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Old Shakopee and 98th: From Death Road to Multimodal Corridor

By on July 17, 2020 in Bicycling, Cars, Safety, Sidewalks, Streets, Walking

The Old ShakopeeRoad/98th Street Corridor is one of the east-west thoroughfares of Bloomington. It’s also an outdated roadway. Several segments are a four-lane death road, the sidewalks are narrow and buckling, and traffic typically goes 5 to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. The route has several high-traffic destinations, including the Mall of […]

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Thoughts on SimCity

By on June 11, 2020 in Cars, Land Use

I’ve spent a lot of my life playing SimCity (and Cities: Skylines, which I’ve called “The SimCity we deserve”). I’ve always liked simulation games, where I have a sandbox in which to tinker, and can make something of my own. Even when relaxing, I still have the creative urge. Now, as I look around at […]

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Market Street In San Francisco Goes Car Free

By on March 25, 2020 in Cars, Infrastructure

In January, San Francisco closed a near 2-mile stretch of Market Street to cars while I was in town recently. I wasn’t expecting it. I already finalized my plans to visit family for the Lunar New Year when I learned that San Francisco would be closing lower Market Street to cars while I was visiting. […]

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Saint Paul By Bike: The Ever Evolving Midway

By on March 5, 2020 in Bicycling, Cars, Neighborhoods

September 10, 2019 13.4 Miles Lexington-Hamline, Midway I’ve spent a lot of time in the Midway shopping, eating, walking, biking and waiting at stoplights over more than three decades in Saint Paul. Even so, I knew I’d spot many things on this ride that I’d never noticed. First thing to scout out was the new […]

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Chart of the Day: US Fuel Consumption 1999-2018

By on January 23, 2020 in Cars

Via the Federal Highway Administration Twitter account, today’s chart shows US fuel consumption continues to increase year over year. This represents the seventh straight year of increase. Specific information about commercial and personal use by state, including Minnesota, is available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2018/mf21.cfm.

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Prioritize People on East Hennepin, Not Cars

By on January 23, 2020 in Bicycling, Cars, Signals, Streets, Walking

When people are asked how a busy street could be made safer, two suggestions always come up. For better or worse these are: put in a stoplight, or put in stop signs. For example, local business representatives recently called for a stoplight on every block of Lyndale Ave S after Ted Ferrara was killed by […]

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It Only Takes Seven Riders for an Electric Bus to be More CO2e-Efficient Than Hybrid Cars

By on January 20, 2020 in Carfree, Cars, Climate, Policy, Transit

As I have shared before, I drive a hybrid hatchback, a 2015 Toyota Prius. To reduce my carbon footprint, I try to walk or scoot for many of my shorter trips, and I also check bus schedules for medium trips, like to a coffee shop in another neighborhood. It can be very frustrating, even living […]

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It Takes 66,379 Miles for an Electric Car to Have Lower Emissions Than Hybrid

By on January 6, 2020 in Cars, Climate

In 2020, Tesla is expected to release the Model Y, a battery-electric hatchback “SUV” that will compete with the recently announced Ford Mustang Mach-E and other crossover-type electric fastbacks. Putting aside all the arguments why electric cars will not save the planet in general, let’s explore whether these new family wagons are even better than […]

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Car Subsidy as a Cost-Recovery Measure for St. Paul: Time to CARPe Diem

By on December 30, 2019 in Cars, Governance, Planning, Policy, Streets, Transportation

The Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) recently passed by the St. Paul City Council is an excellent, and necessary, first step to move St. Paul toward a sustainable future. You can read the plan here. Making the plan’s vision a reality will require developing many specifics that the plan does not flesh out. It’s […]

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Saint Paul by Bike: A Short Jaunt to Ford

By on December 10, 2019 in Bicycling, Cars, History, Streets

August 30, 2019 3.9 Miles Highland Park The State Fair, or more accurately, a park and ride lot for the State Fair, gave me the chance to check out a usually off-limits part of the old Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant (TCAP) and grounds. The 22-acre area is between Mississippi River Boulevard and the Mississippi […]

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