Nice Ride Stations Coming to Southwest Minneapolis

Two new locations are coming soon to Southwest.

By the end of April, Southwest Minneapolis will be home to a couple new Nice Ride Minnesota bicycle stations. Twenty-four new locations will be added throughout the Twin Cities, including a station in Linden Hills at 43rd Street and Upton Avenue, and another near the Lake Harriet Bandshell, according to Melissa Summers, customer care manager for Nice Ride Minnesota. "This year, our new locations focused on the lakes and [rivers] due to a grant from the National Park Service," Summers told Patch in an e-mail. However, funding for the new stations come from a few different places, according to Nice Ride's website: Funding for the new stations comes from three different sources: the National Parks Service, intended for creating alternative …

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Everyone's to Blame in New Bicycle-Car Crash Report

Drivers caused slightly more crashes than cyclists.

Monday morning, City of Minneapolis officials released the outline of a new report sure to provoke ire from some on either side of the bicycle-car divide. The report, to be presented to the City Council's transportation committee at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan 15, says drivers and cyclists are nearly equally to blame for the city's bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. The report took a comprehensive look at crashes from 2007 to 2010, and found that cyclists were at fault or partially at fault in 59 percent of crashes, while driers were at fault or partially at fault in 64 percent of crashes. Often times, both parties were at fault. Most crashes happen at major intersections (see map at right), the study found, and were caused by drivers not seeing…

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VIDEO: How Do I Dress For Winter Biking?

With the cold weather upon us, Patch offers tips.

Are You "Dumping The Pump" Today?

Metro Transit challenges commuters to try transit today.

Do you use your car to commute a lot? Thursday, Metro Transit and scores of other public transportation agencies are urging commuters to "Dump the Pump" for a day.  Metro Transit, in particular, is urging riders to mark "National Dump the Pump Day" by taking them up on their Commuter Challenge, which ends June 30. The contest challenges drivers to pledge to take a bus or train, bicycle, carpool, walk, telework or vanpool instead of driving alone. Pledging drivers are entered into a prize drawing for things like Kindle Fires, netbooks, and gift cards, and can opt to track their transit usage. So far, over 15,000 Twin Citizens have joined the challenge, a Metro Transit spokesperson told Patch. If you're participating, you'll be joining the …

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Anna Schier

9:03 pm on Friday, June 22, 2012

I remember riding the Metro on a family vacation to DC when I was very young. Having been raised in a small Minnesota town where we traveled almost exclusively via minivan, I thought it was so exciting to be traveling on a train underground!   more ›

What Was That Mystery Device By The Bandshell?

Hint: They're part of the city's Bike Walk Week celebrations.

"Visitors to the Lake Harriet bandshell on Sunday likely noticed a strange metal box trailing two black tubes across the bicycle path.  No, it's not another water purifier "bomb," but part of an art project run by the Center for Energy and the Environment as part of Bike Walk Week. The box contains a counting device, which reads the amount of pressurized air forced out of a tube when something passes over. According to project co-creator Joshlyn Goepfrich, the system can tell the difference between a car, a bike, a roller blader, and even a stroller.  Sounds pretty science-y, right? Here's where the art comes in. Ever day this week, the Center places their counter in a different location along the city's bike paths. Every evening, …

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Confused About New Road Markings?

Check out these useful videos from the City of Minneapolis that help explain.

With all the new kinds of bike lanes popping up everywhere, it's sometimes confusing for both bicyclists and drivers to tell what they're supposed to do! Don't worry, though: the city has put together these two handy explainers to show you how things work.

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VIDEO: How Do I Dress for Winter Biking?

You don't need high-tech to ride during the Minnesota winter.

Being a four season bike commuter in Minnesota presents some serious challanges. In addition to the usual traffic issues, you have to deal with mountainous snow drifts, slushy streets and sub-zero temperatures. Biking in this environment seems like something left to the most experienced of riders, but as Joe Meiser, Product Development Manager for Quality Bicycle Parts, said, a few everyday items can help get you started. As riders get more experience, he explained, they may want to think about purchasing some of the more specialized biking gear to improve performance and comfort. He took sometime on a blustery fall day to preview some winter bike accessories.

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