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Author Archive | Matt Steele

Sensible Infill Development Blocked by Zoning in Minneapolis

By on November 18, 2015 in Housing, Land use, Neighborhoods, Planning

My bike commute sometimes takes me past the corner of 38th Street and Park Avenue. 38th, a growing commercial corridor witnessing a huge renaissance, can shoulder more housing density for our growing city. Earlier this year, there was a house fire on the northwest corner of this intersection that destroyed a single family home. It […]

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Stop Choosing LRT Alignments Before Knowing the Cost

By on November 10, 2015 in Planning, Transit, Transportation

As the Twin Cities proceeds with plans to build over three billion dollars worth of rail extensions for the Blue and Green Lines, many transit advocates question if we’re missing an opportunity for transformative projects that lift up urban neighborhoods on their routes between suburban park & rides and the downtown core. Will Rogers once […]

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Walk-Shaming in the Media

By on September 16, 2015 in Advocacy, Media, Walking

Media outlets frequently shame walking in the way they cover issues related to walking, and these tactics contribute to a culture where death and destruction are accepted as unavoidable byproducts of our auto-oriented mobility norms. I noticed this in the reporting on a bus-pedestrian collision last week in my neighborhood, which critically injured a well-liked long-time city […]

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Signs and Sidewalks Don’t Mix

By on August 26, 2015 in ADA, Sidewalks, Walking

Road construction season in Minnesota is winding down and, as a result, many of the orange signs that are seasonal visitors to our urban landscape will soon be warehoused away. If you’re a slab of concrete in Minneapolis with the purpose of providing space for people to walk, this may give you some breathing room. […]

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When We Walk In Fields Of Gold

By on August 20, 2015 in Buses, Suburbia, Transit

Officials recently announced the preferred routing for the eastern segment of Gateway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), with proposed branding as the METRO Gold Line. Like the Red Line running between Mall of America and Apple Valley, this will give suburban Park & Ride users a one-seat ride to a secondary job core and a two-seat ride to our region’s primary job […]

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The Minnesota Massacre Needs to End

By on July 2, 2015 in Safety, Suburbia, Walking

Brian Lew of Plymouth is the most recent victim; he was struck by a motorist while jogging in Plymouth last Thursday on Vicksburg “Lane.” A likely scenario Updated reports say that Mr. Lew was struck “near” the intersection of 26th Avenue and Vicksburg Lane, but not at it. Police spokeswoman Tammy Ward is quoted as saying Lew “was not crossing in a […]

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Connecting Saint Paul’s Riverfront via Union Depot

By on June 26, 2015 in Accessibility, Free Idea, Planning, Transportation

Over at MinnPost, Peter Callaghan writes of the proposed River Balcony in Downtown St. Paul. This is a planning effort to connect Downtown St. Paul to its riverfront alongside large-scale redevelopment from the old West Publishing and County Jail sites to the west to the old Downtown Post Office being redeveloped as the Custom House […]

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A Safer Hennepin Avenue Bridge Layout

By on June 25, 2015 in Bridges, Free Idea

We are (or should be) saddened to hear of today’s news of a motorist, suspected of being intoxicated, ramming their vehicle into the back of a Pedal Pub — without regard to our opinions of Pedal Pubs themselves. (See other posts) Bicyclists, slow-moving vehicles, and other street users are allowed on the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, […]

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Alexandria’s New High School: An Upgrade?

By on April 29, 2015 in Accessibility, Children, Greater Minnesota, Land use

The new high school in Alexandria, MN was highlighted as a model of innovation in a piece by Jenna Ross in Sunday’s StarTribune. This $73.2 million high school, recently heralded “the Googleplex of Schools” by technology magazine Fast Company, reflects a broader shift in education and is already becoming a template. Students have given more […]

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Rochester, MN map: Surface Parking Lots

By on October 28, 2014 in Greater Minnesota, Parking

A few months ago, I plotted surface parking in Rochester, MN. Granted, the concept of mapping surface parking lots is outdated now that Andrew Price pioneered maps that show places versus non-places. Yet a map of surface parking looks to give the first layer of non-places in Downtown Rochester. These parcels are also the most […]

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