Love Your People. We are all Traffic.
A friend of mine alerted me to this video which I think has so many relevant and relatable things to say. You see what happens to a culture (specifically in Brussels, Belgium), not only on a transportation level, but as a whole in its mentality when cars are prioritized. The “Bicycle” Mayor of Copenhagen (2006-2010 ) Klaus Bondam is in this film and I found what he said spot on: “Of course you have to love your cyclists, of course you have to love your pedestrians, of course you have to love the people who use public transport because they are contributing to the well being on tons of levels in the city…We really appreciate that you come here.”
It is a crime in my viewpoint that a country that hosts one of the greatest cycling events in the world, suffers from such problems. I love my lycra, but I also like riding in normal clothes to do normal things on my bicycle. Bicycling is about more than putting on your bike shorts once a week, it is about doing something that makes sense. Bicycling takes care of you (mentally and physically), and when you are taking care of you, you are taking care of your society.
Mr. Bondam references Stockholm and how a city can change (ca. minute 15), I can say from seeing it firsthand – it’s a wonderful place to ride a bicycle.
Take a few minutes out of your day and watch this. What do you think? How can you relate?
PS ~ Want to know what it is like to experience the opposite of this? Come spend the day with us on June 10th at Open Streets, an Initiative of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition.
Hennepin County District 2 Candidate Questionnaires
Notes: Updated 6-7-12 to include an additional response and 8-12-12 for final details before primary. This is a guest post from Coalition volunteer and Hennepin County District 2 resident Jim Skoog, who coordinated collection of candidate questionnaires. Retiring Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein will be replaced this fall. Hennepin County District 2 currently includes most of north and northeast Minneapolis in addition to several nearby suburbs (see map). We encourage District 2 residents to be informed voters and arranged for candidate questionnaires to provide information on the bicycling perspectives of prospective candidates. The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition is a non-partisan non-profit organization and has made the questionnaire available to all declared candidates regardless of party.
HENNEPIN COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 2 ELECTION INFORMATION
CANDIDATES
Candidates for primary August 14, 2012:
Candidates for primary August 14, 2012:
Leslie Davis www.lesliedavisforcommissioner.org/
Steve Dehler www.stevedehler.com/
Rolf Erickson www.rolfforhennepin.com/
Linda Higgins www.higginsforhennepin.com
Tonia Johnson www.johnson4d2.com
Kathleen Murdock www.electmurdock.com/
Paula Pentel www.paulapentel.com
Roger Smithrud www.smithrud.com/
Blong Yang www.yangforcommissioner.com
Note that Jill Davis and Don Samuels have withdrawn from the race. We thank them for previously completing questionnaires.
DISTRICT MAP
Map of new Hennepin County Commissioner Districts approved April 24, 2012
DATES
August 14, 2012 Primary Election
November 6, 2012 General Election
Find where you vote here
SURVEY RESPONSES
To educate the public about Hennepin County Commissioner Candidates and bicycle-related issues, the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition facilitated a candidate survey. Questions for the survey were developed by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition. All candidates were invited to submit responses to the questionnaire.
The responses from candidates are below…
Note that we contacted, but did not receive responses from Steve Dehler, Rolf Erickson, Kathleen Murdock, and Roger Smithrud.
