Author: Joe Harrington

Joe Harrington

Joe is the Editor-in-chief at Streets.mn and a member of the board of directors. He writes on urban geography, public policy, transportation, and environmental issues. Joe also serves as the Policy manager at Our Streets, aiming to create an equitable and multi-modal transportation future in the Twin Cities. He studied Geography and Environmental Studies at Macalester College and in his free time loves exploring Twin Cities restaurants, cooking, and finding good places to swim or fish.

Bus Rapid Transit tends to improve ridership.

Universal Mobility Wallet: Minnesota’s Key to Better Transit?

Joe Harrington • October 2, 2024

Other cities and states are experimenting with universal mobility wallets to boost transit ridership. Minnesota should as well, to promote ridership statewide.

"Imagine there's no traffic; it's easy if you try." Photo by Joe Harrington

What a Weekend Without I-94 Can Teach the Twin Cities

Joe Harrington • September 12, 2024

A rare glimpse of a car-free Interstate 94 in St. Paul challenges assumptions about highway usage and helps us envision the corridor’s future.

Credit: Joe Harrington

Residents’ Feedback on Olson Memorial Highway Favors Multimodal Options

Joe Harrington • August 23, 2024

MnDOT’s Olson Memorial Highway project advances, with community preferences emphasizing biking, walking and transit, aiming to reconnect and restore Minneapolis’ Near North neighborhood.

Photo by Joe Harrington

Musings on a Move From St. Paul to Minneapolis

Joe Harrington • August 16, 2024

For a recent college graduate who’s lived on or close to campus for four years, what’s it like to choose your very first home?

Amtrak has added a new train line between St. Paul and Chicago, stopping throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. This success was presaged by failures, one of which benefited a city across the globe. Photo courtesy of Amtrak.

From the Midwest to Nigeria: An Unlikely Rail Saga

Joe Harrington • June 14, 2024

The arrival of the Borealis line provides an opportunity to look back on a project that didn’t make it this far, but found a new home in Africa.

A reconnected Near North community in Minneapolis with community development space and multimodal transportation. Credit: Our Streets Minneapolis

Reconnecting Communities Grants to Study Minnesota Highway Removal

Joe Harrington • April 8, 2024

Federal funding provides key support for restoration of communities, but further efforts are needed to follow through with these opportunities.

Rendering courtesy of Our Streets Minneapolis

Rethinking I-94: Two Meetings, Two Steps Forward

Joe Harrington • March 7, 2024

Two recent meetings in the Legislature and at MnDOT point toward the need for a multimodal, more equitable future for the I-94 corridor.

Sixth Avenue in 1922. Courtesy Hennepin County Libraries

How Freeway Construction Reshaped Two Vibrant Twin Cities Neighborhoods

Joe Harrington and Jessie Merriam • February 14, 2024

Highway expansion has severed Twin Cities neighborhoods from one another. Can new planning proposals begin to heal these historic harms?