Minneapolis has taken the May 14 “Bike/Walk to Work Day” a bit further this year, with the first-ever “Bike/Walk to Work Week,” May 12–18.
The week kicked off bright and early on Monday, May 15 with the “Great Commuter Challenge,” in which Mayor R.T. Rybak, Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter and StarTribune “road guy” Jim Foti raced from the Merriam Park Community Center in Saint Paul to the Central Library in Downtown Minneapolis. Rybak was on bike; Carter walked and used mass transit; Foti drove his car.
The three made two stops along the way, both of them in Bridgeland: they picked up a newspaper at the Hiawatha/Lake St. light-rail station, then stopped at Bedlam Theater in Cedar-Riverside for complementary tickets to Romeo & Juliet, running through May 17. (Commissioner Carter was met at the light-rail station for her tickets — it’s a service the theater provides to all its customers.)
The biker and driver stopped for ”fuel” — Rybak for a bite to eat and Foti for gas, of course.
The biking Rybak won, arriving at the downtown library four minutes before Carter. Foti and his automobile arrived five minutes later, “after a string of unplanned delays, which included a broken gas pump, a train crossing, and difficulty finding parking spots,” according to a release from Transit for Livable Communities. The transit-advocacy organization is one of many sponsors of Bike/Walk Week, and it also administers the $21.5 million Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program that will soon add more bike lanes and trails to the city and surrounding areas.
The actual Bike/Walk Day, on Wednesday May 14, features many organized morning-commute rides to a celebration event in Downtown, 6:30–9 a.m. on the plaza between City Hall and the Hennepin County Government Center. Several of the rides start in Bridgeland neighborhoods (see below) and free continental breakfast will be served at various locations, including the Downtown celebration, Bedlam Theatre (1501 S. Sixth St.), Birchwood Café (3311 E. 25th St.) and The Green Institute (2801 21st Ave. S).
Bridge-area commuter rides:
Southeast Como
Van Cleve Park, 901 15th Ave. SE
Start Time: 7:30 a.m.
Distance: 2.53 miles
The route uses Southeast Fifth Street and the Stone Arch Bridge.
Contact: Natalie@peacecoffee.com
Prospect Park
Southeast corner of East River Road & Franklin Avenue
Start Time: 7:00 a.m.
Distance: 3.49 miles
Described as “safe but occasionally tricky on- and off-road route into the heart of Downtown Minneapolis.”
Contact: hunte001@umn.edu
Seward
Birchwood Café, 3311 E. 25th St.
Start Time: 7:30 a.m.
Distance: 3.49 miles
The ride is flat, using mostly quiet streets and bike paths.
Contact: robin.garwood@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
Greater Longfellow
East 36th Street and West River Parkway
Start Time: 7:00 a.m.
Distance: 5.21 miles
Ride will follow the river road bike path, the Midtown Greenway and the LRT trail to Downtown Minneapolis, then city streets to the celebration.
Contact: rleepenn@hotmail.com
Friday, May 16, grand opening of the Freewheel Midtown Bike Center, which will provide bike valet service, bike maintenance facilities, showers and a café on the greenway near South 29th Street and Chicago Avenue. Kevin Ishaug, owner of Cedar-Riverside-based Freewheel Bike shop, will share the ribbon-cutting duties with Rybak and City Councilmembers Gary Schiff and Robert Lilligren at 7 a.m. An open house will be held later in the day, 4–7 p.m.
On Sunday, May 18, 3–5 p.m., a ceremony will be held to rename the Midtown Greenway bridge over Hiawatha Avenue, near East 28th Street, in honor of the man who helped secure federal funding to build it: former U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo. Sabo will join local leaders at 4 p.m. for the dedication, and a bike parade will also take place; cyclists are encouraged to decorate their bikes and join in.
Other Bike/Walk Week events include educational clinics by community volunteers and the city’s new Bike Walk Ambassadors, offering tips on gear, materials, maps, route planning and other biking/walking topics. For more information, visit www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles or www.bikewalkweek.org.
Comment