Laura Kling, our Community Organizer, is excited to start riding the new protected bike lanes on Plymouth and 8th Avenues in North and Northeast Minneapolis! I'll let them explain why:
Picture by Lindsey Wallace
Tyler: Hey Laura, thanks for sitting down with me.
Laura: Well, we do sit across from each other in the office, so I didn't even have to move.
T: Uh... thank you anyway, I guess. So, why are you so excited about the new protected bike lanes on Plymouth and 8th Avenue?
L: Because they do a great job connecting North and Northeast Minneapolis. There's so many barriers between those two parts of the city, like the Mississippi River, I-94, and a lack of high frequency transit routes. Add to that the fact that there's only three ways to cross those barriers (Plymouth, Broadway, and Lowry) and they're all at least a mile apart on the North Minneapolis side. To me, it felt like the only safe and convenient way to get between those two areas was with a car. Before the new bikeways were put in, that is.
T: Will you be using these bike lanes a lot?
L: Yeah, for sure! As a Community Organizer, I get to bike all over the city and talk to people about bikeways. These lanes will make getting to North and Northeast Minneapolis so much safer and easier for me!
T: Why do these lanes only go as far west as Lyndale? Some say the lanes should reach all the way to the bike lanes on Fremont and Emerson. Why don't they?
L: Well, the section of Plymouth from Lyndale west is gonna be reconstructed in the next few years, so the protected bike lanes will get extended to Fremont and Emerson very soon, just like the protected bikeways plan says. Also, I just want to point out that these protected bikeways already connect to a lot of bike routes: Washington Ave, 2nd St, West River Road, Marshall, and 5th St. Having a strong east-west route to connect all those north-south routes is really exciting and important!
T: Anything else you want to say about the protected bike lanes?
L: A lot of people did a lot of work to make this bikeway happen, including our amazing volunteers and city council member Jacob Frey. Thank you all for making these incredible lanes possible!
T: Yes, thank you everyone! And thank you, Laura, again, for talking to me!
L: You're welcome!
Want to learn more about the new bikeways being installed this year? Check out our list of 2015 protected bike lanes.
Do you want to tell us what bikeway are YOU most excited for? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter. You can also contact us directly.
And look forward to hearing more about what bikeways our staff is excited for every week.
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