This past week was election day bringing new mayors to Minneapolis and Saint Paul, plus some shuffling of the Minneapolis Council and Park Board. Here at streets.mn, we’re looking forward to seeing how new policy-makers will work to change the urban landscape; we’re also looking forward to encouraging you to write about what you see on your streets in the year ahead.
Join the streets.mn Board to Keep Moving the Conversation Forward is another perspective on serving on the streets.mn board; applications are due tomorrow morning, November 13, 2017: “But the organization is also facing challenges and change. Many of the original authors and board members have moved on to new ventures, and we have a mostly second-generation board looking to define and sustain the site for the future. Our political climate for local government has become yet-more-tense, with a divided state government, a gridlocked national government, and dangerous efforts to curtail local government through preemption. The streets.mn conversation has never mattered more, and serving on the board has never mattered more.”
Looking ahead in the very near term, Give to the Max Day is Thursday, November 16, 2017. There’s a button to your right which will take you to our donor page for more information about giving to streets.mn on Thursday, or any time. Further ahead, December 12 is our Winter Festivity with the The Theater of Public Policy, food, drink and enlightened conversation. Mark your calendar and look for more information soon!
Join these board members Bill Lindeke and Janne Flisrand
Bikes
Cities Should Take the Lead on Dockless Bike Sharing says Kate Lockhart. After attending a meeting where Nice Rice presented its plans for dockless bike share (and asking to be the exclusive provider of bike sharing in the Twin Cities), this post asks whether a private monopoly is the right model: “If given exclusivity, Nice Ride’s process for determining the future of bike share will become the cities’ process for determining the future of bike share. This is problematic for two reasons. First, Nice Ride’s decision making process does not provide for the accountability that a publicly led process would, and second, Nice Ride’s process will lead to an outcome that is in the best interests of Nice Ride, not one that is in the best interests of the citizens of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.”
A History of Bicycle Helmets and a Study of Bicycle Helmet use in Minnesota from Monte Castleman is another in-depth look (see his posts on street lights, too) at the development of bike helmets plus an observational study of helmet use around Minneapolis lakes and other places.
Margaret Street Closure Test Preps for Grand Round by Melissa Wenzel tells of a ride around the Margaret Street project area and was posted in advance of a November 9, 2017 public meeting on the project: “Earlier in October, Margaret Street temporarily closed on either side of Johnson Parkway for a test closure. According to the city of Saint Paul’s website, ‘to enhance the future trail along Johnson Parkway, one option being considered is to close some of the gaps in the median, including the gap at Margaret, so that cars can no longer cross Johnson Parkway at Margaret….If the test is successful, the closure will be made permanent in 2018.’”
Group getting ready for a group ride on Margaret Street
Quick look plus slow rambles
Look: Chart of the Day: Twin Cities Rental Households by Income shows the growth in higher income renters from a MinnPost article about affordable housing (and whether or not Minneapolis has a crisis on its hands).
Walk: Take another walk with Max Hailperin to the North Central Diamond Lake neighborhood in Minneapolis with more history, architecture, and a restaurant review.
Ride: Below THE Summit is another Saint Paul bike ride with Wolfie Browender. As always, history, architecture, and the people along the way tell us much about the neighborhood.
The view toward Downtown Saint Paul from near the top of the Walnut Street Steps.