The Midtown Greenway Coalition is working on addressing issues from the recent Greenway repaving, from the Lakes to Midtown. Building safe biking infrastructure draws people to our city. The Greenway is a bike highway — and it can feed into local bike routes, bringing visitors and customers to our neighborhoods. People who bike within our city and those who bike into our city. The trail conditions aren’t currently good for people who bike, walk or roll. It’s uneven and rough.
The E Line BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) for bus route 6 is coming to Hennepin Avenue in 2025. Construction is set to begin in 2024. E Line BRT will run about every 10 minutes 7 days a week, while the local route 6 bus will run every 20 minutes. Metro Transit is currently accepting feedback on their Draft Corridor Plan through October 31.
Benefits of BRT: 💛 Faster, more frequent service 💛 Pre-boarding fare payment for faster stops 💛 Neighborhood-scale stations with amenities 💛 Larger & specialized vehicles 💛 Buses get traffic signal priority for faster trips 💛 Riders can board or exit from any of 3 bus doors (on 60 ft buses) 💛 Stations with heat, lighting, and real-time departure info
We’ve all seen these signs before “No Bike Riding On Sidewalk.” We have the solution! Let’s give people who bike a safe protected space for them to comfortably get around. Where they don’t have to deal with the risk of speeding traffic. Where they’re not competing for space against other vulnerable users like pedestrians.
People just want to safely get around no matter if they walk, bus, roll, bike or drive. Our current street designs are a failure and we have an opportunity to fix them. Let’s start now!
We’ve held two daytime events on Hennepin Avenue in the past month. On both occasions we witnessed what has become routine due to the dangerous design of this street. At our awareness event on August 13th a driver repeatedly did donuts during Friday evening rush hour at the 24th Street intersection. And on our most recent ride we came upon the aftermath of a serious crash that happened immediately prior to our ride at the 26th Street intersection. For people who live, work or spend time on Hennepin, this isn’t anything new. We know Hennepin isn’t safe for people, whether they’re inside a car or out.
dude doing donuts on the six-lane stroad that is Hennepin Ave—during a @hennepin4people rally!—really making the point about wasted public space.
Riding your bike on Hennepin Avenue in its current state takes more than a little courage and passion. We hope the City of Minneapolis, Council Members and the Public Works Department Management, recognizes the desire of everyone who took part in this ride — young and old, of varying abilities— to see a Hennepin Avenue designed for people.
On September 18th, a sunny Saturday, more than 100+ people turned out for our Hennepin Mass Fun Bike Ride.
Our speakers included: Will Sheffer from Council President Lisa Bender’s Ward 10 Office, District 4 Park Board Commissioner Jono Cowgill, Move Minnesota‘s Executive Director Sam Rockwell, Our Streets Minneapolis Operations and Development Director Haley Foydel, and Metropolitan Council Chair and bus guy Charlie Zelle. Chair Zelle spoke in support of 24/7 bus lanes on Hennepin Avenue and participated in our ride. Great thanks to our speaker wrangler, Mary Morse Marti!
Park Board Commissioner Jono Cowgill
Haley Foydel from Our Streets Mpls
Will Sheffer Ward 10 Office
Sam Rockwell from Move Minnesota
Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle
Many candidates or their surrogates were in attendance showing broad support for our efforts! We appreciate your support.
Katie Jones and Pine Salica
Sheila Nezhad
Betty Tisel
Aisha Chughtai
Risa Hustad, Tom Olsen, and Mike Norton
It was a joy to join @hennepin4people & so many neighbors who came to support a Hennepin Ave that is safe + accessible for all users. These road maintenance projects last 50 years, a huge opportunity to support sustainability & access with better transit, walking & cycling space. pic.twitter.com/Wnbguw1Qsh
Haley Foydel and Ember Rasmussen from Our Streets Minneapolis, along with Risa Hustad, were instrumental in making this ride happen. Special thanks to the volunteers who worked (whether biking or driving) to keep everyone safe on the ride. Our main concern was being inclusive and keeping everyone safe on an especially hostile and dangerous street — something we’re working as hard as we can to change.
