Rochester City Council Takes Up Proposed Center Street Bike Lane Removal

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester City Council took up a measure that would’ve scraped bike lanes along a six block-stretch in the downtown area Monday night. 

Get our free mobile app

Council Member Shaun Palmer brought the "Council Initiated Action" forward. It directed city staff to prioritize and use city resources to look into whether the bike lanes that have been installed on Center Street in the downtown business district should be removed. 

During Monday’s meeting, Palmer said his proposal was nothing against bikes, “The number one issue on this is to listen to our downtown businesses and to support our downtown businesses who need more parking downtown,” Palmer said. 

The proposal included information presented at a meeting of the Rochester-Olmsted Council of Governments (ROCOG)  last month concerning work/mode of transportation from 2015-2021. It found there had been a decrease in bicycle use, while walking increased, with biking listed as the mode of transportation for fewer than 1% of the commuters.

Palmer's request for the City Council's consideration also noted that from 2010-2021 the percentage of commuters walking to their jobs increased from 3% to 5%, driving alone decreased from 77% to 65%, while working from home grew from 6% to 13%. The information provided indicates biking was still listed at less than 1%.

The measure failed on a 5-2 vote. Council members against the proposal argued it went against the city’s policy and previous actions. 

Council member Patrick Keane was one of the five who voted against the proposal, taking issue with the statistics driving the measure, “The way we’re using this, even though they’re true numbers, they’re statistically invalid the way we are trying to use them,” Keane said.  

Councilmembers indicated interest in making changes to Center St. in the downtown area before rejecting the proposal.