I recently watched an amazing 29-minute, on-line documentary film about the last day of lead type at the New York Times. It’s called “Farewell Etaoin Shrdlu” and I recommend everyone watch it. The date is July 2, 1978 and, for around a hundred years prior to that date, this was how newspapers were put together– […]
On April 15, the group “Citizens for Roads Asphalt and Parking” (C.R.A.P.) is participating in a “National Park-in” to protest the lack of free parking in American Cities. Protest participants will drive to downtowns across the country and park their cars in metered spaces or parking lots without paying. Some may even park in the […]
Janette Sadik-Khan served as transportation commissioner for the city of New York during Michael Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor. She was in charge of most of the streets, roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries responsible for moving a population of over eight million people. As such, she was responsible for the maintenance and programming of more infrastructure […]
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is currently finishing the planning process for re-decking the Smith Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River in Saint Paul. As part of this 2018 project, they are also repaving Smith Avenue, from Grand Avenue all the way south to Interstate 494. The Smith Avenue Bridge, also known as “The High […]
A lot of ink has been spilled over state Representative Duane Quam’s proposed bill HF499 requiring “urban bicycle lane permits” in order to ride in a bike lane. The full text of the bill can be found here. Lots of people in the cycling community wrote, called or met with him. Many wrote columns, blog […]
Sticker tags and sticker art have been around for a long time but they’re so ubiquitous that people stop noticing them. They’re often on newspaper boxes, the backs of street signs, light poles, utility boxes, bar and club bathrooms, toll plazas, bus shelters– anywhere you can stick something and have it seen. Sticker tags are […]
The city of Saint Paul has long envisioned extending the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway across the Mississippi River and along the Canadian Pacific railroad line into Saint Paul. Engineers at the city’s Public Works Department began actively exploring the idea in 2003. It was on the city’s Comprehensive Plan at least as far back as 2008, […]
This week the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced it was adding “Fear of Parking Loss” to its official “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. Fear of Parking Loss (FPL) is characterized by a belief that having free, on-street parking next to the front door of your destination is essential for human survival and a […]
Community activists engaged in a three-year-long fight to block freeway ramps at Prior Avenue — and won.
When 70 people, six advocacy groups, three district councils and an elected official can’t influence MnDOT’s foregone conclusions, what’s the point?