Our biggest thanks to everyone who showed up to be seen and heard on Hennepin Avenue! Our message is resonating because of you. Your enthusiasm fuels our work to make Hennepin a street for people.
On Saturday about a hundred of us rolled down Hennepin Avenue in support of safe, dedicated space for bikes, buses, and pedestrians. An unforgettable experience. Let’s make that feeling of safety, comfort, and human connection routine on Hennepin Avenue.
Sign our petition for dedicated space for buses and bikes, along with improvements for pedestrians. SIGN HERE!
Saturday September 18th Starting at 4 PM, Ride departs at 4:30 PM Skaters, Scooters, and other mobility devices welcomed! Dress Up! Have Fun! Theme is bikes and buses! Meeting at: Smith Triangle Park (24th & Hennepin) Facebook event page
We had great turnout for our Hennepin Awareness rally to support dedicated bus lanes, a protected bike path, and pedestrian improvements.
Many thanks to our speakers and guests: Move Minnesota’s Executive Director Sam Rockwell, Mary Morse Marti, Park Board District 4 Commissioner Jono Cowgill, Hennepin County District 3 Commissioner Marion Greene, Council President Lisa Bender, Katie Jones (Ward 10 candidate), Risa Hustad (Park Board candidate), Aisha Chughtai (Ward 10 candidate), Nick Kor (Ward 7 candidate), and Pine Salica (Board of Estimate and Taxation candidate).
dude doing donuts on the six-lane stroad that is Hennepin Ave—during a @hennepin4people rally!—really making the point about wasted public space.
Hennepin for People is a group of community members advocating for an inclusive design for the Hennepin Avenue South street reconstruction (from Lake Street to Douglas Avenue). The street was last reconstructed in 1957. According to data collected by the city, Hennepin Avenue is a high injury street. We know BIPOC communities and other marginalized populations are affected most by traffic crashes and pollution. They’re also most likely to depend on transit. We support a street design that includes 24/7 dedicated space for transit, pedestrian improvements, and a sidewalk level protected bike path.
With funding for the E Line BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) secured, this stretch of Hennepin Avenue should have dedicated transit lanes to make the most of this investment and ensure transit riders have quick and reliable service. Traveling by bus from Uptown to Downtown on bus rapid transit should actually be “rapid.” The E line BRT route, and Hennepin improvements, would also benefit transit riders outside the Uptown area trying to get to Southdale or Westgate on University Avenue. With investment in BRT infrastructure, we know ridership will grow. Protected bike paths will allow more people to have direct access to all the local businesses along the corridor; as study after study has shown, streets that are safe and comfortable to bike and walk on are better for businesses.
Our vision is a street that considers climate change in its design, reducing air, water, and noise pollution. We want a route that is safe for people who walk and use wheelchairs, for the children who attend Jefferson School, for the folks who live in the two senior high rise buildings here, for the hundreds of families who call this corridor home and the tens of thousands of people who live on and along the corridor. The Hennepin Avenue improvements we’re asking for would create not only a safer transportation corridor, but also the kind of street people want to spend their time and money.
We reached out to mayoral candidates on July 13 with a short questionnaire. Their responses are linked below.
We had great turnout of public comments in April. Our message was heard loud and clear. Unfortunately our understanding is that the City’s Public Works department has caved to pressure from the status quo. We no longer have a set timeline for the Hennepin project approval. Putting off a decision is a decision in itself. And a victory for the status quo. There are people who want to delay the project in order to strip out the improvements that would make Hennepin a street for people.
Right now, it’s important for us to make sure that Public Works doesn’t remove dedicated transit and bike space, or pedestrian improvements. We can’t sacrifice this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make Hennepin an inclusive street that works for all in our community. We need to get the city to commit to a timeline. We need to show them that we’re paying attention and not going away.
Our goal remains dedicated space for transit and bikes along with pedestrian improvements. We continue to work on having a vote on Hennepin this year but can only accomplish this with your help.
