The Bikeways for Everyone Work Group had our monthly meeting last Monday, May 20th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Bryant Square Park. Here is a brief summary of the meeting's discussions:
1. Washington Ave Project Update
As followers of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition blog are well aware, Hennepin County is currently in the planning stages of a major redesign of Washington Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, and we have been strongly advocating for a well designed cycletrack (protected bikeway) to be included in these plans. See this blog post for a recap of the public meeting, and this post for more details on our position. The survey is still open if you'd like to share your vision for Wash Ave with the county.
2. Minnehaha Ave Project Update
Minnehaha Ave is currently the second major focus of the Bikeways for Everyone campaign. We are advocating for a well designed cycletrack on Minnehaha Ave, which the county is also planning to redesign from Lake St to 46th St. While county’s current plans include only a painted bike lane, we believe that this would mean that Minnehaha Ave would remain accessible as a bike corridor only to experienced, adult cyclists. A protected bike lane would allow people of all ages and abilities to cycle safely on this street. See Janne’s great blog post for more ideas on Minnehaha.
We are working hard to educate businesses and residents along Minnehaha about the benefits of protected bike lanes, because strong community demand for protected bike lanes would cause the County to reconsider their plans. Stay tuned for more information about an upcoming community meeting.
3. Open Streets Pop Up Cycle Track Planning
Chrissy has been hard at work planning an exciting new feature at the upcoming open streets events. We will be creating a temporary, or “pop up,” cycletracks (protected bikeways) in the street which will allow everyone to see and experience what it would be like to have a cycletrack in your neighborhood (and will also clear up some confusion about what a cycletrack actually is!). We are working on the best ways to educate and engage the public at this event, such as photo booths, interactive maps, and loaner bikes for people to use to try out the cycletrack.
3. North Minneapolis Greenway
Progress on the North Minneapolis Greenway has been stalled for the past month, as the City is waiting for the results of a Blue Cross Blue Shield grant. We will know more next month about the best ways to support this great initiative, which would create a north/south corridor of bike paths and green space in North Minneapolis along Humbolt and Irving.
4. Logo and Website Updates
Grant informed us that the Bikeways for Everyone logo and website is almost ready to go! Look out for some exciting new branding of this campaign, and shoot us an email if you have any cycletrack pictures or artwork that you think belong on the website.
Those were the major topics discussed at this month's meeting.
As always, feel free to contact us if you are interested in learning more about any of our initiatives or volunteering with us! This committee meets on the third Monday of each month. Happy spring!
