Updates

Yard sign news

Streets are for: walking to school, building resiliency, helping a stranger, people-watching + windowshopping, making new friends, biking to work, raising a family, celebrating + organizing, skating in springtime, sharing a meal, blue skies + blizzards, catching a bus, falling in love, scooting to errands, picking up dinner, meeting with friends, playdates + ice cream, aging in place, welcoming everyone, strutting your stuff, being independent, managing stormwater, growing a garden, connecting community, people.

Hennepin for People, Streets are for People, 18 x 24 yard signs are available now! Request a yard sign HERE.

Window sign (19 x 13) version also available, email us at [email protected] if you’d like one.

Doorknock with Our Streets Minneapolis

Join Our Streets Minneapolis as we get Hennepin across the finish line. We’re immensely grateful for their support throughout the redesign process. From now until April, sign up to support a better Hennepin. They’ve already doorknocked over 400 doors so far!

They’ll provide everything you need! Learn more HERE.

Supporter testimonials

The Public Works recommended layout for Hennepin Avenue has broad support from residents, whether they live along Hennepin itself or come to visit. Thousands of your comments have been sent to the city. During the course of our volunteer canvassing directly on the Hennepin Avenue project area (Lake Street to Douglas Avenue) we collected over 600+ comments in person, along with video interviews.

Would you like to be featured with the rest of our supporters? Send us a pic, name, ward, neighborhood (if you’re comfortable), your preferred pronouns, and a brief statement why you support the Hennepin redesign (about 3 sentences). Email to [email protected]

Unsafe streets are bad for business

Hennepin Avenue’s unsafe design has not been good for business over the years. Let’s take a look back.

Early Sunday morning, March 13, 2005 a van crashed into the Sudz Salon at 2400 Hennepin. The crash caused the building to partially collapse. Although the driver of the van was hospitalized, the building was vacant and there were no other injuries. Paper Source, a neighboring business, has been forced to close temporarily. Sudz owner Howard Kleyman has reopened in a temporary location at 1300 Lagoon Avenue. Photo by Fred Rosenberg.
Full story from the March 14, 2005 Star Tribune: A van crashed into a hair salon at 24th St and Hennepin Ave S in Minneapolis on Sunday morning, leaving a gaping hole in the storefront and causing the second floor to partly collapse.

Creating frequent traffic hazards and crashes isn’t good for business. Being among the city’s most dangerous streets (classified as “high injury”), that’s not good for business either.

Comment deadline today!

Minneapolis' proposed Hennepin Avenue redesign reflects Public Works' commitment to policies that put our community, city, and climate first. Comment now to prioritize accessibility, vibrant businesses, equity, and sustainability. Help make this plan our reality! List on improvements include: Dedicated 24/7 bus lanes, protected bike lanes, pedestrian improvements, and safer with left turn lanes! Comments due January 28th.

Today is the final day to comment on the recommended layout for Hennepin Avenue. Comment Now!

What comes next after comments close?
The next step in the Hennepin Avenue reconstruction process is consideration and a vote before the City Council. Now is a good time time to begin reaching out to your Council Member and Mayor Frey. Let them know why you support the recommended layout for Hennepin Avenue. Even just a sentence or two is fine!

Bloor Street Toronto

With addition of protected bike lanes safety and spending increased.
Vacancy rates have held stable on Bloor Street at 7% over time before and after the bike lanes, and actually went down from 10% to 7% on a nearby street (Danforth) where another bike lane was added

Throughout the Hennepin Avenue reconstruction process we’ve conducted additional research (and talked to other organizations) about parallel street redesigns, particularly looking to peer examples in cold climates. We recently had the pleasure of chatting with David Simor, The Director for the Toronto Centre for Active Transportation. David shared his experience with the reconstruction of Bloor Street in Toronto, a major commercial corridor that went through a similar transformation to that being proposed on Hennepin Ave S. That project also had multiple safety, satisfaction, and economic studies associated with it. David has also graciously offered to speak with any Minneapolis staff or elected officials who have further questions about that project or the studies associated with it. We connected him to Mayor Frey, the Hennepin Project Team, and Public Works and Infrastructure Committee Chair Andrew Johnson. We hope they take him up on his offer.

