Updates

Parents and kids on Hennepin Fun Mass Ride

Massive Fun on Hennepin Avenue

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

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.

A hundred people on bikes on Hennepin Avenue. Bus lane filled with parked cars.

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.

A hundred riders on bikes in northbound lane on Hennepin Avenue. Minneapolis skyline in background.

Hennepin Mass Fun Ride

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.

  • People biking on Hennepin headed southbound. Uptown sign in background along with Uptown Transit Station.
  • crowd shot of people participating in ride while biking on Hennepin Avenue.
  • Lovely people biking on Hennepin Avenue
  • A hundred people on bikes on Hennepin Avenue. Bus lane filled with parked cars.

Sign our petition for dedicated space for buses and bikes, along with improvements for pedestrians. SIGN HERE!

Hennepin Mass Bike Ride

colorful spectrum of colors, bike and tree lined street with skyline in background.

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

Signs: Hennepin for People, Buses and Bikes are good for business, #FridaysForFuture, Protect Bikers on Hennepin, No More Delay Vote This Year, Bus Riders Deserve Priority, Caution Public Works Department Ignoring Own Policies.

Rally on Hennepin

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). 

Read More »Rally on Hennepin
Girl in hijab with skateboard, girl with scooter, kids biking, a bus filled with riders and a nice bus driver.

Minneapolis mayoral candidate questionnaire

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. 

Mayoral candidate responses:
AJ Awed
Jacob Frey (no answers received)
Kate Knuth
Sheila Nezhad
Jerrell Perry

Our thanks to all the candidates that took time to respond to our questionnaire 💛‌

Hennepin Awareness Event

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.  

Join us on Friday! Please wear a mask.

Hennepin Awareness Week

You’re all invited to our August 13th event. Come and hang out with people who support bikes, buses and pedestrian improvements. Location and more details to come. We hope you can join us! 

Street perspective of businesses. People dining outside with motorcycle riding by.

Lowering the volume on Hennepin Avenue

Summer has us dining outside more frequently. Does anyone else have a hard time hearing what the person across the table is saying? Hennepin Avenue is loud. Really loud. That’s what happens when your neighborhood streets are designed to be mini-highways, moving lots of car traffic at high speeds. We’re fans of all the available outdoor dining options from our local businesses. A better street design for Hennepin Avenue means less noise pollution, a more pleasant place to live and spend time, and a more attractive dining experience. Loud and hostile spaces discourage people from lingering. 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.

Read More »Lowering the volume on Hennepin Avenue

Hennepin Avenue: Our Front Yard

More than 15,000 people live in neighborhoods along the small stretch of the Hennepin Avenue project area, from Lake Street to Douglas Avenue. It’s not just a business corridor or a thru street, it’s our community. Hennepin is home to many people who live in these lovely old buildings. Hennepin is their front yard. Now is our moment to make big changes to this street for these local residents and our growing Uptown population! Let’s make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! They deserve cleaner air, less pollution, and a break from the noise.

  • Two people walking with tennis racket cover bags on sidewalk
A few of the many homes on Hennepin Avenue
Read More »Hennepin Avenue: Our Front Yard
I support Option 1 for Hennepin Avenue because please keep everyone safe! little heart drawing

Action alert

Now is the time to act. We can’t let this project be delayed or made worse behind the scenes. The opposition is working to prevent Hennepin Avenue from being reconstructed in a way that’s consistent with the city’s existing, adopted policies.

Two important steps you can take to help support dedicated transit lanes and a safe, separated bike path:

  1. Sign our petition
  2. Call or email your Minneapolis City Council Member. Contact info and talking points provided below.
Read More »Action alert