Rondo Residents Critical of Plan to Build Bike Lane

A proposed bike lane on Concordia and Rondo Aves. elicited testimony from several concerned residents at Wednesday’s St. Paul City Council meeting. The project, which the city plans to do in conjunction with the repaving of parts of the street this fall, includes the section of Concordia and Rondo between Pascal St. and Western St.

The city’s plan creates space for a bike path by reducing the number of lanes from two to one, which will have the added benefit of combating speeding, according to David Peterson, a transportation planner with the St. Paul Department of Public Works. Although a physical barrier between the bike lane and traffic will not be built, there will be 2.5 feet of space on either side of the bike lane along with striping and pavement markers.

The project will result in the elimination of 13% of the 360 parking spots currently available in the area. However, Public Works has determined that the number of remaining parking spots will continue to exceed demand.

During the public hearing, several residents testified that they had received little communication from the city about the project and expressed frustration that the city was choosing to build a bike lane rather than implementing other much-needed safety improvements.

Neighborhood resident Charles Walker said “they don’t want to put a patrol car there, they don’t want to put stop signs there, but they want to put a bike lane there. We don’t want much…but stop signs and patrols, we need those.”

Longtime Rondo resident Kandace Logan told the council that there used to be fencing and flashing lights at the intersection of Rondo Ave. and the Grotto St. footbridge over I-94. These safety features forced pedestrians to pause before crossing the street and alerted cars to the presence of pedestrians. However, the fencing and flashing lights no longer exist and the city hasn’t replaced them.

Another resident stated that there are many driveways along Rondo and Concordia, which raises concerns about cars backing into bicyclists.

Following the public hearing, Council Member Cheniqua Johnson asked the city staff what efforts they had made to engage with residents about the project. Peterson replied that the city communicated with the Union Park and Summit-University District Councils, sent out a mailing and held an open house in April, and sent out another mailing prior to Wednesday’s hearing.

Council Member Anika Bowie, who represents the Rondo area, made a motion to delay a decision on the project for a month to give her time to hold an engagement session with her constituents. After City Engineer Nick Peterson stated that such a delay would decrease the likelihood of the project being completed this year, the motion failed on 1 -4 vote.

Council Vice President Hwa Jeong Kim proposed a two week delay, which the council voted 4-1- to adopt. Despite her support for the two week delay, Council President Mitra Jalali stated that the purpose of delaying the vote would be to educate community members, not to “redesign a new bikeway or new road.”

The city’s report on the project notes that “not pursuing bicycle facilities with the 2024 mill and overlay would not improve safety or comfort for people bicycling on Concordia and Rondo Avenues.”