“City rolls back some aspects of Irving Avenue greenway in north Minneapolis” – Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/19/2016) I read the above headline with disappointment. An experimental tactical urbanism project is coming to an end. Or, as the local paper wittingly puts it, “the experimental greenway project for north Minneapolis, it’s not so green anymore.” Early in […]
The implementation of Saint Paul’s Grand Round has only just begun, and even Minneapolis’ well established and beloved Grand Rounds is still missing a final segment. A pragmatic person might say that now is not the time to consider a metro-wide, bicycle ring road to serve as the cycling equivalent of I-694/494. But what if it largely […]
In my most recent two posts I looked first at the opportunities I see for passenger rail in Minnesota, followed by an entry examining Norway’s passenger rail network to make some comparisons. There are similarities between the two such as the fact that Minnesota and Norway have about the same population and have been growing […]
When Hennepin County opens the new stretch of Washington Avenue between Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street in 2017, it will debut a safe and accessible environment for pedestrians and bike riders alike in Minneapolis. However, the infrastructure will be largely stranded. Along Washington between 5th Street and I-35W, the County plans to install unprotected bike […]
I recently enjoyed several days exploring Portland, Oregon by foot, bicycle, and tram. Given their high rate of bicycling, often without helmets, and many years now of decriminalized recreational use of marijuana (and now fully legal to grow and purchase) I expected the carnage and debauchery that we’re so often warned about with both of […]
On Thursday afternoon, October 6, people gathered at the corner of Kellogg and Jackson to see a glimpse of the first dedicated off-street bike path in downtown St. Paul. Bike advocates, city officials, and even two Twin Cities Marathon runners originally from Florida just passing by joined in the fun and excitement. They saw the Nice […]
The city of Saint Paul has long envisioned extending the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway across the Mississippi River and along the Canadian Pacific railroad line into Saint Paul. Engineers at the city’s Public Works Department began actively exploring the idea in 2003. It was on the city’s Comprehensive Plan at least as far back as 2008, […]
There are a couple maps like this floating around where the US is divided up into geographic regions based on culture, economics, or other kinds of geography. This is one of the more interesting, from the New York Times-slash-Joel Kotkin. Here’s the map: The author of the opinion article, Parag Khanna, makes a compelling argument that […]
One of the biggest challenges in our current transportation system is the way our streets are designed. In many parts of our communities, the only safe option for people to get around town is to drive a car, raising costs and limiting options for businesses, families, and the community as a whole. Last year, St […]
MnDOT is accepting comments on three key plans through October 14. Your input is important. Share your thoughts on the draft Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan Share your thoughts on the draft Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan Share your thoughts on the draft Greater Minnesota Transit Investment Plan For more information, visit www.minnesotago.org.