[This is part of streets.mn’s “transpo convo” series, which aims to be an oral history of getting around the Twin Cities, one person at a time.] The other day I was walking around a northern Merriam Park grid. I focused on roughly 6 blocks that are bordered by Snelling Ave., Saint Anthony Ave., Pierce St., […]
This week the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced it was adding “Fear of Parking Loss” to its official “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. Fear of Parking Loss (FPL) is characterized by a belief that having free, on-street parking next to the front door of your destination is essential for human survival and a […]
Bicycling in Saint Paul can feel like a meeting of a secret society, filled with special handshakes and meaningful nods. While other cities have well-signed routes and infrastructure clearly marked on the road, many things that make biking in Saint Paul easier feel like big secrets. For example, did you know that Saint Paul has […]
Without a doubt, now is an emotional and scary time to live in the Twin Cities. The widely circulated video-recorded death of Philando Castile has put the Twin Cities in a political and emotional uproar. Everybody is obviously running a little hot right now, so I hope readership will forgive me for speaking with cohesive candor […]
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 […]
Five years ago, Gustavo Gutiérrez was arrested for the infraction of riding his bicycle at night in his hometown of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Today, there are 25 new miles of bike lanes in Aguascalientes and a strong bicycle lobby whose members participate in local government and in the national bicycling movement. As an advocate for sustainable mobility, […]
There’s an Ethiopian proverb that goes something like, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” When it comes to housing, Minneapolitans may have it better than those in Seattle, San Francisco, D.C., and Brooklyn, but a larger and wider slice of Minneapolis is feeling the pinch of fast-rising rents. For some, this even means […]
Every day at The Direct Transfer we collect news about cities and send the links to our email list. At the end of the week we take some of the most popular stories and post them to Greater Greater Washington, a group blog similar to streets.mn that focuses on urban issues in the DC region. […]
There was an article today in the Star Tribune by Steve Brandt (he of “the bike lobby wants to lower the speed limit“) asking whether Minneapolis has enough bike lanes already. Aside from saying, no, we don’t have enough and yes, we need more, I’ll leave it to those who are more plugged-in to local […]
As the snow began to melt away this weekend and Punxsutawney Phil chuckled lightly to himself over his secret long standing pen pal relationship with Paul Huttner, I donned my beloved summer bicycle and started to pedal while contemplating the beginning of another season: Advocacy season. As we stare down the barrel of a new (and […]