Recognition of Privilege on the Bus
Where do you sit on the bus, in order to feel safe? Who sits facing forward, and who’s on the aisle? What does this say about privilege?
Category: Transit
Green Art for the Green Line
As I walked along University Avenue from Western Avenue to Lexington Parkway during the Open Streets event a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that all the people and activities were centered around the Green Line station areas at Western, Dale, Victoria and Lexington, where there were local ethnic shops and restaurants, arts and crafts for […]
Improving LRT Signal Timing in Downtown Minneapolis
Although St. Paul’s traffic signals deserve most of the blame for slowing the Green Line, there’s room for improvement in Minneapolis as well. To be fair, Minneapolis deserves praise for its signal timing through the University of Minnesota campus, where trains are seldom delayed. They’ve also established a very good progression for westbound trains from […]
The Urbanist’s Dream City
I just returned from a week in Tokyo, which represents the urbanist vision taken to its logical extreme. Imagine density without limit; fast, extremely frequent and flawlessly operated public transit, and narrow streets that preclude big cars so that most neighborhood trips are by bicycle. Also, imagine that there is no litter, even though waste […]
Behind the Green Line
May 26, 2014 Summit Hill, Downtown, Lowertown 15.8 Miles Memorial Day is a holiday that has various meanings to folks.There is a certain solemnity to Memorial Day and for good reason, but it’s the unofficial start of summer. It’s an extra day off. For many retailers it is another excuse for a sale. Most importantly, […]
On the Politics of the Rhetoric of Choice
We often hear from transit advocates that expanding public transportation is good because it increases the choices available to people. Framing the issue this way reveals something about the deeper commitments of the supporters, namely that it is a good in itself simply to expand available avenues for people to assert their will. The ability […]
Open Streets Minneapolis – Nicollet Ave Review
Another Open Streets Minneapolis event was a success. This one was Sunday on Nicollet Ave from Lake to 46th Street. There are a few different things I love about these events: They close off a major urban street to motorized vehicles They partner with places like Metro Transit by encouraging you to use sustainable transportation […]
Chart of the Day: Gateway Corridor Job Projections
A propos of the Lake Elmo article, here’s a chart of projected job growth along a few of the different Gateway Corridor alignment options from the Met Council’s recent study on the project. As you can see, most of the job growth is projected to take place in Saint Paul, Oakdale, and by the 3M campus […]
Investing in Transit “Because Millennials” is a Bad Idea
I’m guilty of using this point when I want to win an argument. Millennials want options, especially in transportation. If cities want to attract new talent, younger residents and diverse citizens, you need to invest in transit. Right? Well… It’s not that cut and dry. The idea of investing in transit “because Millennials” is just plain […]
Uptown to Dinkytown: The Three Mode Analysis
After quasi-graduating this past spring and backpacking around Europe for two months, I have slowly adjusted back into reality. And, like a plethora of quintessential University of Minnesota millennial-aged graduates, I have moved from my humble, seven-people-in-a-four-bedroom college shack in the Dinkytown area to much greater (and less smelly) ventures in Uptown. What isn’t typical about my current situation […]