This summer, during a national summit of bicycle advocates, a Minneapolis Advocate challenged Portland, OR claiming that Minneapolis was gunning to take the number one ranking from Portland. Portland’s response? “Bring it.” Here’s what Minneapolis is doing to “Bring it.”

Reconstruction projects:
3.3 miles of trail between the Camden Bridge and Ulysses St. NE along St. Anthony Parkway. The new trail is now up to the standard 10 ft width.
Replace bike trails from Fulton St to the city limits along East River Parkway. The current trails were buit in 1950 and reconstructed in 1975. The bike trail will be widened to 10 feet. It’s one of the last to be reconstructed since its original installation.
Build the “Missing Link” between the Luce Line State Bike Trail and Theodore Wirth Parkway in Minneapolis. When completed, in mid 2009, the trail will link the Cedar Lake Trail, Basset Creek Trail and Luce Line Trail, allowing cyclists to ride from Downtown Minneapolis to Cosmos, Minnesota, a distance of 72 miles, at least in theory. The Luce Line Trail’s surface turns to gravel west of I-494 and deteriorates to jeep tracks west of Watertown, MN.
One of the biggest success stories for Minneapolis bike trails is the Midtown Greenway. Pavement sensors along the trail indicate that trail use is up 30% between 2008 and 2007. In June, 2008 nearly 247,000 cyclists passed the Hennepin Ave counting station, with a one day record of over 5,000 cyclists. Not bad for a railroad trench that was once filled with broken glass and a hang out for alcoholics and drug users.