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Transit
We Are Metro Transit: Snap a selfie before it’s too late! celebrates “’We Are Metro Transit’ is a public art installation that will be temporarily displayed at Government Plaza Station from mid-October through mid-November. One side of the display features artwork depicting transportation and downtown Minneapolis by local cartoonist Kevin Cannon. The other side is a collection of photos submitted by Metro Transit riders. Over the course of a month, a montage of photos will illustrate the diversity of our riders.” Janelle Nivens interviewed people involved with the project and posts her own selfies.
A Ride On The 865 to East Bethel commemorates Henry Pan’s ride out to the far northern suburbs. This service ended in August when grant dollars ran out and “While Metro Transit could continue operating the service with its own funds, ridership between Blaine and East Bethel have averaged around 35-40 riders per day. During my trip, I observed most passengers offboarding at Blaine, with 12 people from the first two afternoon trips making the journey up to East Bethel.” The post identifies ways services like this could be marketed to boost ridership and what facilities (like shelters) would make transit use more pleasant.
Minneapolis themed artwork by Kevin Cannon
Issues big and small
Two Dumb Signs of Downtown Saint Paul and Three Rules of Signage Design sparked this post by Bill Lindeke. In a nutshell, (1) too many signs drown out all the messages , (2) “if you have to say something obvious, you’re doing it wrong,” and (3) “When everyone ignores a sign, it should not exist.” Click over to the post to see which signs are to blame.
In the Fabled Land of Big Developer™ Giants by Tom Basgen tells the story of a Saint Paul City Council meeting where a development moratorium for Marshall Avenue was considered (and it was approved after the post was written). The post points out the Catch-22 where a big developer “with his money and his company, is getting such a rough time, it’s no wonder we don’t see the little boutique local developers that people rising in opposition say they prefer in their histrionic testimony. Who but the Big Developer™ can survive in an environment where anything that increases density gets met with a small cadre of retirement age homeowners organizing against it?” Commenters offer some rich conversation about big development, housing, and more.
Bikes
Stationless Bike Sharing in Sydney is a report from Down Under from relocated streets.mn founder David Levinson. The report is not positive on either of the two bike sharing systems reviewed (locking issues, vandalism) or the infrastructure and policy. Commenters consider whether dockless sharing makes sense as well as some questions about helmet policy.
We Read the Bike Lane Article Comments So You Don’t Have To is the next in our public service series from Julie Kosbab; the one looks at the comments for a Strib article, “Spread of bike lanes in Minneapolis and St. Paul prompts both excitement and ire.” Comments include much on the ire side of that title and we learn all people riding bikes break the law (because these comments accompany all articles on bikes) as well as some voices piping up in favor of bike lanes (and the benefits they can provide for people who drive or walk, too).
Emergency kitten to help with the comments
Quick looks
Chart of the Day: Federal Housing Expenditures for Homeowners versus Renters and “The point of the chart is pretty clear. Through programs like the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction, Federal assistance props up homeowners far more than it does renters, who are almost always much worse off economically. It’s a terrible set of policy priorities that comes at a huge cost for people struggling to get by.” The post also includes a video with Matthew Desmond, the author of the chart.
National Links: Parking Space Houses, Transit Expansion, and Data Analysis is more links from The Direct Transfer.
Corcoran, Day 2: Art and Businesses: is Max Hailperin’s latest walk around Minneapolis continuing his exploration of the Corcoran neighborhood.
