New series: Transpo Convo with Mohamed is the first post in a series interviewing people about their transportation choices and habits. This inaugural conversation includes discussion of Twin Cities bike infrastructure, transit pricing plus some comparisons with Nairobi.
Green Line coverage, continued: Green Line Signal Priority Q&A asks the geeky questions about Transit Signal Priority with answers from Metro Transit and St. Paul Public Works. Strangulation on the Green Line is a lengthy and highly critical post with more than the usual amount of footnotes which generated a commensurate number of comments.
Instant information: Charts of the Day this week Lyft/Uber vs. DUIs (in S.F.), Minneapolis Population 1950 – 2013, Bicycling, Income, and Ethnicity, and (multiple charts about Minneapolis’ federally funded) Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Project Results. From charts to a map: Map Monday: Saint Paul Horsecars and Cablecars in 1870.
Highly visual posts were many and varied this week. Neighborhoods are featured in A Stroll Through Langford Park walks a St. Paul neighborhood while The Art of a Downtown catalogs much of Northfield’s downtown art. A Cinderella Story documents the rehabilitation of Summit-University neighborhood under Ramsey County’s 4R program for tax-forfeited properties. How A Cherry Tree Can Make a Better Street helps illustrate how community building and streets go together. Payne-Phalen: Our Community is a video, but fits with the neighborhood theme here. But now for something completely different, Superman Declares War on Reckless Drivers in 1939 Marvel comics and Sunday Sketch– Flood Sketching and a Modest/Awesome Riverfront Proposal starts with awesome observation of the St. Paul riverfront and builds on it.
Information extended in time (audio and video): Video: Urban Rail, Signage, and Signaling (and tram track surfing); Podcast #67 – Public Housing for Dummies with Alex Bauman (formerly of the Minneapolis Public Housing Agency) provides a contrast to the housing reviewed in the Housing Boom Explainer; Video CNU22: Ben Hamilton-Baillie from the recent CNU conference gives those of us who could not go to Buffalo, NY a chance to see and hear one of the experts on shared space in transportation planning (for a conversation between Chuck Marohn and Ben Hamilton-Baillie, also check out the Strong Towns podcast). For those of us of a certain age (or youngsters seeking a retro experience), the Mary Tyler Moore show opening brings back memories and shows us 70s fashion on the streets of the Twin Cities.
Bicycles: Stockholm’s Steep Climb to Double Cycling Mode Share continues the EU Bicycle Information Collection Initiative series (earlier installments are here). Back at home, Dinkytown Greenway: Bluff Street vs. St. Anthony Main is a photo-heavy post about connecting the University with Downtown and, maybe, St. Anthony Main. Then & Now: Bicycles Are Back–and Booming! (National Geographic, May 1973) shows us how bicycles were back in the 1970s.
The high cost of stuff: A Minneapolis Housing Boom Explainer unpacks the boom in high rent, high-rise housing plus some active discussion about more or less affordable housing. The title of How to Blow $20,000,000 on 1,100 People should make clear this post is highly critical of MnDOT’s Highway 66 project in Good Thunder, but comments are both pro and con.
Finally: the (free) Summer Transportation Institute July 28–August 8, 2014 for high school students interested (or possibly interested) in transportation topics like traffic engineering, design, traffic safety, logistics, and urban/regional planning. Perhaps a few participants will write about their experience for streets.mn for the youth perspective.
Record low temperatures are predicted for this week which could mean excellent (brisk) walking, cycling and riding the Green Line even if the pool is a bit chilly. Have a great week on the streets and in your neighborhood!