The Trail
The Midtown Greenway is a 5.5-mile long former railroad corridor in south Minneapolis with bicycling and walking trails. It is owned by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority and the trails are maintained by the City of Minneapolis. The Midtown Greenway Coalition is the grassroots organization that successfully advocated for installation of the Midtown Greenway by public agencies. The Coalition continues to engage our community in protecting, improving, and using the Greenway.
For most of its distance across the city, the corridor is grade-separated from the street grid, either in a gorge passing under bridges carrying streets overhead, or on a levy with traffic passing underneath it. This offers barrier-free bicycling that can make cross-town trips faster than going by car.
To the west, the Greenway connects with paths around the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and the Southwest LRT Trail extending to the western suburbs. To the east, the Greenway connects with paths along the Mississippi River.
The Greenway serves a very ethnically and economically diverse community. All the way across Minneapolis the Midtown Greenway runs parallel to nearby Lake Street, a commercial strip with hundreds of retailers, restaurants, and other businesses.
The Greenway trails are plowed in the winter, lit at night, and open 24/7. Several thousand people use the Greenway each spring, summer, or fall day, and hundreds of hearty cyclists and runners use it each winter day no matter how cold or snowy.
The County’s long term plan for the corridor includes an express rail transit service operating alongside the trails and serving as an important part of a regional rail transit system. The Midtown Greenway Coalition supports this pursuit of rail transit in the Midtown Greenway.
Greenway Etiquette
A lot of people use the Greenway, and they ride, walk, and blade at all different speeds. To avoid accidents, please respect these basic rules of trail etiquette:
-
Stick as far to the right side of the trail as possible, and in your designated lane (i.e., pedestrians stay out of the bike lanes and bikers stay out of the pedestrian lanes).
-
When passing, announce your intentions LOUDLY and BEFORE you pass—“On your left!” lets the person ahead of you know to move over and to not have a heard attack when you go speeding by.
-
Be aware that other people may want to pass you! Listen (not to your iPod—to the world!), and stick to the right.
-
Be predictable. Check in front of you and behind you before you turn, to ensure that no one is there. Use hand signals to alert other trail users of your intentions, especially when exiting the trail.
-
Yield to slower and oncoming traffic.
-
Obey traffic signs and signals at crossings.
-
Pull off the trail to stop.
-
Clean up litter! A clean Greenway is a safe Greenway.
-
Be hyper-aware when merging onto the trail or passing an entrance ramp—a lot of the entrance points don’t have great visibility, and collisions are best avoided if everybody is paying attention.
-
When the trail is busy, ride single file.
-
Know if you’ve outgrown the trail. The Greenway is narrow and primarily a commuter and recreational trail—if you’re using it for high-speed training, you may be endangering other riders. Choosing an alternative option could be safer and more enjoyable for all concerned.
Above all, BE COURTEOUS to other trail users at all times. Many accidents can be avoided if everyone exercises common sense. Be aware, be polite, and enjoy the Greenway!
|
