cost.
So, you do not believe that removing our parking ability would be crippling. Interesting choice of words. I’m sure my brother and his disabled daughter would love to park somewhere down a side street and risk their lives to cross over to visit us. Where are lawn and snow removal contractors supposed to park?
I apologize for that choice of words. I honestly did not give it a lot of thought; perhaps I should have. Every home on Jefferson has a driveway, so I’m not sure what the issue is. If you do not have space in your driveway, a disabled passenger could easily be dropped off. Furthermore, one of my compromise options preserves short-term parking where it is currently allowed. It is quite possible to have a bikeway and still accomodate your needs.
It is absurd that we would give anything up for bicycles. When they start paying yearly licensing, insurance, and axle fees, plus use protective clothing and install headlamps and tail lamps, then it wouldn’t be so absurd. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bicyclist stop at a stop sign, so why should we take them seriously? When you pay for our street you can have a say in it. Got $4800 handy? We paid for this in 1986, too, remember?
This comment is not cogent. The fact that homeowners would have had to potentially pay $4800 indicates that those auto taxes do nothing to pay for infrastructure. The fees you and I both pay as drivers (I’m not always on a bike!) cover the cost of government to manage automobiles. Bikes do not require licensing or nearly as much management, and so, pay no fees. I would also note that they have significantly less damaging an impact on roads like yours than cars and trucks. If a good chunk of those people driving cars on your road had been on bikes, your road would probably be in much better shape. I am a strong supporter of better enforcement for bike lights, but this is unrelated.
But, I would like to thank you for reminding me to take Olaf Ave to get to Cedar. I had forgotten that fact.
I’m sure your intentions in spamming us are good, but honestly, you don’t live here. Your 100 cars a day on your street is a slow hour for us.
The Mn/DOT traffic volumes for Northfield show 2350-3200 cars per day on St. Olaf Avenue. This is less than Jefferson’s 4950, but it is certainly not night and day. I also grew up near the Roosevelt Ridge portion of County Road 1 (which has 4000 cars/day, at about half the width of Jefferson and no sidewalk on either side). I know what it feels like to be on an uncomfortably busy, uncomfortably fast street. And I know the value of slowing cars (see below).
Just last month, someone lost control on the street and ran over my garbage can that was on my lawn. 2 neighbors have had mailboxes taken out by cars. What everyone seems to forget, or ignore, is that this still is a residential street, and not a highway, and not Target Expressway, as we call it. Not all of us enjoy being flipped off, swerved at, or passed just for trying to drive the speed limit here.
This overlooks one of the major benefits of bike lanes and — even moreso — cyclists themselves. The more walkers and bikers on a road, the slower the traffic. Wide lanes and few perceived hazards (including bikes) means that people are comfortable driving much faster. Bike lanes would narrow the traffic lanes and, hopefully, attract many more bikers. This means cars will drive slower. This is the same strategy that was used with the bike lanes on Highway 3 downtown.
Centering the traffic lanes, as I’ve suggested, would also keep cars away from the curb — hopefully sparing your trash cans and mailboxes.
It is also worth remembering that Jefferson has never been just a “residential street.” Long before most of the existing houses were built, it was part of County Road 28, and served the role that Highway 3 now serves between Northfield and Dundas. It should absolutely remain a 30 mph street and be safe for users and residents — but, just as it always has — it must address the needs of the whole community.
Sincerely,
A Tax Paying Resident
PS: I bet your neighbors on Plum would be disappointed that you killed a tree to send us all unsolicited mail.
Unabridged letter
Mr. O’Leary,
You state that my street is a critical bikeway from downtown to Cub/Target/multi banks, but did you know that you can take actual bike trails that go by the schools and thru neighborhood parks? This will bring you out behind Target. If you are leaving from St. Olaf Avenue, why not take the bike trail that goes to Dundas? I have never seen anyone use the new bike bridge over the Cannon River, but if you took that you could take the frontage road all the way to the Target light. Maybe you can convince the powers that be to finish the actual bike trail that goes from County Road 1 to behind the church, where it abruptly ends.
So, you do not believe that removing our parking ability would be crippling. Interesting choice of words. I’m sure my brother and his disabled daughter would love to park somewhere down a side street and risk their lives to cross over to visit us. Where are lawn and snow removal contractors supposed to park? It is absurd that we would give anything up for bicycles. When they start paying yearly licensing, insurance, and axle fees, plus use protective clothing and install headlamps and tail lamps, then it wouldn’t be so absurd. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bicyclist stop at a stop sign, so why should we take them seriously? When you pay for our street you can have a say in it. Got $4800 handy? We paid for this in 1986, too, remember? But, I would like to thank you for reminding me to take Olaf Ave to get to Cedar. I had forgotten that fact.
I’m sure your intentions in spamming us are good, but honestly, you don’t live here. Your 100 cars a day on your street is a slow hour for us. Just last month, someone lost control on the street and ran over my garbage can that was on my lawn. 2 neighbors have had mailboxes taken out by cars. What everyone seems to forget, or ignore, is that this still is a residential street, and not a highway, and not Target Expressway, as we call it. Not all of us enjoy being flipped off, swerved at, or passed just for trying to drive the speed limit here.
Sincerely,
A Tax Paying Resident
PS: I bet your neighbors on Plum would be disappointed that you killed a tree to send us all unsolicited mail.
