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Author Archive | Sean Hayford Oleary

Neighbors Embrace New Oil Refinery for Ford Site

By on April 1, 2017 in Humor

St. Paul, Minnesota — residents of the Highland Park neighborhood have been struggling for months against an outrageous proposal to redevelop the Ford Site with business, homes, and public green space. Today, Neighbors for a Livable St. Paul announced the results of their successful campaign to preserve neighborhood character. Instead of unsightly urban apartment homes, the industrial legacy […]

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A bus stop along Edina Industrial Blvd near 494

Cars (Alone) Can’t Sustain Interstate 494

By on March 14, 2017 in Freeways, Infrastructure, Suburbia

I spend a lot of time thinking about the 494 strip. I work out of a coworking space near 494 and 100, and live less than a mile north of the highway in Richfield. As a Richfield planning commissioner, I have seen many projects revolve around 494 visibility and access.  On a broader level, Richfield has ambitious goals […]

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Lake Street 35W Transit Station

The Orange Line Defunding is a Crisis for Hennepin County

By on July 26, 2016 in Politics, Suburbia, Transit

Residents of South Minneapolis, Richfield, and Bloomington got some very bad news last week. In response to a move by Dakota County to leave the Counties Transit Improvement Board, CTIB is considering withdrawing its funding for the Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit. The Orange Line would be the metro’s first true bus rapid transit line, […]

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Hennepin County To Relocate Central Library to Geographic Center of Hennepin County

By on April 1, 2016 in Humor

Medina, Minn — The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners has announced a strategic relocation of the Hennepin County Central Library, to join the ideal location of Hennepin County Public Works in Medina, near the exact geographic center of the County. Since the Minneapolis Library Board merged with Hennepin County eight years ago, Central Library has sat at an extreme […]

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St. Louis Park "wrong" video

On the Cedar Lake Trail, St. Louis Park Rewrites the Law

By on October 9, 2015 in Bicycling, Suburbia, Trails

The City of St. Louis Park has a problem — a pretty good problem to have. They have two spectacular east-west trails, running through pleasant natural corridors, on their own rights-of-way. Those trails are the North Cedar Lake Regional Trail and the Cedar Lake Trail (this is often called the “Greenway”, since it becomes the […]

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APS beg buttons in snow

In Brainerd, Business 371 is for Business

By on August 5, 2015 in Greater Minnesota, Sidewalks, Streets, Towns

I was up in Brainerd this weekend, visiting my sister. I’ve been up there several times since she bought a house just south of downtown a year and a half ago. Brainerd has a nice, walkable downtown. It has wide sidewalks, trees and benches, and active storefronts. Compared to the neighboring Baxter strip, it’s a breath […]

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Stroaddale gateway signage

Southdale to Rebrand, Establish Stroaddale Preservation District

By on April 1, 2015 in Humor

Edina, Minn — The City of Edina today announced ambitious plans to rebrand the aging Southdale District as “Stroaddale”, and to establish strict historic preservation guidelines to ensure that its low-density, stroad-oriented development is cherished for future generations. Stroaddale District is named for Stroaddale Center, and is roughly bounded by Crosstown to the north, Valley […]

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Rethinking 66th Street

By on December 9, 2014 in Streets, Suburbia

Note: I chair the Richfield Bike Advocates, and represent that group as a non-voting liaison to the Richfield Transportation Commission. However, I am not speaking on behalf of either group. Tonight, the Richfield City Council will make a major design decision that will affect more than 20,000 people every day. The City Council will consider whether or […]

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France Avenue: Pedestrian-Friendly at 40 MPH

By on October 13, 2014 in Sidewalks, Streets, Suburbia

The City of Edina is finishing up an ambitious project to help remake France Avenue through the Southdale District into less of a highway, and more of an urban boulevard. To the unfamiliar, France Avenue through the Southdale District is a 40 MPH, 7+ lane divided megastroad. Prior to this project, there was a sidewalk […]

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Competing approaches to names

Naming our Highways

By on June 24, 2014 in Freeways, Transportation

I grew up in Northfield, and Cedar Avenue was a common route from Northfield into the Twin Cities. The name isn’t signed between the Northfield border and Eureka Township, but I knew it by no other name. In fact, I remember my parents having to explain to me, when I was first learning to drive: […]

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