Here is the Tweet seen round the globe, or at least in urbanism circles …
streets.mn writer, Matthias Leyrer, went viral two weeks ago with this directed at a co-worker heading to France for holiday (feel free to check it out and RT it some more). This even sparked a clever Google Streetview Mashup (by Ben Lundsten). The left side of the street is Paris, while the right side is Mankato’s main drag Madison Avenue.
In Mankato’s defense, there are (a couple, very short) parts of Madison Ave that aren’t as bad as that. However, much of it is worse. Some of it fronted an actual cornfield until very recently.
I love comparisons like this. Recently in a discussion about speeding on Hodgson Rd in Shoreview one person screamed that Hodgson is an important Arterial and carries a lot of traffic, it’s not a pastoral residential street.
Well, turns out both 50th and France are both quite similar to Hodgson from a volume standpoint. They’re just more pastoral and pleasing.