The event is over, but the information is still current: A Minneapolis 2040 Conversation Guide for National Night Out was published in advance of Tueaday, August 7’s neighborhood gatherings, but Jonathan Foster’s comp plan talking points could still help you out in other conversations about the comp plan: “Hopefully you’ll spark discussion. Ask your neighbor what city issues matter to them. Your conversation should connect people who support the plan and be informative for neighbors who don’t know about the plan.”
Vote!
If you live in the relevant locations (find polling places and sample ballots via the MN Secretary of State), vote in the Ramsay County Commissioner primary on Tuesday, August 14! To help you prepare, streets.mn sent candidate questionnaires to the District 3 candidates and here is Ramsey County Commissioner District 3 Questionnaire: Jennifer Nguyen Moore (others will be published when received). Also vote if you live in Saint Paul’s Ward 4 in the special election to replace Russ Stark who resigned to work in Mayor Melvin Carter’s administration; streets.mn has interviewed those candidates, too.
Ramsay County Commission candidate Jennifer Nguyen Moore
Getting around
In the larger picture of getting around Minnesota by motor vehicle, Monte Castleman concludes his series on Minnesota highways with A History of Minnesota’s Highways, Part 6 “with a look at the deletions statewide, and recent changes to the metro.” After adding state highways, there was also a wave of turning back state highways to more local jurisdictions. Plus, the post does some future forecasting and adds some secrets, too.
Looking back, Chris Steller reproduces a Minneapolis Tribune article from 1916 titled, ‘I Am King of the Streets Because I Am Only a Pedestrian’ which describes an interview, “Horace E. Johnson sauntered city streets as he wished, the newspaper reported, and did so right into the age of the automobile, claiming ‘the right of way over everything else but other American citizens afoot.'”
Pine Salica offers some suggestions for Fixing Metro Transit’s Staff Shortage from the perspective of making the position of bus driver more reasonable, “When I was unemployed, I was looking very hard at that $19.45/hr rate they give you while you’re in training. I did apply, and even was accepted to a screening interview. Ultimately, I decided not to take the position. Being a bus driver is still too much to ask for that wage.”
Franklin Avenue Can’t Be Everything for Everybody (cross-posted on Our Streets Minneapolis) according to Will Delaney, Associate Director at Hope Community, but the status quo is unsafe and not serving any group well, “We have to make some tough choices about who we prioritize. For Franklin Avenue, with so many people walking and rolling to numerous community destinations, I believe the first priority should be for pedestrians and those who live on the street. We must make the street safer for the most vulnerable people in our community.”
Pedestrian crash map, Franklin Avenue
Map, link, walk
Links: National Links: Cars Behaving Badly more links from The Overhead Wire including the title link to a story in which “The Portland Oregon alt-weekly newspaper asked locals to report electric scooter riders behaving badly. In turn they responded with stories of automobiles almost running them over instead. (Willamette Week).”
Map: Map Monday: Cycle Tracks from Minneapolis, 1896 shows principal cycle runs out of Minneapolis into the surrounding area.
Walk: Keep walking with Max Hailperin by Walking All the Streets of Northeastern Hawthorne.