Crowd rallies to support extending Midtown Greenway into St. Paul

Annual Sierra Club bike tour follows potential trail route in St. Paul

By Jill Boogren

More than 250 riders and supporters gathered at Lake Monster Brewing in St. Paul on Sept. 15, 2019, for the Sierra Club’s 24th annual bike tour and a community rally to extend the Midtown Greenway into St. Paul.

“We’re trying to keep the momentum going in our effort to extend the Greenway over the river and through St. Paul,” said Midtown Greenway Coalition Executive Director Soren Jensen.

A study released in June found that the Short Line Bridge over the Mississippi River, where the Midtown Greenway currently ends, could be rehabbed into something structurally sound that could accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, despite the once-daily train left running to the ADM on Hiawatha Ave.

Its potential has galvanized people and organizations on both sides of the river who are eager to make this connection.

In addition to creating a link from the heavily used Greenway in Minneapolis to St. Paul, its continuation would improve bike access to Allianz Field, the new soccer stadium. Further, with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s proposal in August to replace two (of four) lanes of motorized traffic on Ayd Mill Rd. with bike-walk paths during its upcoming resurfacing project, it opens the possibility of creating a seamless bike route from the Midtown Greenway all the way to downtown St. Paul.

The five-mile bike tour, led by St. Paul Bicycle Coalition Co-chair Andy Singer, followed the potential route of an extended Greenway, traveling near the railway from Lake Monster to Allianz Field, then toward the river and back. Riders experienced protected bikeways, a road marked with sharrows, and some quiet streets. But there were also some treacherous crossings, underscoring the need for infrastructure that allows people to ride safely.

St. Paul officials, including Chief Resilience Officer Russ Stark, Ramsey County Commissioner Trista MatasCastillo and St. Paul City Council member Mitra Jalali Nelson, biked in the tour and expressed support for both an extended Greenway and the bikeway along Ayd Mill Rd.

Speaking at the rally afterward, St. Paul City Council member Dai Thao said he was “surprised” by the mayor’s Ayd Mill Rd. announcement and called for everyone to be at the table as decisions are made.

Minneapolis City Councilmember Cam Gordon said he was also surprised, but it was more of a “Woo HOO! Yeah! It’s about time!” This he yelled with a fist pump, to big applause.

“It’s time we started thinking of it as the Twin Cities Greenway,” Gordon said. “Let’s connect it up.”