Have at it then. I'll be taking the #9 and adding another 2 minutes to my commute.

Decent MN Daily article for tomorrow on the bike-bridge issue, noting/confirming among other things U of MN police have said they'll be issuing $80 tickets for riding bikes on bridge. Story linked at TCBN website here.

Thanks all.

link says page no longer exists.... i wanna see that article!

regarding riding on the lower deck - serious traffic calming is required before it could be considered safe. with the impending 35W bridge completion, i think it's realist as a substantial amount of the wash ave bridge traffic could be routed on that bridge.... THEN cycling on the lower deck starts to look very attractive and something i hope for.

lee

Weird, sorry about that biker_lee -- click on the below -- it's the second entry on the page:

http://www.tcbikingnews.com/twin_cities_news.php

I also linked in the U Police editorial on the decision to fine riders.

Thanks much

I rode on the bottom today to avoid the mess above, does anyone recall any signs prohibiting bike traffic on the lower deck?

Yes. They are posted at both ends.

When I walked my bike across the upper deck today I caught up with a guy on the bike patrol. I asked him how many times he'd walked his bike across the bridge today. He said 12 over & back.

While we were talking he got a call to go and help someone. I spotted him later taking down information from a gal who looked pretty sad. I am not sure what had happened to her.

This just in from University VP, Kathleen O'Brien:

Summary: People riding bikes across the bridge will get $80 tickets.

Dear University Community,

Thank you to everyone in the University community who has shown patience
and understanding regarding the Washington Avenue Bridge situation. When
Hennepin County restricted the width of the path across the bridge to 14
feet, we knew that it would be a tight fit inside the pedestrian
enclosure. But it has been encouraging to see people cooperating to make
a difficult situation work.

Unfortunately, a number of campus bicyclists continue to ignore the
requirement to walk their bikes across the bridge. Their decision to
disregard signs at the bridge entrance, e-mails and enforcement efforts
by the University of Minnesota Police Department puts pedestrians and
other bicyclists at risk.

Therefore the next step is for the UMPD to write tickets to bicyclists
who insist on riding across the bridge. Enforcement will begin in the
coming days and each ticket will cost the offender $80. This is
certainly not a step we want to take but one that is necessary to ensure
the safety pedestrians and bikers.

While Hennepin County has put repairs on the fast track, we can expect
to live with the bridge restrictions for the rest of the school year.
Rather than writing tickets, I would hope that simple good judgment and
respect for each other's safety will encourage campus bicyclists to
comply with this short term solution to a difficult problem.

Latest on the bridge saga appears to be from WCCO, which is reporting ticketing will begin in earnest Monday, and two cyclists already ticketed for "ignoring officers" and in one case assaulting an officer who was enforcing the riding ban.

WCCO story linked as second post on TCBN website here:

http://www.tcbikingnews.com/twin_cities_news.php


Take care all.

they didnt mention anything about getting a ticket riding the lower deck

Can you get a ticket while riding on the lower deck? Has anyone ever had trouble riding there? Maybe they could make a temporary bike lane there.

Theoretically, yes you probably could get ticketed as there are signs that state that bikes and pedestrians arent allowed. It's similar to the type of sign you would see on a controlled access state highway. But the thing that makes it unusual is that it's a county road, not a state highway.

I don't know of any other controlled access county roads, so I'm not sure what statute the rule would be based upon, if any. Could you get a ticket, possibly, but would it hold up in court? That's another question.

Regardless, I have never heard of anyone being ticketed for riding on the lower deck. Given the extenuating circumstances, I doubt anyone could fault a biker for doing so.

Almost any road can be designated "controlled access". It is up to the Commissioner of Public Safety. It does not have to be a Federal or State maintained roadway. It just usually is. And there must be an alternate route nearby that isn't controlled access.

The Minnesota Daily wrote a story today covering the arrest of a student who defied the riding ban. Student felt "spirit" of the law should control over "letter" of law; police did not see it that way.

Story linked on TCBN here:

http://www.tcbikingnews.com/twin_cities ... 194803.php

The story concludes by quoting the student as saying, "[H]e will not stop riding his bike across the bridge — he’s just going to take the lower level."

That link didn't work. How about this?

Thanks so much Reverborama! I am still very much getting the hang of things with the website. I corrected the link in my original post too.

I appreciate the heads-up, the correction, and the correct link to the site!