Word on the Streets

Business with Best Bike Parking: Rye Deli

I promised a post on a business with exemplary bike parking, so here goes. Rye Deli, thank you. I’m a vegetarian, so I won’t be able to get much but hummus and beer, but I may come by to park my bike just ’cause your parking options are so great.

You’re probably wondering, what have they done to deserve such praise.

For starters, owner David Weinstein was positively enthusiastic about the idea of adding bike parking. He signed on to the neighborhood/city/MBC bike rack program without hesitation, adding a rack out front and another out back on the Colfax entrance. But then he took it a step further.

There’s a little nook off the parking lot, and – this was his idea – he wanted to put in more bike parking. I suggested he put up a sign letting people know it was there, as it’s totally hidden from the street.

Lovely sign, isn’t it? Easy to find, easy to lock to, plentiful.

Now, to get those businesses at 48th and Chicago on board, too.

posted by | December 08, 2011

Lowry Bridge Update--Work Must Continue

As we mentioned a couple weeks ago, significant progress has been made to make the Lowry Bridge safer for all types of bicyclists, but there is still work that needs to be done. Thank you to the dozens of people who called their county commissioners–it made a difference. After months of positive work with County officials that has greatly improved the safety of the bridge (including adding back in bike lanes), we have a disappointing update on an important detail.

posted by | December 07, 2011

Racks for Renters

It took a long time, but our effort to get bike parking installed where cyclists live (at least in Lowry Hill and Lowry Hill East a.k.a. The Wedge), has finally resulted in dozens of new places to lock up while in your vintage studio or modern two-bedroom!

And, they’re getting used. While I took the pictures a couple days ago, wandering around in the fresh snow, they are still occupied.

Kudos to Hornig Companies, who took advantage of the program at multiple buildings as well as several other apartment owners. Also thanks to the businesses who joined in – Tao Natural Foods, Rye Deli, and Lowry Hill Liquor also put in at least three a piece.

I wouldn’t expect you to remember the 18 months of history going into this program, so some quick background.

I approached two neighborhood associations (Lowry Hill and Lowry Hill East) with a proposal for a program that would rely on the City’s 50:50 cost-share program, and asked the neighborhoods to add a 25% match. Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition volunteers would canvas the neighborhoods for high-density housing that would be good locations for racks, and we’d reach out directly to those property owners/managers to market the program who would cover the last 25% of the cost. The City’s program and Dero’s location advice would ensure they were in places that will get used.

We got about 90 rack reservations by the end of 2010 — we needed to submit the list to the City that long ago, because there was a waiting list for their funds. In the spring, Dero came out and measured sites, provided estimates and drawings, and owners had to sign off. The plan was to install them first thing in the spring, but due to some City contracting details, installation happened the last couple of weeks.

There was some attrition between then and now due to some buildings being sold or put on the market, or some sites having space for fewer racks than they’d asked for, or just scaling back on their numbers, and a couple who just never confirmed.

At any rate – somewhere between 60-70 racks were installed during November in Uptown, mostly at apartment buildings. Watch for an upcoming post of the business with possibly the best bike parking in Minneapolis – Rye Deli – and why it’s so great.

posted by | December 05, 2011