This blog post is based in part on a presentation Elissa Schufman & Emily Wade gave at the City of Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting held on June 26th, 2019. 

At Our Streets Minneapolis we firmly believe traffic enforcement is not a good strategy to make streets better places to bike, walk, and roll. 

We know that this sets us apart from many local and national advocates who believe law enforcement is key to making streets spaces for everyone. Here in Minneapolis, the idea that we need more police enforcing traffic laws is popular in conversations about blocked bike lanes and the City of Minneapolis Vision Zero Action Plan. 

Given what’s going on with these conversations in our local community, we wanted to explain why we think traffic enforcement is a bad strategy in a bit more detail.

Join us this Sunday July 21st for Open Streets Lake + Minnehaha! Open Streets Minneapolis events are free events that temporarily close major thoroughfares to car traffic, opening them up for people walking, biking, rolling, and playing. Check out the Open Streets Lake + Minnehaha Facebook page or the event webpage for more details. Here are the things that I am most excited to see at Open Streets Lake + Minnehaha!

What is the Federal Reserve parking garage? 

The Federal Reserve parking garage is a proposed parking garage that, if built, will have 800 parking spaces and be five stories tall. The parking garage is planned to be built in the North Loop in downtown Minneapolis near the Mississippi River front.