Have you ridden the protected bike lanes that already exist on the Kellogg / 3rd Street bridge connecting Saint Paul’s Lowertown and Dayton’s Bluff neighborhoods? No, me neither. In fact, they are closed on both ends because they’re actually just barriers to keep cars from using the entire, structurally insufficient bridge. Is there any reason […]
When you live in Minnesota you come to expect that there will be snow during winter. We’ve crafted numerous adaptations to provide comfortable winter living, including the declaration of a “snow emergency” when streets are difficult to pass with a personal car. Is it also an emergency when you cannot travel by bicycle (or walk)? […]
An unsightly strip mall in the East Side’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood sits on the former site of a major job center, whose departure precipitated an economic downturn that has not yet ended. This location is poised to have major transit improvements and could be positioned to breath life into the neighborhood once again. Seeger Refrigeration The […]
For a thorough description of the trail, please see Ken Avidor’s great article here. I was visiting just for a few hours on my drive home from Washington D.C. My brief ride around, however, left a very strong impression. The first thing I noticed was that Indianapolis has a lot of wide one-way streets. This […]
Maryland Avenue is currently in the midst of a 4-3 conversion trial. You can read more about what led to the trial here and here. Part of the trial includes pedestrian refuges at two intersections. At these locations people walking across have a safe space to wait while drivers notice them and stop their vehicles. […]
Phalen Golf Course and Park The Phalen Golf Course is an 18-hole course that is described as “a par 70 at 6,100 yards from the back tees with a rating of 67.5 and a slope of 116.” If you’re anything like me, that makes almost no sense. The booking website lists these fees: $25 during […]
Most older cities, including Saint Paul, have a downtown center that is distinguished by greater density and mixture of uses. On a smaller scale, many neighborhoods have a center where there is a greater concentration of commercial activity. In Payne-Phalen that neighborhood center is Arlington Hills, and the commercial concentration is along Payne Avenue and […]
It is wonderful to live next to a safe off-street bike path. I wish all of you could, too. The Bruce Vento Regional Trail currently runs from Vadnais Heights down to Lowertown. A spur continues west along Phalen Boulevard and should one day extend west on Pennsylvania Avenue to Como. Currently a northern extension is being […]
On May 23rd Erin Durham was killed while trying to cross Maryland Avenue at Greenbrier Street. Just a few days later on June 7th Channy Kek was killed in a crosswalk trying to cross Cayuga in the same St. Paul neighborhood. The Payne-Phalen Transportation Committee hosted a community forum on June 9th to get information […]
Highways in St. Paul have divided our city and created major barriers for anyone not in an automobile. The “East Side” of St. Paul is informally defined as the portion east of I-35E. Many people avoid it, and Bill Lindeke has been known to refer to it as “the St. Paul of St. Paul” because […]