Here’s one group that may not be as gung-ho about the six traffic circles proposed for the Griggs Street Bike Boulevard as some might expect — and that’s cyclists.
The St. Paul City Council will vote next Wednesday on whether to build six new traffic circles along Griggs Street, a major north-south route for drivers and cyclists.
Griggs would become an bicycling alternative to traffic-heavy Lexington Parkway and the city’s first official “Bike Boulevard,” benefitting from improved lighting and street markings.
Some homeowners at the public hearing last night said they felt ambushed by the plan, even though articles about the six traffic circles appeared in the Pioneer Press and weekly media as far back as November.
But cyclists didn’t make an especially strong showing in favor of the plan last night, either.
Andy Singer, a car-free member of the St. Paul Bicycle Coalition, says the city certainly needs more north-south routes that cross BNSF, Union Pacific and Central Pacific rail lines. There’s only five such thoroughfares in the 4.2 miles between Raymond Avenue and Western Avenue that accomplish said goal, he said, and only two or three could be called at all bicycle-friendly.
But six traffic circles? That’s probably not essential to turning Griggs into a bicycle zone. “Personally, they could just put pavement markings,” he said. “It’s (already) an OK street to bike on.”
Singer also sees it the other way — opposition to traffic circles is a bit overblown, he said. The city already has nine traffic circles and they seem to work fine.
“I also don’t think it’s as big as people make it out to be,” he said. “After a while, people have gotten used to it.”
Some cyclists are more deadset against the traffic circles.
In a critical letter to the City Council, Benita Warns, owner of Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles, said that traffic circles create sight line issues when they are not maintained and vegetation is allowed to grow too tall. She also questioned whether wheelchairs will be able to navigate them safely without changing the angle of street corner ramps.
At least one speaker supported the plan, traffic circles and all. Paul Nelson, a resident of Van Buren Avenue in St. Paul, said Griggs Street has been an important bicycle route for him.
Emily Erickson, the city’s Sustainable Transportation Planner, said notice of the project and public meetings were widely circulated and plans have appeared in the media for months. Council Member Russ Stark agreed.
“I do think there’s been a lot of public process,” Stark said, noting an online survey drew dozens of responses. “I live a couple blocks from a traffic circle. … That circle functioned quite well in winter. We do have nine circles right now in St. Paul.”
Erickson said traffic circles often get a bad rap but work like a charm, with the amount of roadway where vehicles are likely to crash / intersect reduced by 75 percent.
