Category: Advocacy

What Would You Say to the Mayor Elect (Round Two)

It’s day two in this post-election series!  Today’s letter was also presented at Cuningham Group’s “Dear Mayor-Elect … Congratulation, Now The Work Begins” Urban Currents series event. The author, Alissa Luepke Pier, is a resident of North Minneapolis and a national award-winning architect. She received her Master of Architecture degree with a thesis entitled “Architecture and Game […]

What Would You Say to the Mayor-Elect? (Round One)

It’s post-election recovery time in Minneapolis (and St. Paul)!  Residents and businesses across the core of our metro area are digesting what the changes in leadership will mean, and at Cuningham Group, that turned into hosting an event called “Dear Mayor-Elect … Congratulation, Now The Work Begins” as part of their Urban Currents series.  I was […]

Barriers to Bike Share Equity in St. Paul

As the Twin Cities embarks on the next iteration of bike share, it’s important to note a few things as it relates to current plans. In September, Nice Ride Minnesota let an RFP for an operator to come into the Twin Cities and operate the current Nice Ride station-based system until 2010 – or the […]

The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist

One of the things that drew me to the Twin Cities metro, and to St. Paul, is the cycling friendly community, and while St. Paul lags Minneapolis in many respects, it is still leagues ahead of most cities in this country and all the places I have lived. That being said, there is a virulent […]

Anti-Harassment Ordinances Empower People On Bikes

Andy Singer blogged in 2014 about Vulnerable Road User Protection Laws, laws aimed at enhancing the penalties for careless driving. In 2015, Minnesota finally passed its version, campaigned for by the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota and authored by Sen. Ron Latz (D) and Representative Tony Cornish (R). The new law increased the penalty for causing […]

Bikeshare bikes docked in a station with an apartment building under construction in the background. The apartment building has a feature with lighting that changes colors.

Staving Off Bikesharing Shrinkage

A couple of days before the Nice Ride season started this year, I looked at their map to scout out stations by TCF Stadium. I was getting ready to go to a soccer game there and was looking forward to being able to use Nice Ride to get to or from games. But my neighborhood […]

Housing is (Not) a Human Right

One of the more popular ways for progressive candidates to excite a crowd or for pro-housing advocates to frame their arguments is to assert “Housing is a human right.” We should stop saying this, and call out candidates when they say it. It’s a lie. Housing isn’t a human right—at least not in practice. I […]