News & Project Updates

It was a delightful fall evening on Oct 18th for the DNR candlelight walk along the Brown's Creek trail attended by nearly 300 people. Thanks to Rachel H, Linda R and the DNR team for hosting and providing snacks and warm campfire. Thanks also to the GBCTA volunteers who helped with set up and take down.

Hey bicyclists! Washington County wants to hear from you about bike routes, current trouble spots for riders, and more. A $145,000 study has been funded to create a Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. The county is responding to a public opinion survey indicating there is a demand for safe and connected carbon-free transportation options.

The bike routes being designed are for recreational use and transportation usage and apply to county roads only, not city roads nor state highways.

County officials and a consulting firm will use the info gathered from the public to create a blueprint for bike route development. They will build off of the existing network of trails, paved shoulders, and sidewalks and create new portions of trails where there are gaps.

The resulting recommendations will be short-term, medium-term, and long-term, although no funding has yet been set aside for implementation of the plan once it is complete. However, there will be opportunities for local bike enthusiasts and nonprofits to contribute to the infrastructure with grants and donations to help fund peripheral aspects to bike trails, such as bike repair stations. The survey is here: LINK to SURVEY

Please contribute your thoughts (especially in respect to county roads or parks on or near or that you use to access the Gateway Brown's Creek trail). Please also think about and suggest any trail needs that would make the Gateway Browns Creek Trail part of a bigger more comprehensive active transportation network. 

Thanks

Ian Harding

GBCTA Volunteers were out on the trail recently at 6 sites along the Gateway removing graffiti.

The crew of volunteers was : Melvin Croatt, Mel Peterson, Woody Croatt , Marcy Otypka, John Kimberly, and Pam Meyer (team leader).

The DNR support was Dave Olson who provided the paint and rollers, safety vests and cones. He was great support following in the DNR truck with supplies as volunteers road between 6 sites on their bikes.

Contact us by email  if you'd like to help !

Several key developments for the extension of the Gateway Trail north from Pine Point towards Scandia were discussed at a recent meeting of GBCTA and the DNR .

Please find the key points here

There is a lot of construction in Maplewood and N. St. Paul that is near or involves the trail - Frost Ave, Manton Ave., and County Rd. B.  Any street intersection on the trail  between White Bear Ave. and McKnight (there are 2; 7^th Avenue and County Rd. B itself) is affected. Local traffic is re-routed here in multiple patterns, so these 2 street intersections now carry greatly increased traffic. Some of it is local, and folks know about the trail. But many cars are non-local, and have no idea the trail is there. Plus, there are cones and barriers that narrow those roads to one lane, so cars have to go one-by-one. In the last few weeks there have been many ‘near misses’ as cars crossing the trail don’t slow at all. Many folks are just trying to get out of the construction as quickly as possible, but many drivers do not seem to be heeding stops signs or speed limits! Trail users should take extra caution along the trail between White Bear Avenue and McKnight because of this.

MN Parks and Trails Council has issued their condition of the trails report for state bike trails for 2019 and it makes good reading. It  has some excellent recommendations for suggestions for maintaining the trail network .

The Gateway trail condition is rated excellent - good N of Hwy 36, and fair to poor S of Hwy 36 (where the age of the trail (>25 years) is more apparent). Brown's Creek is rated in excellent condition (however be careful of the very rough bump hazard about 3/8 mile N of Stillwater trailhead (July 3))

The full report is here:    2018-2019-State-of-the-Trails_Web.pdf

The new Hadley tunnel on the Gateway is taking shape ... it just needs a few thousand tons of dirt to cover it and a few other things like a trail to it etc etc

.   

Things are happening in North St Paul on the Gateway Trail.

The recent NSP Explorers Bike event at Rotary Park on Tuesday 25^th June was a very fun event. A group of about 60 adults and children participated. Gateway Cycle staff gave a bike safety presentation, and then took questions from the crowd. After that, everyone got out on the trail, and rode or walked to the North St. Paul Snowman to enjoy ice cream and learn more about the Snowman statue .

The new permanent restrooms at Rotary Park right alongside the Gateway Trail are now under construction. This will be a very nice addition to the existing facilities there ( bike maintenance stand, shelter, and picnic tables). Thank you to the Rotary Club of N St Paul and City of N St Paul. GBCTA also has made a $500 donation in support of this excellent project.

Washington County is  conducting some initial public engagement for revising the master plan for Pine Point Regional Park (290 acres at the current northern end of the Gateway Trail). They seek input from members of the public who use the park and the Gateway Trail. The purpose of the master plan is to set natural resource and recreational priorities for future park improvements.

They have a project webpage and online survey (3 minutes, confidential)

Thank you in advance for your assistance in working on improving Washington County Parks and the quality of life in the county.

Spokes & Folks: The Evolution of Bikes & Trails in Washington County exhibition has now opened at the Washington County Stillwater Historic Courthouse at 101 W Pine St Stillwater. It is open through Dec 2019.

Sections include: Wheels of Time, highlighting historic bikes; Pathway Pioneers highlighting local innovators of the turn of the century; Parks, Paths and People featuring biking trails in the county, Bikes and Bloomers section examining the role that bicycles played in changing social patterns for women; and the celebration of the new St. Croix Crossing bike and pedestrian bridge that opens summer 2019.

More details at: https://www.co.washington.mn.us/2453/Exhibits