Bill Lindeke • March 31, 2021 • 35 Like most freeways, I long took the 4th Street viaducts for granted. They just loomed there at the edge of downtown taking up space, hoisted 30’ in the air like a helium whale. A grey meaningless concrete backdrop generating constant noise and microscopic particles of plastic, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and other subtle poison. These […]
Bill Lindeke • March 15, 2021 During the pandemic, tourism has to adapt and change to fit the times. That’s why a while back streets.mn used Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater to visit Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other late 90s skater meccas. If you missed it when it happened, check out the Twitch stream here. Thanks to Phil Schwartz for being […]
Bill Lindeke • February 15, 2021 At one level, all you need to know about the proposed development on Lexington Parkway, just south of University Avenue, is that it meets every rule in the St. Paul Zoning Code. That’s the point I was trying to make during the intense Planning Commission meeting ten days ago. The vote was part of a […]
Bill Lindeke • January 30, 2021 It’s been a long pandemic year and those of us planning events at streets.mn are getting a bit stir crazy. So we’re launching a new series of events. We’re going to visit virtual cities in computer games and stream our hot urban design takes on Twitch for you! We’re kicking it off with a visit […]
Bill Lindeke • October 14, 2020 It’s only been eight months since the last Chart of the Day, but this one is a doozy. the US has terrible road safety record when you compare it to European peer countries. Via Streetsblog, here’s one of the more revealing bits of data, showing which countries have made progress over the last thirty years. […]
Bill Lindeke • October 9, 2020 With the help of Move Minnesota and the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, streets.mn has sent out a transportation and land use questionnaire to candidates running for Hennepin County Board. With a $2.5 annual budget, the County Board is the most important government body that most people don’t know anything about. The upcoming […]
Bill Lindeke • October 8, 2020 With the help of Move Minnesota and the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, streets.mn has sent out a transportation and land use questionnaire to candidates running for Hennepin County Board. With a $2.5 annual budget, the County Board is the most important government body that most people don’t know anything about. The upcoming […]
Bill Lindeke • October 7, 2020 With the help of Move Minnesota and the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, streets.mn has sent out a transportation and land use questionnaire to candidates running for Hennepin County Board. With a $2.5 annual budget, the County Board is the most important government body that most people don’t know anything about. The upcoming […]
Bill Lindeke • October 1, 2020 I still remember the first time I looked at a city zoning code, in a planning class at the Humphrey School. I both recommend it and, at the same time, would not wish the experience on anyone. City codes are interminable documents written in technical legalese. They go into painstaking detail about things like how […]
Bill Lindeke • August 24, 2020 Earlier this month, the Saint Paul Planning Commission approved another drive-thru in the urban core, confirming a conditional use permit (CUP) for a 1,800-square-foot, one-story Taco Bell restaurant on a 16,500-square-foot lot with the vast majority of the remaining land used for parking and a drive-thru lane. The location is just over 1,000 feet from […]