Recently, Lime increased its pricing in Minneapolis and St. Paul from $1 plus 15 cents per minute to $1 plus 20 cents per minute. For a typical five-minute ride, this increases the total cost by 14 percent, from $1.75 to $2 even. For a longer ride of 10 minutes, the increase is 20 percent. Rival […]
National Links: 3D Crosswalks, Megacities, and Vacancy Taxes
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 Quarterly Transit Report–August 2019
These are not good times for bus ridership. It’s down 7 percent in the Twin Cities metro area for the first half of 2019 compared with 2018. In contrast, Green Line light rail ridership is up 5 percent, the Blue Line is down only 1 percent and the Northstar line is down 3 percent. What’s […]
Sunday Summary – August 4, 2019
First, there are two streets.mn events coming up. For transit fans and/or night owls, Friday, August 16th: Join Us For Happy Hour + One Final Ride On The Midnight Bus From Wayzata for a trip out to Wayzata Friday evening and back to Minneapolis in the wee hours of Saturday morning. For readers who identify […]
Walking All the Streets of Northern Longfellow
No collection of words and photos can capture an entire walk, but Minneapolis’s Longfellow neighborhood is particularly resistant to encapsulation. It features a diverse mixture of land uses: residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, and recreational. Large buildings and quirky little details. Artworks and functional structures. All very lived-in, seemingly with no two of anything alike. My […]
Friday, August 16th: Join Us For Happy Hour + One Final Ride On The Midnight Bus From Wayzata
Join the Events Committee for one final ride on the midnight bus from Wayzata on Friday, August 16! Two years ago, as part of Metro Transit’s restructuring of transit service to better serve the West End, they introduced the 645 for workers along the 394 corridor. The 645, like the 675 it replaced, operates from […]
St. Paul By Bike: First Time in Capitol Heights, Mount Airy and Back to the Bluff
Frogtown (Capitol Heights, Mount Airy), Payne-Phalen, East Side (Dayton’s Bluff) 27 Miles July 14, 2018 Capitol Heights There is a small section of Frogtown, immediately north of the Minnesota State Capitol, that has been known as Capitol Heights for more than a century. That was stop one on my ride. Once called Sherburne Hill, it […]
National Links: Were Cars a Terrible Mistake?
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. […]
Meet a Roundabout: I-494 and U.S. 169
Last Monday, I drove my father to a doctor’s appointment in Edina. We don’t usually travel these ways, but his regular general practitioner was on vacation. At the intersection of Interstate 494 and U.S. 169 are six linked roundabouts surrounding the freeway interchange. The two-lane roundabouts — with dedicated lanes for going either right or […]
Map Monday: Trees & Urban Carbon Emissions in the Twin Cities
As you may be aware, trees mitigate carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. As such, tree planting has gained popularity as a form of carbon offset, with some cities and states providing incentives to plant trees as an offset activity. This 2015 study of the Twin Cities suggests that trees can help, but that they […]
Femme/Trans/Women/Non-Binary Meet-Up: Friday, August 9th
Our mission here at streets.mn highlights the value of inclusive conversations, and to that end we are hosting another FTW (femme, trans, women, non-binary) meet-up next week. We want to encourage and sponsor underrepresented voices. If you identify as femme/trans/woman/non-binary and are reading this post, please consider joining us for a casual meet-up focused […]
Transit-Oriented Dating: Snelling-Midway
If you’re an urban planner or someone curious about the field, you’ve probably heard of transit-oriented development (TOD). It’s an important consideration for transitway projects like Metro Transit’s Green Line and Blue Line, but probably isn’t of much interest to most people. Several other TODs may have more appeal, such as Tangerine-Orange Daiquiris, Tacos on […]
Sunday Summary – July 28, 2019
Taking a look back at fun we hope you had or to entice you to attend an event soon: streets.mn’s Summer Picnic Remembered includes this summary “On top of a flash membership drive, great food, and even better company, there were yard games and refreshing beverages for those so inclined. A few local celebrities, Minneapolis […]
We Read the Star Tribune Comments So You Don’t Have To: St. Paul Police Tie Violence to Light-Rail Line in Grant Request
When controversy happens… when tempers flare… we read the comments, so you don’t have to. Let’s start with the picture of the kitten because this is a mess. The Star Tribune released another article that is sure to raise the blood pressure of many streets.mn readers. It’s a story about Saint Paul Police seeking money […]
The Ten Blocks
I drive along Dowling, a busy avenue in my North Minneapolis neighborhood. As I travel the ten blocks I know like my own hands, a quote swirls through my brain. Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things. Small doings are in plain sight, […]
Streets.mn’s Summer Picnic Remembered
In case you missed it, last Saturday was a hot and humid one, but under the shade of our pavilion at Boom Island Park, it was perfectly cool for the sixth annual streets.mn Summer Picnic! Despite the sweltering heat, we had a great turnout – it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and a […]
A Hovenring for NE Minneapolis
Minneapolis is often ranked among the top bicycle cities within the US. Our commute mode share is high, relatively, and the pace at which we build new protected facilities is quicker than most other US Cities. Though, in a global comparison, Minneapolis is still very auto-centric, as are most places in the US. Fortunately, Minneapolis […]
National Links: Planning Cities with Restaurant Reviews
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. […]
Reform Security Deposits on Tenants’ Behalf
Any tenant who has had a landlord illegally withhold their security deposit or whose landlord has refused to make required repairs can tell you there is a lot more to the legal system than what is written in the state statutes or city ordinances. A law may say you have certain rights. But it’s another […]
Tips for Biking in Bad Weather: Summer Edition
The recent smattering of afternoon thunderstorms has served as a reminder that even at the high point of summer in Minnesota, outdoor activities are beholden to the whims of Mother Nature. Being prepared for the weather makes life a whole lot easier when you have places to be (though I recommend against biking during severe […]