Have you heard the news? This past year, community partners have been working on the possibility of a Southside Greenway that would create a north-south connection through South Minneapolis. The Greenway would hope to feature bike boulevards, protected bikeways, partial greenways, and full greenways! This community led project has quarterly meetings and the most recent one took place last Wednesday. The Southside Greenway Exploratory Committee met on July 20th to discuss plans for upcoming community engagement events and for a tour of part of the proposed Greenway route.
The group cruised along the potential route on bikes and foot to envision the possibilities a new greenway could hold. They then voted to adopt bylaws that would formalize the mission and structure of the committee going forward. The meeting was well-attended and representative of many community groups. Members in attendance were from various community organizations and residents of neighborhoods along the proposed bicycle and pedestrian route. After the meeting, the crew left on a bike ride to head over to a local brewery. Beers were enjoyed and stories about everyone’s neighborhoods were shared.
Upcoming community engagement will take the form of a series of five block parties along the route! The block parties will provide an opportunity to survey support, present street design options, meet neighbors, and work together on a community led project. Plus, they will be a blast with food and fun-filled games!
These block parties sound awesome, when are they happening? The block parties will be held in August and September and will be a great opportunity for neighbors to come together, learn more or get involved with the Southside Greenway, enjoy a meal, and play games. The parties will be a space to ask questions, share ideas, and start a conversation on the amazing potential of each block to be a part of a multimodal and auto-reduced Greenway! We are looking for several residents along the route who would be interested in being block party hosts. We still need 3 more hosts! The Committee is able to support with materials and resources, but the hosts are needed to send an invite and talk to their neighbors. If interested in organically creating a space for community voices, authentic engagement, and building relationships please contact Laura Kling ([email protected]) as soon as possible!
We look forward to partnering with many community members as this process moves forward- hopefully you! For more information on the Southside Greenway and the work that has been done thus far, check out this project page with all the info including the full report.
