The Twin Cities biking and walking community had a busy—and successful—2011. Just take a peek at a few of the events and milestones that took place last year:
- New bikeways, bike boulevards and walking paths debuted all over the area, including the Riverlake Greenway and enhanced bike lanes on 1st and Blaisdell Avenues, just to name two.
- New bike centers opened, including the University of Minnesota Bike Center in September and Venture North Bike Walk & Coffee in October
- We went behind-the-scenes at a few of the Twin Cities most bike-friendly companies, including Clockwork Active Media Systems, Colle+McVoy and Northern Brewer
The cherry on top: December’s news that numbers for both biking and walking in the Twin Cities are up – way up. Bicycling in the Twin Cities increased 52 percent over the past five years, and walking is up 18 percent, according to data from Bike Walk Twin Cities. In fact, from 2010 to 2011 alone, biking increased a whopping 22 percent. And that’s really what all the new bike paths and other infrastructure changes are all about: helping people bike, walk and move more.
Why the increase in biking and walking? Why now? Bike Walk Twin Cities officials attribute the increase to several factors, including new bikeways, fluctuating gas prices and heightened community awareness of the health and social benefits of bicycling.
The big jump in biking and walking numbers drew local and nationwide attention, once again solidifying the Twin Cities as one of the most bike- (and walk-) friendly areas in the country. Here’s a full list of the media/blog stories in the last month:
Huffington Post –“ How to boost biking and walking in your town”
Energy Bulletin – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Planetizen – “Twin Cities see remarkable increases in biking, walking”
Star Tribune – “A new attitude about biking in Minneapolis?”
On the Commons – “How to boost biking and walking in your town”
Minnesota Public Radio – “Advocates tout increase in Twin Cities cyclists”
Common Dreams – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Oregon Emerging Local Government Leaders Network - “The Afternoon Delight” (summary)
Building America’s Future Educational Fund – “Infrastructure in the news”
MinnPost – “Study says Twin Cities biking up 52% in last five years”
Open Salon – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Downtown Journal – “Community Notebook”
Shareable – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Transit Oriented Development News – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
People for Bikes – “More people than ever are biking and walking in the Twin Cities”
Mostly Water – “How to boost biking and walking even furthering your city”
Tokyo Progressive – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Humanitarian News – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Twin Cities Sidewalks – “Minneapolis bike count show disparities in cycling infrastructure”
Velo Traffic – “Measuring Cycling Growth”
Cycle TC – “5 years, 52% increase in cycling”
TreeHugger – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
AidNews – “How to boost biking and walking even further in your city”
Clearly, the positive news attracted a lot of attention inside and outside the Twin Cities. Here’s to continuing the momentum in 2012!
Tags: Bike Infrastructure Minneapolis, Bike Paths Minneapolis, Bike Walk Move, Bike Walk Move campaign, Bike Walk Twin Cities, Biking Minneapolis
