Like many streets.mn writers, I maintain a transit web site of my own. I’ve been asked to post selected episodes of the Critical Transit podcast here, starting with an informal conversation about winter biking. Please share your thoughts and winter cycling advice. Critical Transit Podcast Episode 42 is an informative panel discussion with four winter […]
The “Whole Foods effect”: Is the retailer a neighborhood revitalizer in itself, or just good at getting a store in right as a neighborhood is about to take off?
The War on Cars has a long history. Once the story hits NPR, you know it’s real, or maybe the existence of the #WARONCARS hashtag proves it. While the debate continues, I have determined the The War on Cars is real. If you really love cars, you’ll be surprised which side of the war you should […]
[Note: It just occurred to me that this post is the opposite of Betsey’s! It could be subtitled: “small steps add up to squat.”] Last month, I happened across Conrad deFiebre’s review at MN2020 of Car2Go, the latest innovation in car sharing to hit the streets of Minneapolis. Something caught my eye. Here’s the piece: […]
Tony Hunt recently put up a great post (Park, Portland, and Alliteration) which garnered a question of why more people aren’t riding on these wonderful new bike lanes. This is not an uncommon question when new bicycle facilities go in, with most people also thinking “after all that money was spent and lanes taken away from […]
The popularity of e-bikes has grown considerably over the past few years. The power to weight ratio of battery and motor technology has improved immensely, while the size has shrunk. With many newer e-bikes, such as at left, it’s difficult to even tell that they’re an e-bike thanks to thin batteries that add only about […]
I, through a combination of factors that are too complicated to explain here, did not get my driver’s license until I was 20 years old. There was a whole thing. As a result, my “default” mode of transportation has never been a car. I rode my bike to work in high school, and even got […]
Yesterday, the Catholic Church selected a new Pope. Even here in quiet Minnesota, this was noted — the bells of the Basilica of St. Mary, the Cathedral of St. Paul, and the University of St. Thomas were quite notable to locals. One of the immediate reactions was for news organizations and transportation nerds to call […]
In February of 1999 I visited Minneapolis with my then fiancé to decide whether to take a job at the University of Minnesota. It was Valentine’s Day, and unseasonably warm (high 40s F), and there was snowmelt and piles on the ground, but the streets and sidewalks were not covered. We asked the concierge at […]
Taxis are an essential feature of an urban transportation system where travelers must go from point to point but lack automobiles. This mainly occurs in two situations: first where travelers do not possess a car, and fixed route transit is nonexistent or inadequate; second, where travelers are coming from out of town, and do not […]