Few questions about things in Richfield (Minneapolis, Bloomington: rental, transfer to, safe area)

[Radical_Car]

I'm moving from St. Cloud to Richfield on Sunday and am very excited.

I'll be living on Lyndale Ave S like 2 or 3 blocks off of 494 and right next to Lincoln field pretty much, where would you suggest are the best walking and biking trails that are open year round even in the winter? Are trails usually open year round? I've heard good things about the Wood Lake Nature Center but know pretty much nothing about it.

I've heard Richfield lacks sidewalks in some parts, is it a city that's easy to walk in and bike? I want walking and biking to be my main transportation. I don't have a car but I'll be living with my cousin who does, so we'll only have 1 car for 2 people until I'm able to buy one. Would you say it's easy to live without a car and rely on walking, biking, and riding the metro buses? I'll have no problem obtaining a car in the near future but would love to keep my use of it at a minimum.

And how long would you say it takes to get to downtown Minneapolis riding the metro bus? And about how long by biking? Are there ample bike lanes on the roads in Richfield to get to Minneapolis?

[xandrex]

I don't know a whole lot about Richfield, but I thought I'd try to help answer on the transit question.

The nice thing about you being on Lyndale is that you sort of have a straight shot all the way up to downtown. I wasn't able to find any express buses from your area (though I'm fairly certain some do - just where they start, I'm not sure). Otherwise, you could catch the number 4 bus probably nearly straight outside your door to get downtown. It's about a 40-minute ride, unfortunately (and on many days, that might be a bit on low end).

Where you are is about 8.5 miles from downtown, so in good weather, you could probably bike in about as much time if you go at a decent clip. I'm not sure how bike-friendly Lyndale is in Richfield, but I know a lot of people who bike up Lyndale in Minneapolis every day.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

I'm moving from St. Cloud to Richfield on Sunday and am very excited.

I'll be living on Lyndale Ave S like 2 or 3 blocks off of 494 and right next to Lincoln field pretty much, where would you suggest are the best walking and biking trails that are open year round even in the winter? Are trails usually open year round? I've heard good things about the Wood Lake Nature Center but know pretty much nothing about it.

I've heard Richfield lacks sidewalks in some parts, is it a city that's easy to walk in and bike? I want walking and biking to be my main transportation. I don't have a car but I'll be living with my cousin who does, so we'll only have 1 car for 2 people until I'm able to buy one. Would you say it's easy to live without a car and rely on walking, biking, and riding the metro buses? I'll have no problem obtaining a car in the near future but would love to keep my use of it at a minimum.

And how long would you say it takes to get to downtown Minneapolis riding the metro bus? And about how long by biking? Are there ample bike lanes on the roads in Richfield to get to Minneapolis?

For the most part that area of Richfield is good for walking. The busy streets all have sidewalks, and for the most part the scale/speed of the major intersections isn't so huge that it makes crossing them dangerous or scary. I spend a fair amount of time walking in Richfield, and don't feel nervous about it (nearby parts of Bloomington make me far more nervous). Biking should not be an issue; not sure about dedicated bike lanes, but there are lots of bikers in Richfield. Also for what it's worth, I think there are some prominent local bikes activists who live in Richfield, so you'll be in good company (and Penn Cycle's first store opened there -- 68th and Penn). Once you get into Minneapolis itself, the Bryant Avenue Bike Boulevard starts up at 58th Street (Bryant runs two blocks parallel to Lyndale). I think you should be able to easily get around by bike. And also remember that buses in the Twin Cities have bike racks, so you can do some trips partially by bike, partly by foot. People bike year-round.

As Xandrex notes, the 4 bus will pick up right by your door. Just be sure (when returning to Richfield from Minneapolis) to take the 4F bus -- there are different letter 4s, and the letter refers to the variations in route. Only the 4F on the southbound route heads straight down Lyndale (the others branch off and go to Southtown via Penn). I mostly take the 4 bus or else am closer to 66th while in Lyndale, but you can also check out the Nicollet or other nearby bus options. I think Richfield has better bus options than most local suburbs (and better bus service than some parts of Minneapolis), and with a little planning you should be able to live without a car without problems. There are also express buses that run to downtown, although some of those only run at rush hour.

Wood Lake is wonderful, but be warned that it's not the bike trail kind of lake. It's a nature center, with a small lake/marsh in the middle, and trails surrounding it (and a boardwalk over the water). They also have cross-country skiing in the winter; they rent the skis there, otherwise if you become a member I believe you can get unlimited free ski rental as part of your membership.

You'll also be near Augsburg Park, which in addition to the fields and park area, has a nice (although small) library; they should have bus schedules for all the local routes available there, as well as other community things like local papers, the parks department event listings, that sort of thing.

Good luck with your move -- I really like Richfield, and hope that you'll like it, too.

[Radical_Car]

Wow! Thank you very much both of you! this was really helpful

[Oildog]

Lots of sidewalks in Richfield, easily to get around w public transit as well. The commute downtown is tough for me to say, traffic is heavier than 20 years ago when I was there, it took 20 minutes then.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by Oildog

Lots of sidewalks in Richfield, easily to get around w public transit as well. The commute downtown is tough for me to say, traffic is heavier than 20 years ago when I was there, it took 20 minutes then.

There's definitely a lot more traffic, but on the plus side, they just finished up (finally!) the much-needed Crosstown project, which has helped counteract all the additional cars.

Since Radical_Car will be on the bus (at least part of the time), he'll probably also want to look into the express bus routes; they get to speed along in special lanes on 35W, so the commute should still be pretty fast, even at rush hour.

[gweilo845]

There isn't an express bus that goes directly by that area of Lyndale. You would either have to walk/bike to Nicollet and take the 554 or take a 4 to 66th St and transfer to a 558.

An express bus will be about a 25 minute ride downtown while the regular routes are about 45. Besides the 4, you can also catch the 18 on Nicollet, which runs more often than the 4, especially on Sundays, when the 4 only runs once per hour.

You should be safe walking or biking. I usually stay off the main roads like Lyndale when I'm biking, though. The rotaries/roundabouts in Richfield are always a PITA to cross on foot, because drivers never yield like they're supposed to, but I don't think there's any in that area.

One suggestion I would have for walking/biking is to take the 4 to Minnnehaha Creek Trail (52nd St). From there, you can take the trail to Lake Harriet/Calhoun/Lake of the Isles or Lake Nokomis. A lot more scenic than Richfield and you won't have to worry about traffic.

[yoyoma02]

I went to high school in Richfield and had a lot of friends in the area growing up. It's a pretty safe area. Wood Lake Nature Trail was awesome, and we used to run around there for high school track practice. You'll be in a good spot too... 494 is close to 35W and it'll be a quick 20 min trek to downtown. You'll also be within a few miles of Southdale Mall, Best Buy, and Target, so you won't need to commute much.

[uptown_urbanist]

Another public transportation thought: you won't be that far from the Bloomington Transit Center (on the other side of 494), so if you're trying to commute downtown you should play around with Metro Transit's ride finder to see what it says; could be that it's fastest to walk/bike/take the bus over there, and from there hop on an express to downtown. I've only ever taken the 4 from there, but assume that since it's a "center" (makes it sound grander than it is, but it IS a transit hub of sorts) there are presumably express buses to downtown, plus maybe other places, too. I think the BEE line (which serves Bloomington and Edina, and maybe some other places) picks up there, and would bring you through Southtown and over to Edina, and probably to MOA in the other direction. In any case, you'll be near a lot of transit options, so give it a little time and you'll know all the best routes, whether bus, bike, walking, or by car.