The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition took a big step into the realm of pedestrian issues at the end of November by holding their Pedestrian Work Group kick-off meeting! Here's a recap. The next meeting is Dec. 21, and all are welcome!
Nearly twenty people gathered at the central branch of the Hennepin County Library to meet each other, participate in a thought-provoking exercise on pedestrian issues and brainstorming priorities which the Coalition could begin addressing.
The Coalition is in the process of identifying what the priorities of the Pedestrian Workgroup are and in a month or so, the priorities will be finalized. The structure of the workgroup is not determined yet either. The Coalition wants to really empower volunteers to set priorities and then begin working on those priorities! Identifying these priorities matters because it guides the Coalition in deciding where to devote staff time, which elected officials to work with and developing strategies which will effectively address each priority.
As the group broke into small groups, the room became a flurry of conversation! People shared back from their small groups and there were dozens of ideas about which pedestrian-related issues the Coalition and the Pedestrian Workgroup could address. The ideas could be generally grouped into the following categories:
- Maintenance
- Infrastructure
- Policy
- Politics
- Campaigns
- Access
- Construction
- Equity
- Land Use
- Design
- Education
There were fantastic, specific ideas tied to upcoming construction projects in Minneapolis as well as large scale, policy initiatives which would impact the entire city. It was exciting to see what ideas people have been thinking of and where this could take the Workgroup!
What happens next?
The Pedestrian Work Group will be meeting again December 21 at 6pm at Minneapolis Central Library, Room N-202. Join if you are interested! We'll be further narrowing initial priorities for pedestrian advocacy work. There is a new listserv for more conversations about pedestrian advocacy issues; email [email protected] if you would like to be added to the pedestrian listserv.
