I mean, that light rail system is just, man. It's no wonder the Twin Cities are (one of) the most bike friendly cities in the country -- if you're not driving somewhere it's the only other way to reliably get where you're going in reasonable time :)
I mean, that light rail system is just, man. It's no wonder the Twin Cities are (one of) the most bike friendly cities in the country -- if you're not driving somewhere it's the only other way to reliably get where you're going in reasonable time :)
The only way to reap all of the benefits of Minneapolis is to work/live downtown. However, most of the tech jobs are in the burbs so it's a problem! Furthermore, downtown minneapolis is pretty lame. All the cool events/restaurants and bars are not found downtown.
IMO the one thing that saves our mass transit is that busses are allowed to ride on the shoulder bypassing most traffic. I lived in the north burbs and had a job downtown Minneapolis. I could take an express bus from a nice ramp facility to right into downtown with just one extra stop. 20 minute trip vs nearly an hour in a car.
However, forget about using mass transit if you're trying to get anywhere outside of downtown Minneapolis.
Also, the cities are bike friendly but not as friendly as most 'best places to bike' actually say they are. Most articles go by sum of miles of bike lanes, but many bike lanes here are pretty terrible. Not protected, poorly maintained, not plowed or light enforcement for cars badly parked. I'd say Minneapolis is as bike friendly as any other ubran area with a sizable health conscious population.