Fire Wally @firewally@mspsocial.net
I like riding bikes and writing code and playing roller derby and doing nice things for people
Thank you El Jibarito food truck for this important innovation in sandwich technology
The campaign to fund an engineering study for a Greenway extension to St. Paul (convert a rail bridge to a bike/pedestrian bridge over the Mississippi River!) ends on Saturday.
If you donate to it, you can optionally make @firewally ride his bike in some sort of sick penance for your generosity and civic engagement. https://mspsocial.net/web/statuses/99954875704218266
#hack #girls #learn #to #snack Show more
Hey Mastodon pals! I’m doing a big ol’ bike ride on Saturday to raise money to extend the Midtown Greenway. I’m already at 45 miles and every $10 adds a mile. More details here: http://ryan-rides-a-bike.glitch.me
Hey @hfrazey you just made the main stage at First Ave
Running low on battery, pals. Prepare to hear a lot more from me about this project!
A strange factor in this debate is that there is no federal agency that inspects rail bridges. CP is not participating in the study, they have done nothing to prove the existing (and used!) bridge is safe
CM Cam Gordon adds that the city has land for a connecting trail over to the U of M as well
“Number 9 Bridge” that connects the 2 banks of the U of M campus was built in the same era and has been rehabbed to carry bike and pedestrian traffic
Http://youcaring.com/extendthegreenway This first crowdfunding phase is for 1 month, let’s get at it, friends!
First project is to pay for a study of this bridge. Study itself costs $7-10k Going to try to raise $45k for this and following steps, and a Minneapolis family has put up a 10k challenge grant
The railroad isn’t currently cooperating with engineers who want access to study the bridge up close. We need to motivate them
CP rail engineer wants to see the public call for action here, including what the valuable connections are on the St Paul side
The goal is to understand and minimize risk so that a public entity (likely Hennepin County) can take control of the bridge
Old Cedar bridge was in worse shape, that one got fixed and now carries pedestrians
Matt Jensen from Kinley-Horn is offering to do a study on how much it would cost to fix the CP rail bridge, a Q that has not been answered definitively by studies so far
Current bridge is over 100 years old and engineers say that it’s dangerous. Unclear if bikes could use the existing bridge for bikes, or maybe just the footings
1 train a day goes over the CP bridge, connecting to 3 main shipping clients. Legal precedent means we can’t take land via eminent domain, it has to be negotiated with the railroad
Barriers to the project: legal challenges, engineering, costs, and politics
One of the planned connections is along St Anthony right to the #MNUFC stadium
