Word on the Streets

Bikeways For Everyone Meeting on 4/15

Join us Monday for our monthly Bikeways for Everyone Work Group Meeting!

Bikeways for Everyone Work Group

Monday April 15, 6:30- 8:30 PM

Bryant Square Rec Center- 3101 Bryant Ave S, Minneapolis

Agenda:

We'll be giving updates and discussing our Bikeways for Everyone campaign. A major focus will also be on continuing to build support for Minnehaha and Washington Ave cycletracks. Come to learn more and get involved. It's a great way to meet others passionate about bicycling infrastructure and policy and to volunteer with the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition.

Email [email protected] if you have any questions or would like more info!

posted by | April 13, 2013

Ride the "Campaign Cycle"

Take action to support bike-friendly candidates!

The weather is heating up (or snowing!) and so is the 2013 campaign cycle. The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition is along for the ride as the campaign cycle rolls along. With Mayor Rybak not seeking re-election, this year's city elections will include the city's first open mayoral seat in two decades. In addition, Minneapolis will vote for city council, park board, and the board of estimate and taxation. All of these offices play an important role in making Minneapolis the best it can be for bicycling.

The first stop along the way is the spring/summer endorsement season. During this time labor unions (e.g. Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO), grassroots organizations (e.g. Sierra Club North Star Chapter), and political parties (e.g. DFL), endorse candidates for election. The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition is a 501(c)(3) organization and is therefore unable to endorse political candidates for office (as this would inflict on its ability to maintain its tax-emempt status). However, the Coalition is able to conduct candidate surveys and provide information to the public about bicycling issues. Coalition members, organizations, and voters can use this information to help them decide what candidates to support. Take a look at candidate's responses.

Hopefully, this information will help you decide what candidates will support your best interests when it comes to bicycling issues. The Coalition encourages you to become civically engaged: volunteer on a campaign for a candidate you like, attend precinct caucuses on April 16, and/or participate in a politically active grassroots organization of your choice. At the very least vote on November 5 and stay tuned to the MBC webpage to help you do your research (we'll continue to post responses from candidates as they come in). We're not going to tell you who to vote for, but we will tell you to get involved in the process wherever you can so our collective voices to advance bicycling in our city can be heard.

posted by | April 13, 2013

Minnehaha Avenue: What You Can Do!

Minnehaha and Avenue will be fully reconstructed from Lake Street to 46^th Street South in Summer 2014, and designs for the reconstruction are being finalized now, with key meetings and decision points in the coming days and weeks. A full reconstruction provides a rare opportunity to start with a 'blank slate' and design a street to be safe and inviting for all people for the next 30-50 years.

Proposals: Minnehaha Avenue is a Hennepin County project, and County staff has created two designs for community input. One design includes a cycle track, and the other more or less replicates the current design of the street. You can learn what Hennepin County has been working on by clicking here: Hennepin County Options for Minnehaha Avenue See page 116 for photos of Minnehaha.

The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition is supporting a cycle track--or protected bike lane--on Minnehaha because of worldwide evidence that well-designed cycle tracks attract more people to bicycle than bike lanes that are not protected. You can learn more here: Minnehaha Cycle Track Fact Sheet See below for an example of a cycletrack in Vancouver.

(Source: http://theprudentcyclist.com/2012/06/lessons-from-vancouvers-hornby-street-cycle-track/)

Decision-Makers: County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin is the most important decision-maker on this project. He represents the area on the county board, and this is a county project. Council Member Colvin Roy is a key decision-maker on this project, because roughly half of the project falls within her Ward (12), and she chairs the Transportation and Public Works committee of the City Council. Gary Schiff is also a key stakeholder, because roughly half of the project is in Ward 9, which he represents. Find your Councilmember.

What you can do: Are you interested in the redesign? Well, make your voice heard! You can contact Commissioner McLaughlin, Councilmember Sandy Colvin Roy, and Councilmember Schiff by phone or email to let them know that bicycle safety is an important part of the Minnehaha Avenue re-design plan and that it matters to you.

Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, [email protected], (612) 348-7884

Councilmember Sandy Colvin Roy,[email protected], (612) 673-2212

Councilmember Gary Schiff, [email protected], (612) 673-2209

Need some tips? If you have never contacted an elected official before, don’t be nervous. Elected officials are grateful to hear from constituents and are interested in the issues that matter to you. If you want so say something simple, you could say “please do everything you can to make sure that Minnehaha Avenue is rebuilt with cycle tracks.”

Please include a personal story of why this is important to you. You could say something along the lines of the following:

1. I do not feel comfortable biking with family on the bike lanes that are currently in place on Minnehaha Avenue. The traffic on Minnehaha is too fast, and a narrower street with a separate place for biking would be much safer for everyone.

2. I would be more likely to visit the businesses on Minnehaha if there were a cycle track, and it would make Minnehaha the obvious place to take visitors from out-of-town.

3. The cycle track would make Minnehaha a great route for getting from the Midtown

Greenway to Minnehaha Park – both of which are great places for family bike rides.

posted by | April 03, 2013