Bikeway Signing & Striping

---

The City of Saint Paul wanted to create safer conditions for bicyclists along four segments of busy roadway — Arlington, Marshall, and Summit Avenues and East Como Boulevard. The project goals included re-striping, re-signing, and adding and adjusting signs related to the bikeways to meet current MnMUTCD design standards.

Isthmus looked at each of the four segments as unique corridors to help ensure the design plans achieved the key project goals for the City, while also identifying and addressing the independent needs of each community.

The Arlington Ave. segment ran from Wheelock Pkwy. to Rice St. and Jackson St. to the Gateway Bike Trail east of I-35E. The roadway width was reallocated to accommodate new bike lanes and bikeway signing and striping transformed the corridor that previously had no bike lanes. As part of the design, the roadway sections had to seamlessly tie into existing bike lanes at the four ends and existing on-street parking needed to be accommodated.

Although short, the East Como Blvd. segment from Wheelock Pkwy. to Nagasaki Rd., required significant work as it transitions through five different typical sections. Our team developed several layout concepts for the City to review and select a preferred alternative. A five-legged intersection required design care to assure safety and clear vehicular and cyclist directions. Specialized right-turn lane signs were designed at Wheelock Pkwy. and Maryland Ave. directing right-turn movements to specific lanes. All new striping was added to accommodate bike lanes within the existing cross section.

The Marshall Ave. segment from Western Ave. to John Ireland Blvd. was a one-way vehicular roadway with no bike lanes. The City requested the design of contraflow bike lanes allowing two-way bike traffic while limiting vehicular traffic to only westbound travel. The one-way signs were removed from the corridor and "No Left Turn" and "Except for Bicycles" signs were added to make the route MnMUTCD-compliant, providing proper direction to cyclists and motorists.

At two miles long, Summit Ave. from Mississippi River Blvd. to Lexington Pkwy. was the longest segment of this project. Primarily a two-lane divided roadway, bike lanes were re-established in each direction with a buffer between vehicular and bicycle traffic to improve cyclist safety for a total of four miles of bike lanes. Additional pavement markings were added to the roadway to increase safety where it transitioned from divided to undivided, providing both cyclists and drivers better guidance. To address a shift in the roadway alignment at the Lexington Ave. intersection, green bike lane markings were implemented to call attention to the designated bike lane.