St. Paul Public Works invited St. Thomas and local community members to discuss the planned creation of bike lanes and parking plans on Cleveland Avenue during an open house Monday night in the Anderson Student Center.
About 240 parking spaces will be removed from the west side of Cleveland Avenue between Myrtle and Randolph Avenues if the bike lanes are created. Around 40 parking spaces on the east side of St. Thomas near the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library will also be lost. Although the City Council will officially vote at a public hearing on March 16, St. Thomas Vice President of University and Government Relations Doug Hennes expects the plans to be passed.
“City council already approved the bike lanes in December. They are voting in March on permit parking changes that will affect local businesses,” Hennes said.
Advancement for the Cleveland bike lanes was delayed in June due to residents voicing concerns about the loss of parking in front of houses and local businesses at a city council meeting. A Community Working Group was established for further exploration on alternate route options. The group voted in November to recommend Cleveland for the bike lanes.
St. Thomas Neighborhood Liaison Amy Gage was one of the 14 members in the Community Working Group. She said student safety was first and foremost when considering the vote for the bike plans.
“The street is not safe currently for motorists and bicyclists. We knew there would be repercussions but hoped this would help students in years to come,” Gage said.
St. Thomas originally favored looking into alternative bike routes to Cleveland, but the official position of the school has changed. Hennes said further research into the project proved Cleveland to be the best place for the bike lanes.
“We favored Cleveland lanes as long as there was mitigation for businesses and increased safety with better lighting,” Hennes said. “A lot of students bike to campus, and having designated lanes will make a difference on Cleveland.”
If the plan is passed, the bike lanes will be drawn after new asphalt is placed over the summer. St. Thomas is asking the city to complete the project before Labor Day so it will not interfere with students moving in on campus for the fall semester.
There are no specific strategies for student parking. Hennes said he is hoping students will buy on-campus parking passes, otherwise they will have to park further into the surrounding neighborhoods. Parking on the cross-streets of Cleveland will not change.
St. Thomas also petitioned the city to replace all of the lantern style streetlights with LED lights on Cleveland between Summit and Dayton. The LED lights will be put in place this spring. Hennes said St. Thomas committed to paying $25,000 for the new lights, and the city will pay up to $35,000 for the project.
Hennes hopes the brighter lights and bike lanes will make the area safer for students, cyclists and motorists.
“They were concerned about safety because there is a lot of traffic on Cleveland,” Hennes said. “We wanted to make a statement to have people take transit or walk to campus. I think we will see more people riding bikes as a result.”
Claire Noack can be reached at noac8702@stthomas.edu.