Bike commuting family of 4 in Minneapolis, MN

[LauraGMitchell]

Hi all!
My name is Laura Mitchell and I'm a parent and bike commuter in Minneapolis, MN. I started bike commuting in 2014, then added a Burley trailer after our youngest was born in 2016. We finally jumped into cargo bikes in 2021 with a Radwagon 4 and added a Radrunner 3+. I'd love to upgrade to a Tern GSD or HSD and have been eyeing trikes (like a Bunch bike), too.

I've been involved in transportation advocacy work for a while, first in Denver (where we lived 2009-2019) and now in Minneapolis, where I've been the President of the board of directors at Our Streets for the last two years (& hoepfully this coming year, too, pending our next board meeting). I'm running two Safe Routes to School grants at my kids' elementary school this year and working on launching a free cargo bike lending library. I'm also a League Certified Bike Instructor. My day job has nothing to do with bikes, but I spend most of my free time pushing for better bike/ped/transit infrastructure and trying to help more people (especially families with kids, women, BIPOC and queer folks) get on bikes.

Glad to be here with you all and excited to share and learn from each other!

 

[Bike Shop Girl]

Laura is also a huge movement amplifier on social media!


@LauraGMitchell where can I learn more about your SRTS grants and cargo bike library?!

 

[esmhutcheson]

Yes I’d like to know too!

 

[Nacho Bikes]

Welcome @LauraGMitchell, I’d love to hear more about your advocacy and will follow you in IG.

 

[LauraGMitchell]

Laura is also a huge movement amplifier on social media!


@LauraGMitchell where can I learn more about your SRTS grants and cargo bike library?!

One of the SRTS grants is a "planning" grant - we're evaluating the physical conditions around the school (sidewalks, bikeways, streets) to see where the safety and comfort issues are. That grant doesn't come with any funding to actually *change* anything, but is part of a longer process to push for physical improvements to the neighborhood, especially around the school. The other SRTS grant gave us a few thousand dollars to support a walking bus, which we've been piloting! We're Lyndale Elementary in this press release about all of the schools/districts that got grants this year: https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/press-releases/?id=1055-622009

The cargo bike lending library is pending a final vote from my neighborhood association next week - then I'll share more on social media as we get ready to launch it in the spring (fingers crossed)! I'm lucky to have some great partners lined up for that one and can't wait to get started.

If anyone else is on Bluesky, that's where I do most of my advocacy social media stuff now, would love to connect! https://bsky.app/profile/lauragmitchell.com

 

[LauraGMitchell]

Welcome @LauraGMitchell, I’d love to hear more about your advocacy and will follow you in IG.

Glad to be connected with you on Instagram! I do a lot more advocacy related posting on Bluesky, in case you happen to be on there! Here's my handle: https://bsky.app/profile/lauragmitchell.com

 

[enel2000]

Hello from Saint Paul! I appreciate all your work on Our Streets. I haven't gotten very far with trying to get small improvements over here with the city/county (only 1 crossing improvement in 3 years). Really cool to see the grants from the state, thanks for sharing!