Welcome!
This is the first issue of the Bikeway from the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition! This newsletter will be the go-to for updates on important bicycle projects happening across Minneapolis, including opportunities for you to plug in and help make Minneapolis an even better place to live, work, and play! Get up to date on ongoing and upcoming bike projects below, and get more information on the volunteer workgroups making bicycling better across our city - and how you can join them.
Thanks for all your support of our work; please don't hesitate to send me feedback and things you'd like to get more details about in future months!
Cheers,
Emily Stumpf
Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition
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Franklin/Cedar/Minnehaha - Your input is critical!
If you have ever traveled through the intersection of Franklin/Cedar/Minnehaha, you know how confusing, wide, fast, and unfriendly it feels. With the second most bicycle crashes, this is the second most dangerous intersection in Minneapolis.
Hennepin County will be paving Franklin from 21st to 16th, and Cedar is being repaved down to 22nd. This is an opportunity to improve one of the most dangerous intersections in the City. There is no better time to give your input on this plan. Attend the coffee hour with the County the Bicycle Coalition is hosting, or one of the other open houses hosted by the county, and tell them how you feel about this intersection. Get more details on the plan on our blog.
Franklin/Cedar/Minnehaha Redesign Coffee Hour
Wednesday, January 27th 5:00 - 6:30pm
Precision Grind, 2223 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis
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3rd Avenue Approval Slowed
The City is planning to re-make 3rd Avenue downtown this year as a green, inviting street with a protected bikeway. It's an exciting plan that could create one of the premier downtown protected bikeways in the country and a selling point for downtown and the street. Unfortunately it has been slowed because of some opposition.
While the 2016 City budget does include funding for the project, the plan (which was to be approved in December 2015) has been delayed due to concerns raised by local building managers. We very much hope that the 3rd proposal will not be altered significantly, although there are some who are trying to delay it from 2016, eliminate the project completely, or significantly alter it at the expense of greening and/or biking. The most impactful thing you can due right now is contact your Council Member to let them know why a safer, greener 3rd Avenue matters to you!
Read more on our blog about the project delay and other ways you can help make this a reality.
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Skillshare!
On January 30, 2015 the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition will be holding the first skill share in a series of workshops aimed at supporting volunteers that wish to dive deeper into community and city-level advocacy.
We’ll tackle questions such as: Who's in charge of street stuff at the City? When do I contact my City Council Member vs. the Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator vs. Public Works? I made an appointment to talk to my representative, now what? And wait, what does the county have to do with this??
Advocacy Skillshare
Saturday, January 30th 10:30am - 12:30pm
Wedge Table, 2412 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis
Space is limited, please RSVP!
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 Photo by Jeremy Shaw, Creative Commons.
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Hennepin Avenue downtown engagement to start soon
The City is looking to rebuild Hennepin Avenue in the heart of downtown in 2020. They will be starting community engagement about what that will look like very soon--we'll keep you updated on ways you can participate. Discussions will certainly include the potential for a protected bikeway (which would be coupled with taking out the one on 1st Avenue). We are also interested in how we can support a truly great Hennepin. See more details of early discussions in this post from volunteer Janne: Let's Make Hennepin Lovable.
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Help set our 2016 Advocacy Priorities!
If you attended our member and volunteer appreciation party earlier in the fall, you might have participated in an activity ranking a few advocacy priorities. Reality dictates that we are limited by time, resources, and eager volunteers, so we have to prioritize our work to be most effective. Please help us prioritize our work! Take this survey, it has two questions and will take you three minutes to complete.
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Adam Coppola Photography
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Responses to "Unsolicited Advice for Vision Zero"
Equity, diversity, and inclusion in our work around bicycling is critical. The piece Unsolicited Advice for Vision Zero by Adonia Lugo is very informative for our work and worth a read. We asked local bicycle advocates to share their thoughts on the piece, and what it meant for their work and our work. Let us know what your reactions are as well! Read their perspectives on our blog!
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A North-South Minneapolis Greenway?
For the past few months a local group of community stakeholders, nonprofits, and neighborhood organizations have been discussing the possibility of creating a north-south Greenway through Minneapolis linking Downtown to the Midtown Greenway and deep into South Minneapolis. Read more about this exciting new project proposal!
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Diversity & Equity
At the January meeting, a discussion on Gentrification was facilitated. The next meeting will focus on the progressing of a Profiling, Ticketing and Data Collection research project. The next meeting will also focus on Goals that the committee wants to reach in 2016.
Next meeting:
February 5th, 4:00 - 5:30pm
Coalition office, 1428 Washington Ave S, #204
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Downtown Bikeways
The Downtown Bikeways group is focused on engagement around connecting Washington Avenue protected bikeway to the U of M, Hennepin Avenue, and 3rd Avenue.
Next meeting:
February 2nd, 6:00pm
Coalition office, 1428 Washington Ave S, #204
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UMN Bikeways
The UMN Bikeways Work Group connects with students and community members in the University of Minnesota area to work on bicycle infrastructure and advocacy. This spring, they plan to advocate for a protected bikeway in the area.
Next meeting TBD, email Emily for more information.
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