Next Saturday, June 21, from 1-4pm, Neighborhoods First, a community group in Saint Paul’s Merriam Park, will be hosting an event on the corner of Summit Avenue and Syndicate Street. The event is titled “Imagine an Ayd Mill Linear Park.” There will be speakers, music, food and exhibits. It will be an opportunity for community […]
May 18, 2014 12.1 Miles Lexington-Hamline, Summit-University (Ramsey Hill) People were outside wherever I rode today. It mattered not what block of what neighborhood, young and old enjoyed the sunny, warm Sunday. As I rode along the 11-hundred block of Dayton Avenue I saw a couple huddled together in front of a house, demonstrably gesturing […]
Last month during three events—an 8 to 80 event focused on the Ford Site, the 20th Annual Great River Gathering, and the U.S. Green Building Council of Minnesota’s annual Impact Conference, Mayor Chris Coleman touched on a concept that holds a lot of opportunity for the City of Saint Paul: net zero. But what does […]
You may have seen the artist renderings. The drawings lay out a vision for The Yard, the planned four-acre urban park adjacent to the mammoth new Vikings Stadium. In the winter versions, the park is shown populated by happy, hearty Minnesota families skating, admiring ice sculptures, making snow angels and generally laughing in the face […]
In the wake of the Super Bowl 2018 “victory,” we’ve failed to recognize that our southern friends in Mankato (pretty much just me) are getting the long-awaited expansion to their Civic Center. Some of us have talked before about how Civic Centers are generally boondoggles, but I’ll attempt to mount a bit of defense […]
May 4, 2014 9.8 miles Macalester-Groveland, Union Park (Merriam Park, Midway) Snelling Avenue is one of Saint Paul’s best known, most diverse and busiest streets. Snelling is slightly more than six miles from Saint Paul’s border with Falcon Heights on the north to the southern end at West 7th Street. Also known as State Highway […]
One highly trafficked intersection in Minneapolis was layered with interstate lanes in 1971. Although the freeway was buried below, ramps and merging lanes complicate the streets above. This historically influential neighborhood was transformed into a transitory space for the automotive world. Minneapolis can regain this missing district with one driving modification: ‘turn, instead of […]
There are many big unanswered questions associated with the new stadium being constructed for the Minnesota Vikings. How will we pay for our new sports palace if iPad gambling problems continue? Will we be able to host a Super Bowl, so Johnny Manziel and the rest of the Vikings can enjoy home field advantage? Will […]
I’ve always wondered what life would be like if we did away with highway infrastructure. Television shows such as Life After Humans depict infrastructure eventually succumbing to the forces of nature, overbearing with moss and exotic animals. What if this happened while humans still inhabited this world? While only the fantasy of some urban designers, […]
The sad story of Mike Crow Mike Crow has owned 2320 Colfax Avenue South and the house next door for over 20 years. Recently, he’s had health crises and says it’s “impossible” for him to do the work that’s needed to run the rooming house. “Rooming houses are much more labor intensive than other types […]