Navigation

Archive | Infrastructure

Minnesota River Bridge: an E for Effort

By on September 30, 2019 in Accessibility, Bicycling, Bridges, commute, Freeways, Infrastructure, Pedestrians, Rivers, Suburbia, Trails, Walking

The new I-35W Minnesota River Bridge will include a “pedestrian trail” to accommodate walkers and bikers across the Minnesota River. This is great news for folks commuting across the Minnesota River, as the nearest year-round crossing of the river is seven miles downstream at I-494.  There’s a catch, though. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading 22

3 Ideas to Create Better Summer Cities

By on September 26, 2019 in delight cultivating, Environment, Infrastructure, Placemaking, Public Realm, Streets, Urban Design, Walking

Summer’s recent resurgence has bummed me out since I’m not exactly a fan of hot weather, but the bright side is that it means this post (which I procrastinated on writing for about two months) can be published and still be somewhat timely even as the first signs of autumn appear. As global warming continues […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading 5

Rebuttal to a Rebuttal: Let’s Talk Functional Density

By on September 23, 2019 in 2040 Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan, Development, Infrastructure, Light Rail, Transit

Carol Becker is right about one thing in her September 18 opinion piece in the StarTribune (“Let’s Talk About What Density Really Is“): Having 150- to 250-unit apartment buildings spaced a half mile apart or more, with little in between, is not functional density. That’s it, though; the rest of the opinion piece is, well, […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading 32

Meet a Roundabout: U.S. 61 in Forest Lake

By on September 16, 2019 in Bridges, Cars, Highways, Infrastructure, Maps, Pedestrians, Roads, Safety, Schools, Sidewalks, Traffic, Transportation, Trends

“Meet a Roundabout” is a new series of posts about roundabouts in the Twin Cities area that are improving traffic efficiency and safety. Posts include pictures and video of the roundabout and a history of how it came to be. This is the third post in the series. On Saturday, I drove my father to […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania Avenue Revisited

By on August 27, 2019 in Bicycling, Infrastructure, Streets, Transportation

With the news that the City of St. Paul will dedicate half of Ayd Mill Road as a dedicated bicycle / pedestrian path, it is time to revisit Pennsylvania Avenue, which is located just north of the Capitol campus and Regions Hospital.  These two roads are similar in several ways Speed Limit: Ayd Mill speed […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading

Safety and the Power of Public Works

By on August 27, 2019 in Bicycling, Bike lanes, Infrastructure, Safety, Streets

Sometimes I bike commute to work. It’s a 10 mile ride. Part of it on the greenway, which is like a dream (when it is open). But the bulk of my ride is on the streets of St. Paul. I’m not really up for that five days a week; I just don’t need my safety […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading

Meet a Roundabout: I-494 and U.S. 169

By on July 29, 2019 in Cars, Freeways, Highways, Infrastructure, Safety, Traffic, Transportation, Trends

Last Monday, I drove my father to a doctor’s appointment in Edina. We don’t usually travel these ways, but his regular general practitioner was on vacation. At the intersection of Interstate 494 and U.S. 169 are six linked roundabouts surrounding the freeway interchange. The two-lane roundabouts — with dedicated lanes for going either right or […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading

A Hovenring for NE Minneapolis

By on July 23, 2019 in Bicycling, Infrastructure

Minneapolis is often ranked among the top bicycle cities within the US. Our commute mode share is high, relatively, and the pace at which we build new protected facilities is quicker than most other US Cities. Though, in a global comparison, Minneapolis is still very auto-centric, as are most places in the US. Fortunately, Minneapolis […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading

Updating the Bruce Vento Trail

By on July 18, 2019 in ADA, Bicycling, Bridges, Children, Infrastructure, Safety, Streets, Trails

I have previously written about what a fantastic urban bikeway the Bruce Vento Trail is. My family and I continue to use it frequently, including my now 5 year old daughter on her own two-wheeler. However, there are some major safety issues. At intersections we would like the travel of the bicycle to remain parallel […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading

5 Ways to Improve the Central Corridor for Everyone

By on July 15, 2019 in Infrastructure, Transit, Transportation, Walking

The Metro Green Line undoubtedly has been a boon for the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, catalyzing development throughout the Central Corridor. In a few places, however, implementation of the metro’s premier light rail route didn’t create the safe, pleasant multimodal environment that all users could enjoy. In celebration of the Green Line’s fifth […]

Streets.mn is a non-profit and is volunteer run. We rely on your support to keep the servers running. If you value what you read, please consider becoming a member.

Continue Reading