The way St. Paul Public Works and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) design pedestrian refuge islands is awful. It’s symbolic of how oblivious and uncaring they are about pedestrian and bicycle crashes. It’s also one of many indicators that little has changed in this state during the past 20 years. Consider these pedestrian refuge […]
Effective April 29, the City of Minneapolis will begin creating “Stay Healthy Streets” in the 3 geographical areas of the City (North, South, Northeast). From the Minneapolis Website: Streets on these routes will generally be closed to thru car traffic but remain open for local resident access. On-street parking will generally be retained; some connection […]
The long-anticipated City of Minneapolis’ Winter Maintenance Study is being presented to the City Council’s Transportation and Public Works committee on Tuesday. The Study looks far afield for solutions, analyzing municipal winter maintenance responsibility across the country, but without ever evaluating the efficacy of either our current system or the ones studied. Despite its importance […]
Like many municipalities across Minnesota, Public Works is the largest department in the City of Minneapolis. From streets and snow plowing, to recycling, drinking water and stormwater, Public Works employees design, build, operate and maintain a diverse amount of infrastructure. Public Works may often be thought of as a nuts-and-bolts department focused on maintenance and […]
The other day I saw a father and his kid stand at the corner, waiting to cross the street. They had just bought a doughnut at A Baker’s Wife (the best bakery in the city), located at 42nd Street and 28th Avenue in south Minneapolis. Whether they were heading to their car or walking home, […]
Over at the Star Tribune, Steve Brandt did a great job covering the looming Minneapolis residential street reconstruction funding crisis. I’m grateful for the coverage, since the city’s presentation on the matter is a little light on narrative, and not everyone can attend city council meetings to hear the details and political opinions. In a […]
The podcast this week is a conversation with Jon Wertjes, the Director of Traffic and Parking Services for the Minneapolis Department of Public Works. A few months ago, Jon and I were joined in City hall by streets.mn writer and planning consultant Sam Newberg and Casper Hill, who works as a communications liaison for the […]