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Missing link for cyclists opens
by Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio
April 25, 2003

Midtown Greenway Coalition president Bob Corrick, at the trail's new link between Minneapolis and St. Louis Park. (MPR Photo/Dan Olson)

A key link in the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway bicycle and pedestrian trail officially opens Saturday. The Greenway slices through south Minneapolis on abandoned railroad right of way. The new link connects Minneapolis with southwest Twin Cities suburbs.

Minneapolis, Minn. — The occasional freight train still rattles along a portion of the Midtown Greenway at the border of Minneapolis and St. Louis Park. Along most of the route the rails and ties have been pulled up, replaced by a strip of asphalt for walkers, in-line skaters and cyclists -- including Bob Corrick.

"We see people from out in the suburbs," Corrick says. "We just opened up the western connection to St. Louis Park, so you can go all the way to Eden Prairie from here."

	Questions about future development

Corrick lives in Minneapolis next to the trail. He's the volunteer president of the Midtown Greenway Coalition, the advocacy group for the 5.5-mile segment in Minneapolis.

A good share of the greenway is in an old railroad trench that cuts through 10 south Minneapolis neighborhoods. People along the way include some of the city's wealthiest and poorest residents.

"There's different people everytime I come, and it's a lot of people going back and forth," says Britney Hart. "We usually get this way to go to the grocery store or to the lake or something."

Hart and Christina Sturdevant, who is on foot, live near the greenway at 29th St. and Bryant Ave. S. A gently sloped paved path brings them down to the greenway's asphalt biking and walking trail 20 feet below. Grass greening under a bright spring sun carpets either side of the old railroad ditch. Cars cross on overhead bridges.

"It's very convenient as far as when you have children with you, so you don't have to worry about the lights. It's a great way to go," says Sturdevant.

	Access ramps

Ten years ago, the trench that would become the greenway was littered with garbage and beset with crime. All that has changed.

Lights illuminate the pathway at night. Snow plows keep it clear in the winter. Emergency phones on tall blue poles dot the path. Minneapolis police report no major crime incidents on the greenway since its creation three years ago.

Cyclist Tony Mills says he uses the path for recreation. Mills says the greenway is attracting people earlier and later in the year.

"In the spring and fall ... you saw it being used a lot by running clubs and such, to avoid the hassles and traffic of the city," Mills says.

At the new link between Minneapolis and St. Louis Park, the trail emerges from the trench and gives users a view of backyards. Cyclist Jacqueline Hansen, just finishing her shift at a local supermarket, commutes on the trail at all hours.

"I really haven't had any concerns yet. It's a little dark on some spots at night and at five o'clock in the morning, but that's pretty much my only concern," Hansen says.

	Jogger

Bob Corrick says the Midtown Greenway Coalition favors zoning laws that will prevent taller, sunlight-blocking structures along the path. The coalition is encouraging property owners to re-orient their buildings so their fronts face the greenway.

One of the sharpest points of contention is who and what else should be allowed to use the greenway. Corrick says neighbors and coalition members want commerical and residential development along the route. They also want the trail to move more people. But a few years ago, they blocked a proposed Midtown Greenway bus service.

"We in the neighborhoods have strongly opposed busways because it represents a roadway, 28 feet of concrete -- a much different feel for a corridor than rails," says Corrick.

Corrick says the coalition wants light rail instead. However, there's no immediate source of money for that. Creating the Midtown Greenway has cost about $15 million dollars so far -- mostly federal funds along with money from Hennepin County, Minneapolis and neighborhoods.

The next phase includes a $3 million bridge over Hiawatha Ave., Highway 55. It will allow users to reach one of the greenway's destinations, the Mississippi River.

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