On June 19, 1954 the streetcar system in the Twin Cities shut down permanently. I ...
On Saturday, June 8, Metro Transit debuted its latest Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. The C Line operates from downtown Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center Transit Center and, in between, serves Olson Memorial Highway, Penn Avenue, Osseo Road and Brooklyn Boulevard. The C Line parallels Metro Transit’s Route 19, which saw its frequency and operating hours […]
After a couple of lazy weeks, last week’s haul has some meaty posts about highways, transit, and places to visit in Saint Paul. Rapid buses, an in-depth look Alex Schiefferdecker gives us a three-part series (which follows up his post from last year) about rapid bus transit starting with an overview of plans, politics, and […]
If you take away anything from the first two of this series of articles, it should be that we need to know more. Only Metro Transit has the data and staff hours needed to do a thorough review of the options for aBRT expansion. But such a review is clearly needed. While my basic analysis […]
Someone (apologies for I forget who) Tweeted out this report from the Met Council called simply “We Still Need More Housing” the other day. It’s got some great charts in it. Here are three of them. Keep in mind that this is all metro-wide data. For example, check out this chart, comparing MSP to other […]
As Metro Transit moves forward with its arterial bus rapid transit (aBRT) program, there’s an important opportunity to reassess the plans that will guide future investments. Those plans, which were developed almost a decade ago, are not comprehensive or inspiring. Some rethinking is needed. Last year, I wrote about the limitations of those earlier plans. […]
While scrolling and then mentioned through Facebook the other day I found a sponsored post that piqued my interest titled “Make YOUR Voice heard, Minneapolis!” regarding safe and affordable housing in Minneapolis. The initial concept sounds great, but their whole campaign and turfing is selectively worded so obviously behind their own thinly-veiled manipulation attempts for […]
Previously I covered the history of Minnesota’s trunk highway system. At it’s inception in 1920 the system contained what still is the core of the system. But the new governor, Floyd. B. Olson, championed a massive increase in size and scope of the state government, including a proposal to vastly increase the mileage of the […]
This past weekend, dignitaries and Metro Transit staff helped cut the ribbon on the C Line, the Twin Cities’ newest rapid transit service. The C Line is the second project in a planned set of five “Arterial Bus Rapid Transit” (aBRT) routes, the most exciting thing that is happening (and not happening fast enough) for […]
Here’s an alphabetical list of Saint Paul sights. Enjoy! Asian Main Street, between Marion Street and Lexington Avenue Art Moderne Storefront on early 20th century building, 2556 West University Ave, STP Assumption Catholic Church, 1874 downtown STP Bandana Square, five former railroad buildings, STP Best city Councilperson: Jane Prince, 7th Ward, STP Bungalow Court, […]
Here’s a fun chart / map combo from Strong Towns, using the excellent land value per acre maps that consultant Urban3 puts out. It shows the value-per-acre for areas around Lake Minnetonka and the South Minneapolis “chain of lakes” area. Before we get to the chart, check out these maps: Here are the two charts, […]
This is “Meet a Roundabout,” a new series of posts about roundabouts in the Twin Cities area that are improving traffic efficiency and safety. Posts include pictures and video of the roundabout and a history of how they came to be. This is the first post in the series. On a recent beautiful Wednesday night, […]
Every day at The Overhead Wire we collect news about cities and send the links to our email list. At the end of the week we take some of the most popular stories and post them to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the DC region. […]
There’s a new study about park and rides and highway express buses that came out of the University of Minnesota’s CTS (Center for Transportation Studies) a few months ago. I just got a chance to look through it, and there are some cool / depressing maps that I wanted to share. The study is about […]
The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota proved the authenticity of its name at the organization’s annual meeting on Saturday, June 8, with a showcase of bike- and pedestrian-friendly initiatives throughout the state that BikeMN is either leading or supporting. From honoring an African-American bicycling club that just celebrated its 20th anniversary in Minneapolis to helping tiny […]
Here’s the short summer Sunday Summary: Fight Rolls On for Bike Infrastructure on South Cleveland by Brandon Long tells us about what could still happen in his Highland Park neighborhood, “Cleveland Avenue South is scheduled for a desperately needed mill and overlay this fall. Perfect opportunity to throw down some paint for a bike […]
Several years ago, I wrote a post about The Short Line Bridge, its history and its critical role in extending the Midtown Greenway eastwards, across the Mississippi River. The Short Line Bridge was built by the Chicago Milwaukee St.Paul & Pacific railroad in 1902. It originally had two tracks and carried both passenger and freight […]
I set out again from the 43rd and Upton/Sheridan commercial node, as I had on my second walk in Linden Hills. More specifically, I started at the point where Sheridan and Upton Avenues South merge together just north of 43rd Street West. On the route map, this starting point is indicated with a green marker from […]
At long last, the C-Line is finally opening! This Saturday, Metro Transit will begin running the C-Line. The C-Line is intended to replace the 19; it will run on the same route as the 19 between Downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center but it will stop less often. It will use special buses, including electric buses, […]
Every day at The Overhead Wire we collect news about cities and send the links to our email list. At the end of the week we take some of the most popular stories and post them to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the DC region. […]
Via Slate, here’s an interesting map that shows automobile ownership per capita across the Twin Cities’ metro. It’s from a recent Trulia dataset that does this for the whole country, and lets you easily glimpse the car ownership rates across the country. Here’s the TC: Two basic patterns emerge: the low-car areas correspond with both […]