To really dig in on what we learned check this out! Complete with infographics, charts, and everything.   

Replacing curbside car storage with bike lanes on Bloor Street in Toronto (snowy winters):
+Increased customer count, frequency, and spending
+Did not lead to higher vacancies
+Improved safety (the most important part)

Businesses can’t afford not to have bike lanes is our takeaway. Hennepin Avenue features 24/7 bus only lanes, two-way sidewalk level bikeway, narrow crossing distances for pedestrians plus wider sidewalks (just to name a few features), and a safer driving experience/left turn lane/parking loading bay. The City Council and Mayor Frey must support the recommended layout put out by Public Works Department, their vision is a street for people. There has been robust engagement around Hennepin, starting back in 2018. The recommended layout is the only inclusive choice; it accommodates people who walk, roll, bus, bike and drive. This is the right design for the more than 15,000 people and hundreds of businesses along this stretch of Hennepin Avenue. Safe and pleasant streets encourage people to gather, linger, shop and dine.   

It’s Hennepin Week over on StreetsMN, lots of good reads!
💛 Lots to Love About the Hennepin Avenue Reconstruction
💛 Washington Avenue Cannot Tell a Lie
💛 Reclaiming Hennepin’s Promise
💛 Bikes and Business on Bloor: An Economic Study from Toronto
💛 Don’t Be Fooled: Requests to “Delay” the Hennepin Ave Reconstruction Is Really Just a Way to Stop It

Final Comment Drive

The comment deadline is this Friday, January 28th for the Hennepin Avenue South reconstruction project. Submit a comment to the City of Minneapolis Public Works Department. The city has received more than 3,000 comments. Help us have a strong showing. If you already submitted a comment, thank you! Can you reach out to at least three people you know and ask them to comment too?

Text says: Join us on a walk along Hennepin Avenue as we talk to people and collect their comments about the redesign. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 4 to 6 PM.

Come collect comments with us! Send a message to [email protected] and tell us which day you’d like to volunteer for.

Please note this deadline is for comments to the Public Works Department. You can and should continue to submit comments to your City Council member even after January 28.

Fatalities up

Reversal of downward trend, fatalities and serious injuries are up.
Chart of All Fatalities Up

Road fatalities in the Metro are dramatically higher (75%) than the Met Council goal and trending upwards. A downward trend in non-motorized deaths and injuries has reversed. We MUST make Hennepin safer with bike lanes, 24/7 bus lanes, and traffic calming to reverse these disturbing trends.

Source: Safety Performance Management Targets for 2022

Listening session wrap up

On January 20th we co-hosted a listening session with Move MN. We invited Mayor Frey; Council Members Lisa Goodman and Aisha Chughtai, whose wards include the Hennepin Avenue project area; and other Council Members.

Our thanks to Council Member Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10), Council President Andrea Jenkins (Ward 8), Council Member Elliott Payne (Ward 1), Council Member Emily Koski (Ward 11), Policy Aide Celeste Robinson from Council Member Robin Wonsley Worlobah’s (Ward 2) office, and Policy Aide Sean Broom from Council Member Jamal Osman’s (Ward 6) office for attending the event.

Neighbors from across Minneapolis showed up (as well as one St. Paul friend!) to share how the current Hennepin Avenue doesn’t work for anyone and offered strong support for the redesign. You can follow along to tweets from the event here.

Read More »Listening session wrap up
Hennepin Avenue Listening Session January 20th at 5 PM. Join elected officials online to share your experiences and what matters to you! Share your thoughts on Public Works' multimodal layout. What are your experiences on Hennepin Avenue right now? What kind of community corridor do you dream it can be?

Listening Session

We’re co-hosting a Hennepin Avenue online listening session with Move Minnesota. Share your experiences and hopes for the future with elected officials this Thursday, January 20th! For meeting link, register for event.

This is your chance to tell policymakers what you think.

Are you looking forward to a faster commute with 24/7 bus lanes? A safer biking experience to access all the great local businesses on Hennepin Avenue? A more livable neighborhood? Sidewalk dining where you can actually hear the other people at your table? Safety features for pedestrians? A better driving experience? We know the current street doesn’t work for people who walk, bus, roll, bike or drive. It’s important that your voice is heard. The opposition is making plenty of noise.