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Reimagining Nicollet Mall for Micro-Mobility

By on August 19, 2019 in Bike lanes, Buses, Carfree, Downtown, Land use, Pedestrians, Placemaking, Planning, Public Art, Public Realm, Sidewalks, Traffic, Trains, Transit, Walking

During the NCAA Final Four, Nicollet Mall achieved what the planners had only dreamed of. It was a packed, vibrant hive of pedestrian activation with visitors shooting hoops, dining outside and even riding a Ferris wheel. The festivities ceded the 24-foot-wide bus lanes to pedestrians, and the activities and outdoor dining attracted crowds. Months later, […]

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Safer, Saner Roads by Design

By on July 8, 2019 in Accessibility, ADA, Advocacy, Bicycling, Bike lanes, Environment, Health, Infrastructure, Pedestrians, Roads, Safety, Sidewalks, Streets, Suburbia, Walking

Engineers have a lot of options in how they design our streets and roads, how safe they make them, who they serve well and who they serve poorly. This post will examine why road design is so important, its underlying philosophy and, finally, some specific design options and why various elements are important. A future […]

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Fight Rolls On for Bike Infrastructure on South Cleveland

By on June 3, 2019 in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, Parking, Pedestrians, Sidewalks, Streets, Transportation

Remember the Great Fight Over the Cleveland Bike Lanes in 2016? It isn’t over. This time the battle has moved south. Cleveland Avenue South is scheduled for a desperately needed mill and overlay this fall. Perfect opportunity to throw down some paint for a bike lane on a 40- to 44-foot wide, almost entirely residential […]

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Lime and Spin Roll Out in Minneapolis, Jump and Lyft Arriving Soon

By on May 30, 2019 in Carfree, Downtown, News, Pedestrians, Public Policy, Safety, Sidewalks, Streets, Traffic, Transportation, Trends

Starting May 13, electric scooters have returned to the streets of Minneapolis. The city green-lit contracts with four network operators, Jump, Lime, Lyft, and Spin, and as of May 13, Lime and Spin are operating in the city. Jump is a brand of Uber Technologies Inc. and Spin is owned by Ford Motor Co. Lime, […]

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The Future of West River Parkway

By on April 29, 2019 in Accessibility, ADA, Bicycling, Downtown, History, Parks, Pedestrians, Pedestrians, Plans, Public Policy, Rivers, Roads, Sidewalks, Streets, Trends, Walking

With the Park Board’s Water Works project’s phase one underway, and improvements being made all along the river, I talked with two local Park Board commissioners, Jono Cowgill and Chris Meyer, about the future of West River Parkway, the parkway system, and Minneapolis parks. Both share a vision for a parkway system that returns to […]

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What if Hennepin Ave Had a Roundabout?

By on April 25, 2019 in Cars, Downtown, Infrastructure, Pedestrians, Pedestrians, Roads, Safety, Sidewalks, Signals, Streets, Traffic, Transit, Walking

I was waiting for the number 6 bus at Hennepin Ave and S 1st St, near where I live, and I was watching the vehicle traffic. I noticed that the semaphore intersection was not very efficient at handling left turn vehicles. There was a part of the cycle when left turns in both directions on […]

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Tile Entries

By on April 25, 2019 in Architecture, Photos, Public Art, Public Realm, Sidewalks, Walking

One of the things you get to see when you walk instead of drive is tile entryways to commercial (and sometimes residential) buildings. I’ve been collecting photos of tile for a while, mostly from somewhere other than the Twin Cities. Some of the designs are decorative only, as in the first row of images. Semi-floral, […]

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A Few More Opportunities for Public Input on the Minneapolis Transportation Action Plan

By on April 23, 2019 in 2040 Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan, Bicycling, Buses, Cars, Downtown, Environment, Infrastructure, Parking, Pedestrians, Planning, Public Policy, Roads, Shipping, Sidewalks, Stations, Streets, Traffic, Transit, Transportation, Urban Design

After my last class today, I took a ride on the route 4 bus–including the slow crawl along Nicollet–from Minneapolis College to the Central Library,  where I was able to attend the downtown Community Workshop for Minneapolis’ Transportation Action Plan. This workshop was one of a series of community engagement opportunities to interact with the […]

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Nice Ride Leaves St. Paul as Market for Scooters Heats Up

By on April 15, 2019 in Bicycling, Carfree, Downtown, Minneapolis vs. St. Paul, Roads, Sidewalks, Streets, Traffic, Transportation, Trends, Urbanism

On April 2, Nice Ride sent an email to members announcing the start of the riding season April 15 (now April 22, Earth Day, due to weather). In the email, the transportation network nonprofit shared that it was leaving the St. Paul market after nearly a decade on the streets of the capital city. St. […]

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A Bus Stop Disappointment Story: Excelsior Boulevard and Meadowbrook Road

By on March 22, 2019 in Accessibility, Buses, Sidewalks

Have you ever passed a bus stop and thought, “Damn, I feel so bad for anyone who has to catch their bus at that stop“? Even if you never ride the bus I’m certain everyone has seen at least one bus stop where they have had this thought. I’m deeply familiar with Saint Louis Park […]

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