It was a comparatively light week here on streets.mn for this summery Summary, but here’s what matters this week:
Practical matters: MOVE BACK: A Casual Guide to Regular Bus Usage is one of those posts which might seem too obvious to be written by the folks who already know how to ride the bus, but very helpful for new-to-transit people who do not yet know the unwritten rules of the culture. Accessibility is about more than being able to get on the bus, after all.
Money matters: Predictions for Super Bowl 2018 is more about predicting revenue to pay for that new stadium than the outcome of the game. Minneapolis will lose.
Timing matters: The METRO Greenline opens on June 14 (test trains running now) and a topic of much interest is how long will it take to get from Target Field to Union Station. It will take 3 minutes if you watch METRO Green Line Time Lapse: Lowertown St. Paul to Target Field. Otherwise, Metro Council’s estimated times of 40 minutes for the 11 mile route were scared away by reported test times of 67 minutes with more recent tests clocking 48 minutes. Fortunately, Green Line Travel Time Update asks more relevant questions like is it faster than bus routes (yes) and can signal timing make a different (also yes)?
Bicycling matters: Bologna’s Cycling Struggles and the Potential to Export Its Intimacy is the next installment of the EU BICI series where we learn that Bologna has some great assets, some challenges, but people still manage to share space among modes for some pretty good cycling.
Greater Minnesota matters: Then & Now: Downtown Duluth takes a look at Duluth since I-35 was built.
Particular places: This week, West 29th Street as a Pedestrian Destination reimagines a section of Uptown to assist the City of Minneapolis which has allocated money toward studying such a possibility. Or, you can listen to Podcast #63 – Imagining 29th Street with Michael Roden for an audio version (then read the post for the pictures and maps).
Visuals and videos of the Day: Chart of the Day: Flow Rate v. Density (on Freeways) is the first chart of several promised about traffic jams while Map of the Day: West Broadway in Brooklyn Park shows a planned project in Brooklyn Park (plus some critical commentary). Now you see it… (because the Metrodome is gone) captures a new, but temporary vista. How can we cure congestion? is the next little video on transportation economics (find the others here). Finally I-35W and Lake Street Intersection – November, 2011 is a video from the I-35W Transit Access Project showing this intersection in action from a motorized-vehicle only point of view.
Finally – want to be part of the streets.mn team? Here are 3 ways:
- Ride for us and contribute your bicycled miles to the streets.mn National Bike Challenge team
- Write for us – especially if there are transportation and land use issues (or perspectives on transportation/land use issues) you’d like to see on streets.mn, please think about commenting on posts and/or writing your own post.
- Give money to help keep streets.mn up and running
Have a wonderful first week of June!