Word on the Streets

Drive-Through for Bikes

The Affinity Plus Credit Union branch at 2520 University Avenue SE has several drive-through lanes for motorists, one of which now doubles as a designated bike thru lane.

I talked with Amber Shanley, the branch manager, and Ben Hering, a business development specialist, about the drive-through. As far as they know it is the first bicycle drive-through in Minnesota. It was installed June 14th and they are monitoring use so they can make improvements.

Bicyclists have always been permitted in the drive-throughs, but they wanted to improve convenience to their members -- to do what's right. They think that the new drive-through will communicate to members that cyclists are welcome, and they expect to see improved safety by the increased awareness of cyclists the drive-through should bring.

Part of their motivation was to initiate a conversation about bikers in drive-up. They started with this branch because it is close to the highest biker-volume intersection in Minnesota. With the experience gained here they'll consider designating other drive-throughs as bike-throughs.

The credit union has 27 branches throughout Minnesota and is member run. They say they recognize a "natural alliance" with cyclists.

//www.youtube.com/embed/vlSNWJgPoj0

posted by | July 14, 2014

Your Chance to Be a Part of Central Avenue Open Streets!

Open Streets cannot be stopped! First Northside Greenway, then Lyndale Avenue, and now Open Streets MPLS is rolling into Northeast on July 27th. We are just three weeks out from transforming Central Avenue NE into a safe, car-free area for people to bike, walk, and play. Come be a part of the magic and sign up to volunteer today!

How can you get involved?

Volunteers help with everything from facilitating chalk art activities at intersections to helping us keep the street clean and car free. We’ll need about 90 volunteers to sign up for this event, so help us keep the momentum of Open Streets going by volunteering for a couple hours on July 27th at Central Avenue NE! You choose the location, the time, and what you’ll do -- we give you a t-shirt, a volunteer appreciation party, and a lot of high fives. Couldn't get much better than that. Check out openstreetsmpls.com/get-involved/ for a complete listing of volunteer options and to get involved.

Can’t make it to Central Avenue Open Streets? Sign up to be a part of Franklin Avenue Open Streets on August 17th!

Want to do more?

It’s fun to volunteer with friends. Bring a team from work, a group of your friends, or your family clan to volunteer for a shift! We can coordinate times and tasks for your crew -- just contact us at [email protected] or at 612.812.0526. And help us spread the word by sharing this link!

Thanks so much to all our volunteers. To learn more, visit openstreetsmpls.com or contact Beth Wagner at [email protected].

See you at Open Streets Minneapolis!

posted by | July 09, 2014

SWLRT Agreement and Biking

Today (July 8), the City and Metropolitan Council announced a tentative agreement that would allow the Southwest Light Rail corridor to move forward. A public hearing is scheduled for tonight and the full City Council will weigh in on the issue soon.

So, what does the deal mean for people who bicycle and care about bicycling? Overall, it seems like a good compromise and we hope it can move forward.

Details:

1. The Southwest LRT will provide a very valuable connection between Minneapolis and SW suburbs. The Bicycle Coalition recognizes the importance of a robust regional transit system and is supportive of the Southwest line. Transit supports people who bike and bicycling supports transit.

2. The Kenilworth Trail would be maintained (rebuilt after construction) with the area rebuilt to a "park-like level of amenity" with collaborative design of local stakeholders. That would be done by retaining the south segment of shallow tunnel in an area where it is too tight to put light rail and freight rail together (let alone the trail as well). The north shallow tunnel portion is eliminated in this agreement, but the area is wider there and a trail can be retained next to light rail and freight rail tracks.

The only lingering concern for those worried about losing the bike/walk trail is that the south tunnel is pending Federal approval and environmental review. Staff from all stakeholders say they think Federal approval (and the funding that comes with it) will happen with the proposal including the shallow tunnel. It is not clear what would happen under this agreement if the Feds do not approve the tunnel or environmental review showed a yet-to-be-seen concern. That's a question I hope will be answered in the coming weeks.

3. Recognizing that there are no park-and-ride lots at Minneapolis stations, the package includes a number of pedestrian and bicycle improvements to access stations. The two biggest standouts on the bicycle side are upgrading the bike lane on 7th Street between 2nd Avenue and Plymouth Ave N to a protected bikeway and eliminating a trail gap on Van White Blvd.