Advocacy Posts

We began 2020 planning the 10th Open Streets Minneapolis season and gearing up to launch a new advocacy campaign featuring many in-person community meetings. 

In early March when COVID-19 descended on our city, we shifted to remote offices and worked with our local partners to identify how we could adjust our programs and advocacy work.

In May when Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, we recommitted to uprooting white supremacy in our work, supporting our staff, and advocating for better streets without relying on policing. 

As our city fights a pandemic, confronts a long history of racism, and combats the climate crisis, we continue to build the equitable, sustainable transportation system our communities need now and in the future.

In March 2019, we wrote a blog post laying out our priorities for the draft Transportation Action Plan (TAP). This plan will guide transportation policy in the city for the next ten years. Earlier this month, Minneapolis City Council voted to adopt the final version of the plan. You can find the final version of the Transportation Action Plan online now. 

Let’s take a look at the final version of TAP, and see how well our priorities are represented in it.

In September we hosted a kick-off event for our newest advocacy campaign: County Streets for People! We’re so grateful to everyone who attended the kick-off event, including our speakers Anthony Taylor Theba, Felicia Perry, Maria Cristina Tavera, Robert Lilligren, Xavier Tavera, and Will Lumpkins. 

Through County Streets for People we are organizing local communities to co-create a vision for better County-owned streets in Minneapolis. We’re focusing on streets owned & operated by Hennepin County because these are some of the worst streets in our city.

Over the past year we’ve joined together with local residents and groups like Safe Streets Save Lives to call for change on Lyndale Ave S. Today we are renewing this call & we urge you to join us.

On Wednesday, July 22nd the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) approved a bold resolution calling to remove traffic enforcement from the City of Minneapolis' traffic safety strategies. This resolution is the BAC's second on enforcement in the past year and comes as the City works to re-imagine the role of policing in community safety following Minneapolis police killing George Floyd. The full text of the resolution is available below. 

On Wednesday, July 22nd the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) approved a bold resolution calling to remove traffic enforcement from the City of Minneapolis' traffic safety strategies. This resolution is the BAC's second on enforcement in the past year and comes as the City works to re-imagine the role of policing in community safety following Minneapolis police killing George Floyd. The full text of the resolution is available below. 

Yesterday a veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. In its place, they committed to creating a new public safety system. At Our Streets Minneapolis we are excited to see our local government take steps toward de-policing our city. We are especially grateful to organizers with Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and MPD 150, and all of the protesters and activists who brought us to this point in Minneapolis. 

We know there is a lot of work ahead of us to make a police-free Minneapolis a reality.

On June 7th, a veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. In its place, they committed to creating a new public safety system. At Our Streets Minneapolis we are excited to see our local government take steps toward de-policing our city. We are especially grateful to organizers with Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and MPD 150, and all of the protesters and activists who brought us to this point in Minneapolis. 

We know there is a lot of work ahead of us to make a police-free Minneapolis a reality. You can help by contacting city leaders today.

George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis Police Department  on May 25th. Since then, Black community members and others risked their bodies in protest, sparking a movement that is now international. Their work and their sacrifice is resulting in direct change. With pressure from local activists, the University of Minnesota decided to divest from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), as did the Minneapolis Park Board and Minneapolis Public Schools.

George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis Police Department  on May 25th. Since then, Black community members and others risked their bodies in protest, sparking a movement that is now international. Their work and their sacrifice is resulting in direct change. With pressure from local activists, the University of Minnesota decided to divest from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), as did the Minneapolis Park Board and Minneapolis Public Schools.