As Our Streets Minneapolis celebrates our 10th anniversary, we're taking a look back at some of the volunteers and groups that helped us get where we are today. As a community driven organization, we depend on local folks lending their skills and time to our movement.  

Colin Harris was a founding member of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, now Our Streets Minneapolis. In those early days Colin took the lead on a very special advocacy and outreach initiative: Open Streets Minneapolis. While today Open Streets Minneapolis is a multi-event series each summer, it didn't start that way. Working closely with other dedicated volunteers, Colin organized planning meetings, signature drives, and more to convince the City to let the Bike Coalition host the very first Open Streets Minneapolis event in 2011. 

Join us as we thank Colin for building our movement and paving the way for our future. Check out the interview below to learn more about Colin's motivation for doing this work, and his vision for our city.

The Downtown Bikeways Work Group came together in January for their first meeting of the year and had a packed agenda. We kicked off the meeting by talking about fun things we did over the holidays. Group members are energized after the break and excited to get back into advocacy.

There’s a lot happening in the City that we’re engaging in. Folks talked about advocacy efforts including influencing Hennepin County transportation decision-making at the Franklin Avenue Open House, and the Lyndale Avenue S Community Forum organized by Commissioner Marion Greene.

As Our Streets Minneapolis celebrates our 10th anniversary, we're taking a look back at some of the volunteers and groups that helped us get where we are today. As a community driven organization, we depend on local folks lending their skills and time to our movement.  

Grant Boelter started volunteering with our organization in 2011 when it was called the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition and went on to serve on our Board of Directors from 2013 to 2018. Grant's work with Our Streets Minneapolis includes advocating for protected bike lanes on streets like Washington Avenue downtown, and lending his expertise to our fundraising and communications work. 

As Our Streets Minneapolis celebrates our 10th anniversary, we're taking a look back at some of the volunteers and groups that helped us get where we are today. As a community driven organization, we depend on local folks lending their skills and time to our movement.  

Lesley Schack became a core volunteer with our organization when it was just a group of passionate folks without so much as a name. Lesley's work with Our Streets Minneapolis includes advocating for better bike lanes on streets like 1st Avenue, and laying hard-won foundations for Open Streets Minneapolis.

As Our Streets Minneapolis celebrates our 10th anniversary, we’re taking a look back at some of the volunteers and groups that helped us get where we are today. As a community driven organization, we depend on local folks lending their skills and time to our movement. 

LaTrisha Vetaw joined the Board of Directors of what was then the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition in 2015, and went on to serve as the Board Chair in 2016 and 2017. LaTrisha played a critical role in the organization’s expansion to include walking and rolling in our core mission. She currently serves as an At Large Commissioner for the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.

As Our Streets Minneapolis celebrates our 10th anniversary, we're taking a look back at some of the volunteers and groups that helped us get where we are today. As a community driven organization, we depend on local folks lending their skills and time to our movement. 

Another summer of Open Streets Minneapolis festivities has come and gone, and during all the fun, the Downtown Bikeways Work Group collected some valuable data about people’s bike lane preferences. We set up a poster with images of the different types of bike lanes you can find in Minneapolis, and asked Open Streets Minneapolis attendees to place a sticker next to the bike infrastructure on which they feel most comfortable riding. Over the course of the summer, we received a whopping 1,742 responses to this question, and I’m here to report the final tallies. 

The Downtown Bikeways crew volunteered in a couple of different ways on Twin Cities Bike to Work Day on May 17th. One of our members led a Bike to Work ride with Council Member Palmisano from Ward 13 in South Minneapolis. Several other members staffed Bike to Work Day “pit stops” along the Downtown-Whittier corridor during the morning and evening commute. Everybody reported having a lot of fun! At the last Downtown Bikeways work group meeting, we all shared our insights from the event.

The Downtown Bikeways work group has been talking to people that live, work, go to school, eat, or recreate along the corridor that connects downtown with Loring Heights, Stevens Square, Whittier, and neighborhoods to the south.

One person that we spoke with is Joelle B., who teaches at MPS’ Emerson Spanish Immersion School. Emerson is located along the Downtown-Whittier corridor at 15th Street and LaSalle Ave S.

If you would like to share your support for a safe, protected bikeway that will connect downtown with Loring Heights, Stevens Square, Whittier, and neighborhoods to the south, please fill out this digital postcard. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Downtown Bikeways work group has been talking to people that live, work, go to school, eat, or recreate along the corridor that connects downtown with Loring Heights, Stevens Square, Whittier, and neighborhoods to the south.

One person that we spoke with is Mina Leierwood, who teaches at MPS’ Emerson Spanish Immersion School. Emerson is located along the Downtown-Whittier corridor at 15th Street and LaSalle Ave S. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

If you would like to share your support for a safe, protected bikeway that will connect downtown with Loring Heights, Stevens Square, Whittier, and neighborhoods to the south, please fill out this digital postcard.