When Gary Todd and members of the Save Our Streets coalition demanded that the city of St. Paul file a lengthy environmental review of a planned five-mile bikeway, St. Paul officials said there was no reason to. Not only was construction not imminent, there was no funding in hand. The proposal was mostly a concept, and not a “project.”

In October, the S.O.S. coalition officially appealed that decision to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, one of two legal fights facing the protected curb-level bike trail along historic Summit Avenue. On Jan. 5, attorneys with the Minneapolis firm of Dorsey and Whitney filed a 43-page legal brief and addendum to the appeal.

It calls the city’s decision not to complete an Environmental Assessment Worksheet a “reversible error,” and it asserts that the city failed to acknowledge that two National Historic Districts along Summit Avenue protect the “historic streetscape, including the scale of its boulevards and medians, its granite curbs, and its historic streetlights.”

In a Nov. 7 legal response filed with the Court of Appeals, an attorney for the city reiterated the city’s assertion that an EAW would be premature at best.

“The city maintains that the negative declaration was appropriate because the city does not have a source of funding for this reconstruction,” reads the city’s legal filing.

“There is not a start date, or a timeline for the reconstruction of Summit Avenue,” it continues. “Relator is asking the (responsible government unit) to spend money on an environmental review process before it is even certain if or when the reconstruction will occur. The city has a limited source of funds and has used its discretion to not expend funds on an inchoate road redevelopment plan.”

Bikeway opponents have expressed concern about the loss of “most of the surrounding tree canopy,” as well as some parking along the avenue if a raised regional bike trail is installed from Mississippi River Boulevard toward downtown St. Paul.

Officials with St. Paul Public Works, St. Paul Planning and Economic Development and St. Paul Parks and Recreation have called estimates about tree loss exaggerated and said an all-ages trail protected by curb, parking and other elements would offer better links to existing trail corridors. The St. Paul City Council approved the bikeway last May 6-1.

Separately from the legal appeal, Summit Avenue resident Robert Cattanach filed an injunction against the city last year demanding texts, emails and planning documents related to the bike trail. That case remains open in Ramsey County District Court.

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