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:
We’ve touched on the significance of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix Hennepin Avenue. It goes beyond just this city-controlled street. What happens here will influence other streets, including county-controlled streets like Franklin, Lowry Ave NE, Lake, Lyndale, West Broadway—streets that currently threaten the health and safety of Minneapolis residents. Many of us involved with Hennepin for People have participated in this process since it started back in 2018. That’s a long time. This is deeply personal to us, it’s where we live. Many of us have had close calls on Hennepin Avenue. It’s not an abstract or philosophical question. This street impacts our daily lives. We can’t accept less than significant pedestrian improvements, along with dedicated space for transit and bikes.
Hennepin Avenue doesn’t work for anyone in its current form. It’s stressful to drivers, it’s a hazard to vulnerable users like pedestrians, bikers and transit users. Our streets need to reflect our values—how we care for our neighbors and for the environment. We are the only inclusive side with a vision. The outcome for Hennepin should be a street that reflects our priorities and ambitious policies like the Transportation Action Plan, Complete Streets, and Vision Zero. A safer, more vibrant street is inclusive and works for drivers, pedestrians, bikers and transit riders.
Looking at the City of Minneapolis Crash Study, the takeaway is Hennepin Avenue is a dangerous place for people walking and biking. And this only includes reported incidents. How often do you report a dangerous encounter with a vehicle as a pedestrian or biker?
Read More »Why this all matters
Help us keep the pressure on the City of Minneapolis for Hennepin Avenue. Our request: any design must include dedicated bus lanes and a safe, separated bike path. Encourage others you know to sign the petition. Now is a critical moment for the project. We need your support!
Remember, what we do here will shape designs for other streets in our community. This isn’t just about one street in Uptown; this is precedent-setting for how we shift the transportation system and how we design other streets. The design choices made for this city-controlled street will shape future decisions for county-owned streets (Franklin, Lowry Ave NE, Lake, Lyndale, West Broadway) that threaten the health and safety of Minneapolis residents. We start by shifting the system here.
When we did outreach for Hennepin Avenue at Bde Maka Ska, we had great support from the skateboarding community. It was so obvious how they activated this otherwise unused space where the pavilion used to be. We even met teens that came from other cities to use this spot. We support efforts to bring a permanent skate park to the area for those currently using the Bde Maka Ska Popup. Our vision for Hennepin includes skateboarders. A safe, separated bike path welcomes skateboarders.
Sign their petition
The work is not finished just because we passed the city’s comment deadline on April 16th. As we prepare for what comes next, we’re energized by your support! The opposition is working to prevent Hennepin Avenue from being reconstructed in a way that’s consistent with the city’s existing, adopted policies. But we’re growing and gaining momentum every single day. Our message is resonating. Any design for Hennepin Avenue must include dedicated 24/7 transit lanes and a safe, separated bike path.
This isn’t just about one street in Uptown; this is precedent-setting for how we shift the transportation system and how we design other streets. The design choices made for this city-controlled street will shape future decisions for county-owned streets (Franklin, Lowry Ave NE, Lake, Lyndale, West Broadway) that threaten the health and safety of Minneapolis residents. This is a racial equity issue. BIPOC residents are disproportionately represented among transit riders and those killed and injured in pedestrian and bicycle crashes.
Now is a critical moment. Will the city follow their ambitious policy goals found in adopted city policies like the Transportation Action Plan, Vision Zero, and Complete Streets? Will we use this opportunity to meet our climate goals by reducing car trips and associated emissions? Will we reduce injuries and lower car pollution in marginalized communities? Now is the time to shift the system.
Join us as we continue to hold the City of Minneapolis accountable. Stay tuned!
Read More »We continue on
Hennepin friends,
We are so grateful you showed up for Hennepin Avenue: for sending a comment, for signing our letter, making a call to the project team, for filling out the city survey and interactive map, for spreading our message, and so much more. Your show of support matters!
💛Be kind to yourself. You are our community. We are all in this together! 💛
This is a Municipal election year in Minneapolis. We’ll vote for Mayor, City Council, Park Board, Board of Estimate and Taxation. We’ll also have the opportunity to vote on charter amendments—public safety, the ability to have rent control, giving the Mayor more control of city departments. This latter one means a big change in our government structure. There’s a lot at stake this year in local politics. You should get involved.
We encourage you to make Hennepin Avenue one of your top issues in whichever party you are affiliated with. Help us make Hennepin Avenue a place for people. When candidates reach out to you for their support tell them why Hennepin Avenue is one of your issues and its importance to you. A good outcome is not guaranteed and we need to push hard for change.
We can shape the city we want to live in, from the design of our streets to our system of public safety. We can imagine something better than currently exists.
Today is the City of Minneapolis comment deadline for the Hennepin Avenue reconstruction project.
Here are three ways you can help:
Thank you to our volunteer Derek Bauer for capturing the feeling of Hennepin Avenue. Drowning in a sea of cars. Chaotic, loud, and hard to track where the next danger will come from.
What makes a place?
What makes a place? It’s the people.
Yet, we have signs of life and what could be. We enjoy a stroll with ice cream, we cross the street to visit businesses, we shop for groceries, we wait for the bus, we bike. The people make this place. They bring it to life and make us imagine what it could be instead of what it is—instead of all the ways it fails us. Let’s make Hennepin work for people! Join us in letting the City of Minneapolis know we want a place for people: Option 1 is the only inclusive choice. Send a message in support to [email protected] or call 612-673-3594.
We allied with some of our most forward-thinking local organizations to write a letter in support of Option 1, including Our Streets Minneapolis, the Midtown Greenway Coalition, Move Minnesota, the Sierra Club, and the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota.
Read the letter here and add yourself to the list of people signing here include your ward info under Affiliation. Sign by April 15th!
We’ve allied with some of our most forward-thinking local organizations to write a letter in support of Option 1:
💛Midtown Greenway Coalition
💛Sierra Club North Star Chapter
💛Move Minnesota
💛Our Streets Minneapolis
💛Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
Join us: Read the letter here and add yourself to the list of people signing here. Sign by April 15th!
We’d love to have more people and organizations sign on, so please share this with any and all of your networks and organizations, favorite businesses, whomever! And remind them to act on Hennepin in other ways as well!