Sustainability Office
Kagin Commons
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-696-8138
Comments & questions to:
sustainability@macalester.edu

what can you do?

MacBike and BikeShare

Bicycles:  A Sustainable Mode of Transportation!

Bicycles and biking as an alternative mode of transportation is a promising step towards more sustainable cities. The transportation networks on which most people depend are predominantly car-dominated and fossil fuel intensive, without many alternative options. Recognizing a more balanced and multi-modal transportation system is needed to create a more sustainable urban environment, and mass-transit, walking, and biking are all great alternatives.

Bikes are empowering because they are simultaneously able to provide speed, physical exercise, and a form of commuting at a much more affordable price than cars. However, the groundwork to make urban biking safe and easy is still a work in progress. Fortunately, here in the Twin Cities, we have a variety of bike lanes, greenways, and advocacy organizations fighting for more, yet we are still in the beginning stages. Given the growing strength and numbers of bike commuters in bike culture in the Twin Cities and around the world, there is great hope for potential changes, stronger urban bicycle policies and more designated bike lanes!

MacBike is a student-run organization at Macalester College that promotes bicycle-use both on campus and in the greater Twin Cities community. We support bicycling as a fun, sustainable, and socially just form of transportation.

Contact information: Mark Stonehil (mstonehill@macalester.edu), Dillon Teske (dteske@macalester.edu), and Ainsley Judge (ajudge@macalester.edu).

BikeShare is a free bike rental program organized by MacBike. Macalester students, staff, and faculty can rent a bike (along with a helmet and lock) at the InfoDesk with a valid Mac ID for up to three days.

There are currently six different bikes in the bike fleet, with hopefully more on the way. They range in size from a small woman’s frame to a large unisex frame and include hybrids, road bikes, and mountain bikes. Spring semester ’09, hopefully we will have a trailer available to rent that can attach to the back of a bike so that all students and faculty can do groceries or transport/ move larger items by bike!

Contact information:  Ainsley Judge at ajudge@macalester.edu

Ways to get involved: In MacBike we host organized rides, alley cat races, speakers, and open shop hours for the entire campus.

• Our weekly meetings are held after Open Shop on Thursdays from 8 – 9 pm in the basement of 30 Mac.
• Open Shop is open to anyone who needs help fixing their bike, needs a part, or wants to learn the art of bicycle mechanics – all for FREE! Every Thursday, 6 – 8 pm in the MacBike shop in the basement of 30 Mac.

Bike more!

There are a number of ways and reasons to become a more active biker on campus, in the Twin Cities, and wherever your pedals take you!

The Twin Cities have some excellent bike lanes and greenways for fun rides, good exercise, and for commuting purposes.

• Midtown Greenway – runs west from the Mississippi River and into Uptown
• Grand Rounds (ring around Lake Nokomis, Calhoun, Lake of the Isles)
• Mississippi River Greenway
• Various Bike Lanes as close as Summit Ave and all over the cities

You can rent a map for free from the BikeShare program at the InfoDesk or buy your own new tear and water resistant Twin Cities bike map now available at the Highlander and Macalester Bookstore.

Twin Cities Organizations/ Helpful Links:

• Sibley Bike Depot – a volunteer- run nonprofit bike shop and organization that offers a great selection of affordable used bikes. Volunteers are always welcome to help fix old bikes in their mechanics’ shop – and learn some things in the process. They also teach a few EXCO classes, such as the Basic Bike Maintenance and Wheel Building. Check them out at: http://www.sibleybikedepot.org/
• Transit for Livable Communities – a nonprofit organization that advocates for mass-transit, walking, and biking as viable alternative transport options in the Twin Cities. (http://www.tlcminnesota.org/)
• Bike Walk Twin Cities – A federally funded initiative of $21.5 million dollars granted to the Transit for Livable Communities organization to reduce driving in the Twin Cities and increase biking and walking. (http://bikewalktwincities.org/)
• St. Paul Smart Trips – An organization comprised of the former St. Paul and Midway TMO that supports commuting options beyond driving alone, from ride-sharing, walking, biking, and public transportation. (http://www.smart-trips.org/)
• Some Local Bike Shops:

1. Sibley Bike Depot (see above), 712 University Avenue West, St. Paul
2. The Hub Co-op , 301 Cedar Ave S AND 3020 Minnehaha Ave S, Minneapolis
3. Grand Performance , 1938 Grand Ave, St. Paul
4. Express Bikes , 234 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul
5. Boehm’s Bikes , 1592 Selby Ave, St. Paul
6. Freewheel Bike , 1812 S 6th St, Minneapolis
7. Now Bikes and Fitness , 75 N Snelling Ave, St. Paul

• Minneapolis Critical Mass – Riding to “take back the streets” and to prove that bikes belong on our roads, bikers gather in Loring Park on the last Friday of every month at 5:30 and, en masse, proceed to ride through Minneapolis’s downtown streets. No specific route is necessarily planned and generally the police protect the participating bikers from cars and through intersections. All are welcome!!
• MN Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee – A branch of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT), with 15 citizen members and 12 agency members that works on outreach and policy for non-motorized forms of transport in Minnesota. (http://www.mnsbac.org/)

Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105  USA · 651-696-6000
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