Biking in Duluth is on the rise, and new accommodations are being made to move this form of active transportation forward.
You may have noticed the new bike lanes along College Street and most recently London Road. These two projects were part of a plan the Duluth City Council approved last January. This is the first year that bike-lane-only projects were implemented.
The bike lanes on College Street and London Road are the first completed projects included in Duluth’s Bikeway System Plan. This plan calls for bike lane installments, road segments that need signs, construction of multi-use paths and locations of future paths.
Over the past decade, Duluth has seen an increase in bicyclists around the city. The Duluth Transit Authority (DTA) helps measure the population of bicyclists by counting every person who puts a bicycle on a bus rack.
“The number of bikes the DTA carried per year was under 10,000 in 2000, and in 2012 it was over 25,000,” said James Gittemeier, senior planner at the Duluth – Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council (MIC).
Gittemeier knows they are only in the beginning stages of improving the city’s bike scene and that there is much more work to be done. Some locations where Gittemeier hopes to make improvements are St. Marie Street, Superior Street and areas around UMD. Fourth Street is set to undergo reconstruction in 2016, and bike lanes are included in the plan.
Implementing bike lanes may seem like an easy task; however, there are different types of bike lanes that need to be considered. Conventional bike lanes are the bike paths that run right next to the road with nothing between bicyclists and vehicles. Protected bike lanes consist of some type of barrier between vehicles and bicyclists, such as parked cars or bike racks.
“Protected bike lanes are the best way to increase bicycling because people then feel safe,” Gittemeier said.
Protected lanes are often used for busier roads to encourage people to bike while feeling comfortable. Planners at the MIC use the “Urban Bikeway Design Guide” to assist them in creating an efficient bikeway system.
Of course, when it comes to Duluth, the steep terrain is a factor all bicyclists face. The hill’s influence on bicyclists can be seen by comparing the numbers in Duluth versus Superior.
“One day each month we do a count of how many kids bike to the schools, and our Superior numbers are always higher than our Duluth numbers,” Gittemeier said.
Winter usually means the end of biking season, but in Duluth, that is not the case. More and more people are starting to purchase fat tire bikes, which allow for more traction on the snowy roads and bikeways. The Lakewalk, a popular biking spot, is plowed in the winter so it remains accessible to bicyclists.
Biking in the winter might seem crazy, especially in Duluth, but it is just another activity that demonstrates this city’s love for the outdoors.
“I think it kind of reflects the people we have in Duluth,” said David Cowardin, who manages duluthoutdoors.com. “They continue to bike in the winter because they have a passion for not only biking, but the environment.”
Another possible addition to the bike scene in Duluth is a bike share system. Much like Nice Ride in Minneapolis, a bike share system would provide affordable access to bicycles for shorter trips in the city.
Bicycle accommodations in the city of Duluth have the possibility to expand by way of city council plans and community demand.
“Our goal is to have five miles of bike lanes within the next couple of years,” Gittemeier said.