As students and workers continue their return to transit, and as transit resources remain in short supply, agencies such as the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority need work on optimizing routes.
With the help of Move Minnesota and the North Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, streets.mn has sent out a transportation and land use questionnaire to candidates running for Hennepin County Board. With a $2.5 annual budget, the County Board is the most important government body that most people don’t know anything about. The upcoming […]
On Monday April 22, the Richfield Planning Commission split 3-3 on a recommendation by planning staff to reduce parking minimums in mixed use zoning districts. In areas near transit, the plan would reduce minimum requirements from 1.5 to one space per unit. Outside of areas with high frequency transit, parking minimums would be made consistent […]
Please note that this should not be confused with the Dan Patch Corridor, a proposed regional/commuter/intercity rail line between Minneapolis and Northfield, and possibly further south. The original Dan Patch Line, known as the High Line, was built in 1910 between South Minneapolis and Northfield. Before the Dan Patch Line (later Minneapolis Northfield & Southern […]
Last spring, at a voter forum for Richfield’s west-side Council seat, there were a number of questions about the mid-century commercial development that lines Penn Avenue between the Crosstown and 68th Street. Voters and candidates spoke of “tired” buildings, non-conforming sites, and inadequate parking. These questions about Penn Avenue seem to come up in every […]
I spend a lot of time thinking about the 494 strip. I work out of a coworking space near 494 and 100, and live less than a mile north of the highway in Richfield. As a Richfield planning commissioner, I have seen many projects revolve around 494 visibility and access. On a broader level, Richfield has ambitious goals […]
This week’s podcast is a conversation with Debbie Goettel, the mayor of Richfield and a candidate for the Hennepin County Commissioner in the 5th District, which encompasses Richfield, Bloomington, and a big chuck of Eden Prairie. We sat down at the Southdale Library this week, right on the Edina border, to talk about the role […]
It’s 2016 and everywhere you go there are hot takes to be had. Twitter. Comment sections. Planning Commission meetings. You get the picture. Sometimes, serious topics really do deserve these flaming hot takes to call attention to the magnitude of problems. I’m inclined to agree that the recent renovation of over 700 apartments in Richfield, […]
If you’re like me, you’ve heard people complain about Minneapolis or St. Paul’s snow emergency rules, that they’re complex and burdensome. In reality, these complexities may be a pain a handful of times a year they apply, but they allow for better cities all year long. If you speak Minnesotan, you know that a snow emergency is an event […]
For the third installment of the “Urban Design – Ten Years Later” series, we head to suburban Richfield, Minnesota to take a look at Kensington Park. What was envisioned back then? How is it used and loved today? Has it lived up to the hype? Is it a great place for people? The good news […]