Sunday Summary - July 23, 2017

‘Tis the dog days of summer when hot dogs pant furiously, ice cream cones melt and fall on sidewalks (to be licked up by hot dogs), and lucky dogs get to go swimming. A light week here on streets.mn, but here’s what we’ve got:

Dock Dog

Look and listen

Here to There Episodes 7 (SOCIAL COHESION | circulator) & 8 (ACCESSIBILITY | wheelchair) brings two more episodes from the Here to There podcast to streets.mn. Episode 7 tackles “social cohesion and the ways in which mobility and transportation impact the ability of individuals or groups to thrive as members of society.” Episode 8 looks at “the challenges of accessibility that confront millions of Minnesotans with disabilities, not only from our transportation system, but the urban form built around it.”

Columbia Park Day 3: Shoreham and Northtown Rail Yards and Hi-View Park Area continues Max Hailperin’s walks around Minneapolis neighborhoods. Continuing his exploration of the Columbia Park neighborhood, this walk is part industrial, part residential, and always a good look at details of places we might otherwise miss.

University Market (Closed), 308 37th Ave NE

Bigger picture

CLIC Recommended Capital Budget Falls Short on Pedestrian Safety in Alex Tsatsoulis’ review of the Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee’s work: “A big takeway from this year’s process was that despite new projects for pedestrian and bicycle safety brought to CLIC this year, the city is not funding pedestrian infrastructure and safety at a level that will begin to have an impact on making our roads safer for the most vulnerable users.” Nevertheless, keep reading for a more detailed analysis of the projects which will be funded, details of each, and what got dropped from the list (and check here for more about the CLIC process itself).

Xcel Energy Should Help with the Electric Car Rollout says Matt Eckholm. “A more robust local charging network would be a great help in getting the average driver over their range anxiety, regardless of how legitimate or irrational fears about range may be. But when we think of charging infrastructure, there’s a potential player that could help bridge the gap between the auto-industry owned interstate Superchargers and the home charging port – the electric company.” Looking at Kansas City Power & Light’s program of adding charging stations around Kansas City, this post sees a role for our own electric utility to step up and make electric vehicles more convenience.