West River Parkway can be an ideal route to walk, bike, or drive. The speed limit is 25 mph with mostly proper bike and walk lanes, safe crossing and even some zebra stripes. Yesterday with the mobile and Google Maps and Reviews in pocket I strolled up and down the downtown part of it to […]
Are you a joiner? Me neither! Just the same, here I am a first-year member on the Minneapolis Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Since the city is taking applications for this year’s vacancies through April 20th, I thought sharing my PAC experiences thus far could help others deciding whether to apply. What compelled this city policy novice […]
There’s an intriguing experiment happening right now in Saint Paul over the precise procedures for testimony at City Hall. The long-standing rule that speakers “state their address” before testifying has been waived, in favor of simply writing it on the “sign-in sheet” next to the podium. The local angle here is that this movement seems […]
The University of Minnesota is known for its academics and beauty in all seasons. A 3rd party site did at least rank it #50 in the Most Amazing College Campuses for 2018. I usually notice the more subtle notes like the perfectly curvy bike lanes along the West Bank campus, the grand piano in Coffman […]
Thus far in this series of ideas concerning the path that the city of St. Paul might take towards becoming a Vision Zero city that pays more than token lip-service to the idea, the first three of the “Five E’s” – Evaluation, Engineering, and Education – have provided a framework for studying the issues, re-designing […]
Why does the city need to know — and publish — the home address of a resident who wishes to comment on a public issue?
A month ago we took a look at the history of bicycle helmets and data on their usage at various locations in Minnesota. But should a bicycle helmet by mandatory, or even worn in the first place? Everyone points to the original study saying they reduce head injuries by 85% or tells anecdotes about how […]
A very common comment from people is that they don’t ride a bicycle because they don’t feel safe on our streets. This is largely a universal human condition and not limited to just the U.S. Dutch folk feel no more comfortable in various situations than U.S. folk. And this is what drives transportation engineering in […]
Here’s a chart from a recent New York Times op-ed column comparing the United states to a few other countries. Long story short, we have not made much progress in the last 20 years about improving our road safety. Here’s the chart: The Times piece lists a few reasons for this relative lack of progress, […]
On November 7th, Saint Paul elected a new mayor for the first time in twelve years, former Ward 1 City Council Member Melvin Carter III. Carter campaigned on a platform that pledged to move Saint Paul forward, calling to “reduce our city’s carbon footprint by expanding transit, biking, and pedestrian opportunities citywide” and to “design […]