Our Streets Minneapolis is the local nonprofit behind the popular Open Streets events. While the pandemic forced the cancellation of all Open Streets Minneapolis events in 2020, the local nonprofit continued to focus its advocacy efforts on ensuring that the voices of folks who have historically been left out of transportation decision-making—Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, people with disabilities and people who are trans or gender non-conforming—are prioritized. Our Streets Minneapolis continues to expand its advocacy efforts across Minneapolis to make biking, walking, and rolling easy and comfortable for everyone in the city.

GET INVOLVED!

As a small nonprofit, Our Streets Minneapolis relies on volunteer support to carry out each Open Streets event. From a few hours to a full day, there are a variety of ways to ensure that each event is a welcoming and fun experience for every visitor and partner on the street. If you’re interested in volunteering at an Open Streets event or signing up to be part of a workgroup, visit openstreetsmpls.org.

TCCP LOVE’s OUR STREETS MINNEAPOLIS

Twin Cities Co-op Partners has been a longtime host at the Open Streets events. Our co-op has lent time, energy and resources to join local businesses along multiple city streets since Open Streets’ inception. We’re committed to the mission of Open Streets and connecting residents to local businesses and community members who keep our neighborhoods and streets vibrant. We’re excited to celebrate with our community at the West Broadway and Lyndale events this fall! See you there!

COUNTY STREETS FOR PEOPLE

One of their top advocacy efforts focuses on reshaping streets like West Broadway Avenue, Lowry Avenue NE, Lyndale Ave South, East Lake Street and East Franklin Avenue. All of these streets are owned by Hennepin County, not the city of Minnepolis, and have disproportionately higher crash rates while also lacking sufficient biking and pedestrian infrastructure. Our Streets Minneapolis’ campaign, called County Streets for People, aims to build a coalition of people across the city to hold Hennepin County decision-makers accountable for prioritizing and investing in the needs of people who live, work, and play along these streets. Most recently, their Lowry NE workgroup partnered directly with the county to weigh in on-street reconstruction.

OPEN STREETS

In partnership with the city of Minneapolis, multiple blocks on many of the county-owned streets listed above are temporarily closed to car traffic, opening them to people biking, walking, and rolling, and connecting residents with neighbors and local businesses. Open Streets events aim to showcase streets as public spaces where communities thrive and spark transformative change in how people think about city streets. At each event, local businesses, artists, community groups, and institutions come out into the street to interact. Our Streets Minneapolis, then called the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, hosted the first event in 2011 on two miles of Lyndale Avenue South. An estimated 5,000 people attended the event, reimagining Lyndale Avenue as a space for biking, walking, and community building. Throughout the past nine years, the program turned more than 28 streets into car-free, public spaces for a weekend afternoon. In 2019, 103,500 people came to seven Open Streets Minneapolis events spanning 15.6 miles of streets in Minneapolis, setting a new attendance record for the event in a single year.

WILL OPEN STREETS RETURN IN 2021?
Yes! There will be two Open Streets events this fall.

Open Streets West Broadway
September 11th

Open Streets Lyndale
October 10th