Posts Tagged ‘Biking Minneapolis’
Attention Visitors and Locals: Go Short this Summer to Have a Great Time
Friday, June 22nd, 2012
Short is beautiful – especially when it comes to bicycling and walking in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis is becoming increasingly ideal for making short trips by bike or foot because so many great places are nearby – work, food trucks, restaurants, small shops, big box stores, museums, parks, music…you name it!
Think of how many places you go each week, and see how your travel patterns compare to national norms:
According to the League of American Bicyclists, in urban areas,
- 30 percent of all trips are 1 mile or less
- 44 percent are 2 miles or less
- 53 percent are 3 miles or less
Yet even with that destination proximity – the nearness of things – we still make most of our short trips by car: 60 percent of all trips of 1 mile or less are driven.
Here’s an idea: rather than driving to a destination of 1 mile or less, try bicycling or walking instead, even if it’s just once a week. Get a map, find your home, and draw a circle with a 1-mile radius from your home. Or if you’d like to try a handy and free online tool to see a 1-mile radius around your home, go to “Radius Around Point,” simply enter 1 mile, your home address, including city and state, and click “Draw Radius.”
You may be surprised how many of your regular destinations are a mile or less away. At a very easy pace, you can travel a mile by bicycle in about 7 minutes, or walk within about 20 minutes. Along the way, you’ll be able to enjoy the scenery, benefit your physical and mental health, and save costs by not driving! Health fact of the summer: If half of all short trips in the Twin Cities were done by bike during just the summer, 300 deaths and $57 million in medical costs would be averted annually, according to a 2011 study by University of Wisconsin researchers.
Notable Local Short Trip Destinations
So, where is good to go for short trips? Nice Ride Minnesota bike-sharing gives us a good picture. If you’d like to imagine yourself a tourist (or if you are a tourist), downtown Minneapolis is a great starting point for short-distance travel.
According to Ellen Apel, marketing manager for Nice Ride, the most popular Nice Ride station in the Twin Cites is in front of the IDS Center.
Using the IDS Center as your hub, popular downtown destinations within 1 mile include:
- Target Field and Target Center
- Loring Park
- The Walker Art Center
- The Minneapolis Outdoor Sculpture Garden
- Minneapolis Central Library
- Nicollet Island
- Mill City Museum
- The Guthrie Theater
- Stone Arch Bridge
- St. Anthony Main
Expand your trip from the IDS Center to 2 miles (a 15-minute ride), and you’ll reach:
- The Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota
- The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District
- Uptown
- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Nice Ride has stations at or near all of these locations. For a listing of multiple Twin Cities bicycle tours, visit the Nice Ride tour library online.
How does Nice Ride work? While many readers may already be familiar with Nice Ride, here’s the skinny for those who are not: In exchange for a daily ($6), monthly ($30) or annual ($65) subscription (made via credit or debit card), you have access to more than 1,300 green bikes at 140+ stations in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
The key thing to know about Nice Ride is that it’s based on short trips: plan to keep a Nice Ride bike for only 30 minutes at a time. Get a bike, ride to your destination station, and dock it. When you’re done with your lunch or meeting or seeing the museum or shopping, use your credit card to get another unlock code and take off for another 30 minutes.
If you want a longer ride, plan to exchange Nice Ride bikes every 30 minutes to avoid “trip fees.” Otherwise, you’ll pay $1.50 for the next 30 minutes after the free first half-hour, and a sharply increasing rate after that.
Another resource chock-full of potential short-distance destinations is the website of Meet Minneapolis, the city’s official convention & visitors association. Check out the site’s helpful Itinerary Creator; it’s filled with a multitude of destinations that can easily be reached by bike or on foot from downtown.
By bicycling or walking for short trips, instead of driving, you’ll enjoy firsthand the city’s amenities, likely boost your physical and mental health, and save on transportation costs. That way, you’ll have more to spend on yourself (and others) when you reach your destination!
Tags: bike Minneapolis, Biking Minneapolis, Meet Minneapolis, Nice Ride, Nice Ride Minnesota, Nice Ride MN, short bike trips, short bike trips Minneapolis, short trips via bike
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Announcing the Bike Walk Jingle Finalists!
Thursday, May 24th, 2012
Thank you to the 21 talented musicians who entered the Bike Walk Jingle contest. The judging panel was blown away by the creativity and toe-tapping tunes from all the entries—you can listen to them all here.
Bike Walk Move is excited to announce the five finalists, who will perform in a free, open-to-the public concert at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis on June 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Here are your finalists:
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Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Glen Everhart is an interactive musician and comedian. |
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Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Michael Loonan is a musician, singer, composer, producer, voice talent and jingle writer. |
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Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Luke Warm and the Cool Hands is a jug band that plays bluegrass, folk and polka cover songs and originals.
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Audra Tracy Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
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The Jing Jings! Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
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The winner of the Bike Walk Jingle Contest will be announced at the conclusion of the showcase event at the Ritz Theater on June 2. The winner will receive the following:
- Studio recording time at The Arts Institutes International Minnesota
- A $500 gift card from Music Connection
- A brand new Sun Revolutions CB-26 bicycle from Behind Bars Bicycle Shop
- The winning song will also be featured in a six-week campaign this summer on Cities 97
Congratulations again to all the finalists and those who submitted tunes. Listen to their songs and come hear the finalists play a FREE showcase on June 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ritz Theater (emceed by Northeast Minneapolis’ own Michael Rainville!). Hope to see you there!
Note: The Bike Walk Jingle Contest is sponsored by Cities97, City Pages, The Arts Institutes International Minnesota, Music Connection, Behind Bars Bicycle Shop.
Tags: Behind Bars Bike Shop, Bicycling Minneapolis, Bicycling MInnesota, Bike Walk Jingle Contest, Bike Walk Jingles, Bike Walk Move, Bike Walk Move Jingles, Biking Minneapolis, Biking Minnesota, Music Connection, The Arts Institutes International, The Ritz Theater
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Historic biking/walking numbers cap off 2011
Monday, January 16th, 2012
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
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