Re-imagining the Re-thinking I-94 Proposals
MnDOT has advanced its regressive options for “reimagining” Interstate 94. Our author imagines and explains some more creative, climate-friendly solutions.
Tag Archives: I-94
Rondo in Stories: A Little Free Library Walking Tour
The history of a neighborhood can be gleaned by walking; its culture is often discernible through a leisurely tour of its Little Free Libraries. So it is with the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul.
Rethinking I-94 Is Exhausting: Sometimes I Think That’s Intentional
With its alphabet soup, pillars, frameworks and many meetings, the Rethinking I-94 process has the effect of dampening involvement. But this is a critical time for community input.
‘I just want it to stop’: constant speeding on Concordia Avenue in St. Paul
A St. Paul resident and mother couldn’t stand the sight of cars — and UPS trucks and school buses — breaking the speed limit on a residential street. So she did something about it.
Rethinking “Rethinking I-94”
Despite its name, MNDOT’s project does not allow for “rethinking I-94,” it can only recapitulate I-94. And the community organizations’ letter, while we agree with its goals, does not push for the magnitude of change necessary. The urgency of our climate crisis requires more ambitious plans, and even the proposals by the community organizations will not manifest an I-94 corridor that has been sufficiently reconsidered.
Saint Paul By Bike: I Didn’t Get Arrested!
April 5, 2020 12 miles Macalester-Groveland, Merriam Park, Summit-University, Summit Hill The 2020 Saint Paul By Bike riding season began today. The expedition was suitably unnatural first and foremost because the shroud of the coronavirus and COVID-19 hung everywhere. In the midst of Governor Walz’s stay at home order, streets were lightly traveled by vehicles, […]
‘Rethinking’ I-94: When an Image Deceives
You may have heard about the Rethinking I-94 process that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has begun. When I hear those words, as a person concerned (alarmed!) about our climate crisis, I assume it means, you know, rethinking Interstate 94. Like: Do we need a highway through our cities? Could it be filled in, […]
Freeways and Freedmen: A Familiar Story from Canada’s Rondo
Rondo was part of a roadmap which detailed the ways in which black folks across the United States could be removed from their homes and property in order to build the Eisenhower freeways. The Guardian has written about this process, alongside the Atlantic, ThinkProgress, the New York Times, and plenty of other outlets. But these […]
“Rethinking I-94,” Galaxy Brain-Style
For a few years now, MnDOT, the state’s transportation agency, has been promoting its “Rethinking I-94” plan, making a big deal out of hand-wringing and soul searching about the future of the state’s busiest and most urban freeway. I’ve gone to a few meetings about it, and — in a rare television appearance — I […]
History Theater’s “The Highwaymen” Hit on Some Crucially Unexplored Themes
I am finally putting up my “review” of The Highwaymen, a play produced by the History Theater that centered on the construction of I-94 through Saint Paul’s African-American Rondo neighborhood. Thanks to the generosity of a friend, I got to attend the play during its closing week. I liked it but, since I’m so interested […]