The bicycle lobby is one of the most destructive environmental groups currently in Minneapolis. While bike riding may be environmentally sound, changes driven by the bike lobby to promote walking and biking have, or will, substantially increase carbon emissions, pollution and the energy cost to travel.
The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition generated over 44,000 emails in support of the Hennepin Avenue Redesign. This plan would reduce the number of automobile lanes on Hennepin from two to one in each direction. Cars travelling on Hennepin in this single lane would be hopelessly snarled in congestion, creeping from one stoplight to another. Most people would avoid Hennepin and travel longer, less direct routes. Both would massively increase carbon emissions, pollution and energy costs.
The Bicycle Coalition generated over 24,000 emails to change I-94 between the downtowns from an interstate to a boulevard. (https://www.twincitiesboulevard.org/ ) They also generated over 25,000 emails to change Olson Memorial Highway into a boulevard. (https://www.ourstreetsmpls.org/olson) Both would massively increase carbon emissions, pollution, and energy costs by forcing automobiles into either stop-and-go congestion or taking much longer routes.
Similarly, the Bike Coalition got provisions in the city’s 10-year Transportation Action Plan and its Street Design Standards to give priority to bikers and walkers over automobiles, changes that have driven up pollution by increasing traffic congestion, stop-and-go travel and idling. Traffic signals are prioritized for pedestrians and bikes, not for efficient automobile travel. Streets and bridges have been narrowed to accommodate bike lanes, creating auto backups. Barriers and distractions have been put in roadways, forcing drivers to slow down and speed up repeatedly. Walking and biking have been prioritized over automobiles at freeway entrances, creating backups at locations with large numbers of vehicles. All of these changes have dramatically increased carbon emissions and pollution.
There are two arguments for these changes. The first is that people will shift from driving in such great numbers that it will offset the increases in carbon emissions and pollution. But the promised offset isn’t happening.
Transit ridership declined 25% in the six years prior to the pandemic and is down another 50% post-pandemic. Most bike lanes are as empty as when they were built. There are a few more electric bikes, but if you can twist your wrist and go 25 mph, that makes you a motorcycle. The result is that all of the changes are just increasing carbon emissions, not lowering them.
The second argument for these changes is to improve pedestrian safety. But, after millions of dollars of investments, pedestrian deaths in 2021 were the highest in 24 years. This isn’t surprising. When you look at 26th and Lyndale, there were 28 pedestrian accidents reported to police: 23 of them happened after July 2022, when the city redesigned the road from four lanes to three and added a turn lane in the middle to “improve” pedestrian safety. It isn't the first time government action had unintended consequences.
We can’t kill the climate to save the climate. The city of Minneapolis needs to consider the climate impact of every change they make. They should be doing a carbon emissions and pollution analysis with every project they do. There are ways to promote biking, walking and transit without creating more carbon emissions and pollution in auto travel. And hopefully, when these studies come forward, both drivers and the bike lobby will support changes that actually reduce carbon emissions and pollution.
