There’s a reason the Twin Cities are annually recognized as one of the country’s most bike-friendly communities. Look no further than the Midtown Greenway.
View this post on Instagram
MINNEAPOLIS — I remember when I first moved to downtown Minneapolis in 2000. It was something like out of the movies: Dedicated bike lanes in the middle of the streets, filled with bike messengers wearing shoulder-slung bags, darting throughout the (always) rush-hour and bustling traffic in the urban metro.
Those days are long gone but it speaks to the culture that built the Minneapolis reputation for annually being recognized as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. Saint Paul, with its Summit Avenue express lane along one of the longest “mansion rows” in the country, was always close behind.
That’s because of the bike-friendly Twin Cities mentality that bikes are just as good, if not better, than cars and, frankly, it’s just more practical: Given the Twin Cities’ urban layout, why sit and stew in traffic when you can get to the same destination in about the same amount of time on the miles upon miles of dedicated bike lane space throughout the urban center?
Look no further than the Midtown Greenway to demonstrate how a dedicated bike thoroughfare can serve not only as a bike highway, but can link a patchwork of suburbs and cities across boundaries, rivers and more.
If you ever want to understand the rush of what it means to be able to glide through the Twin Cities and feel the joy, check the video above.
It captures, in less than a minute, all the thrill that is an almost daily experience here for those of us on two wheels!
Be First to Comment