For the first week of August, we have only four posts, but many comments about each. For next week, perhaps someone will write about the first event at US Bank Stadium and how the facility and transportation worked together (or didn’t). Or considering Olympic Games’ land use and transportation issues as the 2016 games open in Rio. In the meantime, enjoy the week on streets.mn:
Transit-related
When a Transit Shelter is Not a Transit Shelter is Peter Bajurny’s unfavorable review of a temporary transit shelter/greenhouse at 3rd Avenue S & S 7th Street. Listing desiderata for a transit shelter, Peter says “As an actual transit rider, let me tell you what I appreciate in a shelter. In the warm months I want a place in the shade and cover from rain. In the cold months I want something to block the cold wind. All times of the year I’d like a place to sit, and it’s imperative that I be able to see down the street my bus is coming from so I know when to leave the shelter to catch the bus.” This shelter is judged deficient on all counts. Commenters express surprise that the structure was a transit shelter at all, some agree it doesn’t function well, but others defend the project as an early effort at placemaking and trying to elevate transit as well as celebrating the kind of DIY urbanism of the project.
Dakota County Leaves the CTIB: the Orange Line is in Jeopardy follows last week’s The Orange Line Defunding is a Crisis for Hennepin County to discuss the CTIB’s response to Dakota County’s departure from the CTIB. This week, Monte Castleman argues for supporting the Orange Line while also considering why Dakota County opted out of CTIB, comparing it to Scott County which never opted in, and looking at a list of highway projects on the table. Commenters here debate larger issues about highway expansion pros and cons, as well as collar counties’ relationship to Hennepin and the center of the metro and the representativeness of CTIB and the Met Council.
View of the entire temporary bus shelter
Particular projects: planning for cars or people?
Dear City of Minneapolis is Matt Steele’s open letter about the project neighbors weighed in on calling for more parking; Matt asks city officials to reject the neighborhood guidance and approve a project which better fits the neighborhood, makes more productive use of the land, and make more affordable housing saying “Despite serving on a neighborhood board and being on a housing and redevelopment committee elsewhere in the city, I find it quite troublesome that existing residents can vote to keep out new residents (and, by extension, vote to make Minneapolis housing less affordable) because they want to preserve access to their slice of an unpriced public good — on-street parking.” Commenters debate how much control neighbors should have as an equity issue, well as considering the project and parking.
Something Brewing in Northeast: A Mistake at Hennepin and Central is Nick Minderman’s debut post lamenting the likely approval (the post was written just before the Planning Commission met) of two projects on the block bounded by SE 6th Street, E Hennepin Avenue, SE 7th Street, and Central Avenue. Following the approval of a suburban-style, single story drive-through Walgreen’s on Hennepin Avenue, this post cries “We can’t afford to keep giving away our best land for developments that don’t generate vitality and tax revenue for present and future citizens.” Here’s a link to another streets.mn post about the impacts of drive-throughs. Commenters are on both sides of the issue with several arguing for the convenience of drive-throughs and others agreeing with the post about the damaging effects of auto-oriented development in a transit-oriented corridor.
Location of White Castle & Holiday Store
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