City Council approves best-ever bike/walk budget
Late on December 10th, the City Council adopted the 2015 budget. It includes unprecedented support for biking and walking--thanks to tremendous elected official leaders and strong community support.
A few highlights:
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$750,000 for protected bikeways.This will build 3-6 miles of protected bike lanes next year and get the City rolling toward the important goal of 30 new miles by 2020. A network of protected bike lanes will help connect our amazing trail system with downtown, business districts, and neighborhoods allowing many more people to be safe and comfortable biking for all kinds of activities. We are happy the budget also includes funding in 2016 as well. -
City support for up to 8 Open Streets events in 2015. -
A restructuring of the Public Works department, which has the potential to really revolutionize how the City does street projects for the better. We think this change will yield big cost savings, allow the city to attract additional outside resources for projects, better engage the public about important street decisions, and yield improved results for projects. -
$350,000 for dedicated ongoing funding for walking and biking safety projects. These funds allow Public Works to implement walking and biking safety improvements proactively and as part of projects and are critical for the City reducing the average of about 450 people who are injured and 3.5 people who are killed each year walking or biking in our city. Those improvements range from partnerships with Hennepin County on projects like the 44th Ave N and Osseo Road intersection to intersection safety improvements along 15th Ave SE after Audrey Hull was killed to proactive improvements to intersections with high crash rates. -
$391,000 for improved bikeway and sidewalk snow removal. This will be targeted to protected bikeways and clearing sidewalk corners near bus routes. -
The Hiawatha Trail connection from Midtown Greenway to 32nd Street. -
The 26th Ave N Greenway as part of that street reconstruction. -
Big walking/biking improvements as part of Hennepin-Lyndale reconstruction. -
Protected bike lanes on 26th/28th Street as party of that repaving.
We'd like to thank Mayor Betsy Hodges, who was the architect of this great bike/walk budget. Big thanks also to Council Member Lisa Bender, who was a strong champion throughout and authored a last-minute addition to continue Open Streets support, Council Member Kevin Reich, who has made a lot of this possible through his leadership on the Transportation and Public Works Committee, and Council Members Gordon, Glidden, Cano, Andrew Johnson, who were always there championing things throughout. The entire City Council was involved and supportive and make this possible.
We'll see more of this in 2015 (!):
Following Up on Jessica' Ghost Bike
On July 5th, 2013 Jessica Hanson was riding her bike and was hit by a car. She passed away.
I’ve struggled to write a follow up story about the experience of coordinating a group of people to care for Jessica’s ghost bike, but it’s time to revisit; the bike was removed this spring and jury selection for her trial began today.
For me it began sixty days after the crash, when I pedaled by the memorial on 28th and Pleasant. It was in need of some love, and I put out a call and found a group of strangers to care for it. We painted the bike, planted flowers, and posted signs asking for continued support in keep the site cared for.
Michelle, a Wells Fargo employee who drove by the bike on her route to work, was the first person to pull over and respond to the sign. Shortly thereafter, I posted the blog, and within a week there was coverage for the next 13 months — through the end of 2014.
We didn’t put up a new bike after we saw that it was gone in May. I had some tense interactions with a homeowner concerned that the bike made it difficult to rent out her home. I had wished the homeowner could tell prospective tenants that the bike was a community response that brought people together. It was actually a good thing because it demonstrated a strong neighborhood. The activity around it showed that people care about what happens here — people want to live here! But above all, she could tell them about Jessica, a person I was learning more about over the months through email interactions from her family and friends — people who care for her deeply and appeared to appreciate these small efforts.
We all know this bike wasn’t going to bring Jessica back, but for a time did some amazing things, and I think there are still things to celebrate, even without the bike:
Changes are coming to the dangerous street near where she died. It’s been well documented that 28th street is dangerous for walkers and bicyclists, and it’s a racetrack for cars. It was on the city’s planning calendar for a repaving job, but due to public safety concerns, Minneapolis is looking at making the street safer, including pedestrian bump-outs and perhaps turning it into a two-way street. This summer I reviewed preliminary designs at a public meeting, and shared my opinion on how to make these streets better.
Jessica’s story spread. A reporter from the Star Tribune read the blog post and wrote a piece that raised the visibility of Jessica (and ghost bikes in general) in February.
Strangers will do amazing things. People I'd never met before responded to the posting, and took time to pause and care and get on board with this. Michelle, Erik, Mike, Jeff, Gabe, Ward, Julie, Rich, Chase, and Rena — thank you.
Pushing through my own doubts. Part of my reticence in writing again on this topic was the interactions with the homeowner. It’s true, none of us knew Jessica. But I’d like to say that it’s possible to care about a person (and a community) without having any familial or financial interest in the matter. And whenever you raise up the name of someone who has passed away you are doing the right thing.
The people who volunteered to care for this memorial were community members, bike advocates, neighbors, and concerned and caring citizens. Jessica was a woman whose life had a great value, and today she is still helping build a stronger community and safer streets.
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