I am having to make a few trips from the UofMN MPLS campus to St. Paul near Hamline Ave and University Ave.

I'd go the route of University but its a tight squeeze for motorists and they are pretty hot and bothered by the time they've gone 8 blocks on this stretch of construction I don't want to be at the receiving end of someone's construction frustrations.

Energy Park Drive is really not safe, I've had close calls and due to the winds and turns when they do see me motorist don't really slow down.

I have been going the way of Como to Lexington and down Lexington to University, but I'd like to make some stops in the midway area for shopping. Back tracking would be a pain.

Any ideas? THose lovely GMaps and cyclopaths maps look nifty but I'd doubt they adequately map out the obstructions that local cyclists would experience.

Love to hear constructive suggestions.

I took Google's suggestion and tweaked it a little bit. Try this. I bike through here fairly often.
I usually stay on Pierce Butler, but the shoulder is kind of gritty, so I used Minnehaha instead.

University of Minnesota Transitway is actually closed for construction until Malcolm ave.

I take the campus commuter from university to the st. paul campus then take como down to lexington. but on the way back I'd like not to backtrack. Plus the campus commuter isn't available on weekends during summer.

May just stick with that and use the sidewalk on lexington. Its too bad no other street except for university goes straight through between MPLS and St. Paul.

Oops. I did not know that.
In that case I would take 4th. It is pretty rough but passable.
I think you can hop between the cul de sacs until it becomes Territorial.
Like this.

I would just go up University to Malcolm. The right lane is at least 20 ft wide. Just beware of the potholes. The rest of the route is good.

4th is quite rough. I take it because I'm only on it from 27th to Malcolm But take Uni from Malcolm back to 27th on my way home.

Ive taken university a few times, although to my knowledge, not during rush hour. I havent had one issue with drivers even when I take the whole lane. I think they know theyre going to get stuck at the next light regardless and when there is the third middle lane I move over and let them know to pass. The terrain is horrendous but thats another reason to take the lane. I also think drivers know to avoid Univ because its under construction so I think in general there is less traffic than there would be.

That all being said, I would LOVE to find an alternate route that shoots right thru all of that area. The Gmaps posted above is pretty wind-y. I now commute from East St Paul to West Bank area and University to Washington is the most direct route. Going down to Summit then back up to Lake then to the GW via W River road is great, but it goes WAY out of my way.

Living in Midway and going to DT MPLS daily, I feel your pain. Winter is going to be a treat. In any case, though I too have had NO trouble taking the lane and using UNiversity, I prefer not to tempt fate.

At present I shoot south to Marshal, cross the river and go North along the river or cut over to the LRT. Surprisingly it added maybe ten minutes and made my whole commute more pleasant.

Alternatively, north of university you can follow Territorial until it terminates behind KSTP. If you're headed to Franklin, you can cut south on Raymond to Wabash and circle through that way. I've deemed both more trouble than they're worth at this point. YMMV.

Really, it's a choke point. That means there are no easy alternatives.

This sounds really smart and I have taken Territorial a couple times.

Unlike the rest of you dudes I don't feel comfortable taking up the entire lane and we don't need to discuss my choice, its not worth it.

Getting through University to Malcolm takes some nerve, I have had a few motorists nearly turn into me because they were txting and not paying attention as they turn. I had the right away and I was following the lights/stop signs. Yet I don't want a citation for cycling through construction. I am tempted but I have chosen to venture through that section of dinky town off hours.

The Minnehaha looks to be alot less traffic than Lexington. Lexington does have a trail along side the roadway but you must cross in front of Aggies because they have taken a section of the sidewalk out on the bridge. It takes forever to cross lexington even with its your right the cars don't yield.

I might take the river parkway after Marshal and then back up to the UofMN. Especially in this summer heat. I cycled Theodore Wirth Parkway this week and the cool air wafting out of the forest and bogs has given me an incentive to use that route again.