Beyond 2030: Looking at Intercity Rail in Minnesota
A look at the future of Minnesota’s intercity rail beyond Duluth and Chicago
Category: Infrastructure
Bus Rapid Transit: Not As Simple and Cheap As It Seems
Eric Ecklund • May 26, 2021 • 5 Often, if not every time, there’s an article written by Janet Moore of the Star Tribune that relates to bus rapid transit (BRT). It’s defined as a “service that mimics light rail in terms of service and reliability but for a fraction of the cost” (quoting this article). This is a generalized statement that doesn’t […]
Summer of Detours for City Cyclists
Dan Marshall • May 14, 2021 A record numbers of cyclists is facing a record number of Twin Cities trail closures. Viewed as a network of transportation infrastructure, it is incredibly disruptive.
National Links: Lumber Prices and Solar Pavement
Jeff Wood • May 11, 2021 Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. At the end of the week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes […]
Street Design Standards: Time for a Fresh Start in Minneapolis
Peter Schmitt • May 7, 2021 Road regulations and design standards often fail to take pedestrians into account. How can we change that?
Historic Paving Tour of the Minneapolis Warehouse District – Sunday, May 16th
Minneapolis has oft been accused of not having done enough to preserve its historic structures, particularly in reference to the loss of the Gateway District, and especially when contrasted with successful efforts to save ornamentally clad buildings in Saint Paul. The jeers have endured decades of evolution or devolution in the Twin Cities, depending upon […]
National Links: The Dark Side of Electrification – Suburbs 2.0
Jeff Wood • April 28, 2021 Every day at The Overhead Wire, 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 D.C. region. […]
The sights and sounds of Hennepin Avenue
Before the City of Minneapolis comment deadline closes today, let’s consider what Hennepin Avenue currently is. Drowning in a sea of cars. Chaotic, loud, and hard to track where the next danger will come from. All images courtesy of Derek Bauer. Derek spent a few hours documenting Hennepin Avenue at my request. A place for […]
Rail vs Bus on the Red Rock Corridor
Eric Ecklund • April 15, 2021 Back in the late 1990s, MnDOT analyzed several existing freight rail corridors in the Twin Cities region for the possibility of implementing commuter rail service. Three routes were chosen for their cost effectiveness and best potential ridership: the Northstar Line to St. Cloud, the Red Rock Corridor to Hastings, and the Dan Patch Corridor to […]
Act Now on Hennepin Avenue
Ryan Brown • April 12, 2021 In early March 2021, at the third open house, the City of Minneapolis presented two options for the future Hennepin Avenue reconstruction project between Lake Street and Douglas Avenue. Hennepin Avenue was last reconstructed in 1957, so this is a huge opportunity to weigh in on a street we’ll be living with for the next […]