The West Metro Active Transportation Alliance (WMATA), pronounced Wuh-Mat-Tuh, is organizing to challenge car dependency, prioritize sustainable choices, and ensure safe, equitable mobility options in the Twin Cities West Metro.
We send these newsletters out monthly to help keep you up to date on what we’ve been doing and what’s coming up in WMATA events and West Metro transportation advocacy in general.
1. What We’ve Been Up To
Since our last newsletter was sent out we’ve…
- We attended West End Wednesday on July 8th for our July social; we gathered outside of
Song Tea and PokeBun Bun Cafe & Poke in St. Louis Park! - We organized WMATA’s first working groups, which will help democratize the structure of our group, and spread the operation of WMATA to multiple team members. If you are interested in joining a working group, please join the discord and hop into one of our working group channels to get more info!
- SLP had a parking requirements study session planned for last month but it was cancelled at the last minute because the city planner was unexpectedly unavailable on the 15th. This discussion has been rescheduled to Sept 2nd, but we’re keeping a close eye on it because we’re worried that city staff is delaying much needed changes. No city should force people to build unnecessary car parking that contributes directly to the urban heat island effect, increased flood risk, and climate chaos; especially a city like St. Louis Park which touts its status as a leader on climate issues.
- We watched in disappointment as Edina voted against the Wooddale Bike Lane project on July 21st. We were very proud of the many members of WMATA that were engaged in lobbying the Edina City Council for this project. Special thanks goes to Taylor Bruhschwein and Jake Vandelist, and the rest of the Edina cycling advocacy community that came out for this project, and welcomed WMATA into the lobbying effort with collaboration and support. Many groups including the Minnesota Star Tribune have framed this as a battle between cyclists and residents, a protected bike lane versus car parking, but the truth is that we all want the same thing: for drivers to slow down on Wooddale Avenue. Taylor and Jake wrote a letter to the Star Tribune responding to their framing of the issue. Unfortunately State Aid Road Standards prevent Minnesota cities from funding road projects that calm traffic and accommodate more road users. While we did not succeed in delaying the mill and overlay so that more time, resources, and thought could go towards an accelerated full reconstruction to accommodate all road users, we will continue to work with BikeMN and our elected leaders to fight for standards and statutes that don’t force cities to choose between cyclist and pedestrian safety or convenient parking for residents.
2. What’s Coming Up
WMATA hosted Events:
- For our August Social we’ll be enjoying a (hopefully) beautiful summer evening at Mills Park in Minnetonka. The park is located immediately adjacent to the Lake Minnetonka Regional Trail at Plymouth Road just west of Station Pizzeria. We’ll be there from 6pm to 8pm. There are several restaurants in the vicinity for you to grab dinner or snacks from.
Unfortunately, there’s no direct transit access, so please email info@westmet.org or message us on discord before August 11th if transportation is a barrier for you.
Please RSVP via discord, google calendar, or by emailing info@westmet.org. - Our August general working meeting will be on Tuesday, August 18th at 6:30 PM on Google Meet. Please RSVP via discord, google calendar, or emailing info@westmet.org if you plan to join. Our general working meetings are a great way to connect with our team and figure out how you can best support our work!
- Our September Social will be on Wednesday, September 9th at 6PM. Details are still TBD, but were hoping to venture into Edina with the Edina Bike Alliance!
- Save the date: WMATA celebration on Oct 3rd. Details are TBD and we’d love help with planning!
Additional Events:
- Please go join our friends at Streets.mn for their annual picnic on Saturday, August 8th at Galtier Towers in St. Paul. Please RSVP on their event brite and bring something to share!
- The 3rd Annual Twin Cities Bike Tour will be on October 10 starting from Wabun Park at 8 AM. Registration is now open and Bike MN is also still recruiting volunteers to support the ride in a variety of ways!
More opportunities to engage are popping up all the time. The best way to stay in the know is by joining our discord server (more info below)! You can also check our calendar for new events that come up after this newsletter is sent.
3. How to Get Involved
- Join a working group!
- WMATA needs your help to continue our fight for safer streets and better transit in the West Metro. While donations are great, they do not organize our social events and meetings, build relationships with our communities and local leaders, or launch campaigns to slow traffic and increase transit frequency and walkability in the West Metro. The best way to support our work right now is to jump into a working group and help us plan events, manage our discord server, calendar, social media, and send newsletters like this one!
- Join our discord server:
- Discord is where WMATA members do most of our communications and organize events. If you plan to contribute to WMATA’s work please consider joining. You can request assistance with discord by emailing info@westmet.org.
- This link expires on 9/01/26. Reply to this email or send an email to info@westmet.org to request a new link.
- If you are already in discord, but you only have access to the welcome and rules and introductions channels, you may need to post an introduction and/or update your server name to comply with the rules.
- Become a WMATA Member!
- If you are already a BikeMN member, click here to add WMATA as your chapter.
- Not a BikeMN member, click here and make sure WMATA or Access Hopkins is selected at the bottom of the form.
- Not sure? Check your Bike MN Membership status here.
**You can be a member of either or both Access Hopkins and WMATA but you will need to choose either group for your BikeMN affiliation**
- Join us at an event: Listed above or in the WMATA calendar
- Social media: Follow us and share our posts!
Thanks for reading and we hope to see you soon!
westmet.org
info@westmet.org
A chapter of The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
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