Another installment in my occasional series on traffic signals: here is random stuff I’ve discovered around the area. Is it a Ball or an Arrow? This intersection of County 81 and Elm Creek Boulevard doesn’t seem to be particularly interesting, but look closer when the light turns green. Then move closer. The green ball magically […]
Short, cute video about the romance between a bird and a traffic signal, but also apparently throwing some barbs at some urban design decisions.
Recently a comment posted a link that claimed “Snelling and University is the busiest intersection in the state”. To several writers, this didn’t pass the smell test. The source from Google comes from Wikipedia, which in turn comes from a book by Larry Millett, where he uses the phrase “This is believed to be the […]
This is Part Four in a series on the new Stillwater Bridge. Parts One, Two, and Three dealt with the backstory behind the bridge, from vague rumblings in the 1950s to refinements to the design after it was committed to be built. Here are a few thoughts of what lies “beyond the bridge” after it opens. […]
Crosswalks have been disappearing in the suburbs. As part of its ADA transition plan, MnDOT conducted an inventory of all 1171 signals with pedestrian push-buttons, with a plan to have all of the intersections in compliance with the ADA by 2030. Some high priority areas will be retrofitted as stand alone projects, but other intersections will […]
This is Part Three in my series on the new Stillwater Bridge; the series continues with further design revisions and some odds and ends. Part One looked at the history from vague 1950s proposals to the doomed 1995 plan. Part Two covered further design proposals as well as the trials and tribulations leading up to […]
When a Final Design Isn’t This is Part Two of a series on the new Stillwater Bridge, now officially known as the St. Croix Crossing. Part One dealt with 1950s era mutterings up to the 1995 selection of a preferred alternative. But as everyone knows there was plenty of opposition. Although final design work (costing $1 Million) and […]
This is part 4 of an ongoing series on traffic signals. Part one looked at vehicle signals in general, Part two and part three looked at left turns. In this part we get into more detail on pedestrian signals. Early Days. Since almost the beginning it was recognized that additional accommodations needed to be made […]
This is part four of an ongoing series on traffic signals. Part one and part two of the Spotters Guide were about how to identify the manufacturer, model, and approximate age of traffic signal equipment as seen in the Twin Cities. This then continued with the series originally titled “Traffic Signal Trivia” that went into […]
Part I: The Backstory Behind the Bridge Undoubtedly the highest profile road project in Minnesota is the new bridge at Stillwater, the St. Croix Crossing. (The project was originally known officially as the Stillwater-Houlton Bridge, or colloquially just the Stillwater Bridge, before the present name). Although there is a lot of current information available, the […]