The intersection of Lake Street and Excelsior Boulevard at the western edge of Minneapolis, one of the busiest in the entire metro area, is an access point for both city commuters and residents of the West Calhoun and Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood, of whom I am one. According to Hennepin County data, over 36,000 vehicles pass through […]
It has been a very quiet week here on streets.mn. You could help us have busier weeks in the future by writing for us…about your experience at the Climate Strike last week, the latest decision/project/development in your community, or how Fall is a great season for streets on foot, bike, scooter, or transit. Here’s last […]
Engineers have a lot of options in how they design our streets and roads, how safe they make them, who they serve well and who they serve poorly. This post will examine why road design is so important, its underlying philosophy and, finally, some specific design options and why various elements are important. A future […]
Here’s a fun chart / map combo from Strong Towns, using the excellent land value per acre maps that consultant Urban3 puts out. It shows the value-per-acre for areas around Lake Minnetonka and the South Minneapolis “chain of lakes” area. Before we get to the chart, check out these maps: Here are the two charts, […]
I think we can all mainly agree that the things that, correctly, cause us the most concern in the world are traffic and parking. Sure, there are other things that are minor issues (little things like war and human suffering), but none really give rise to the same level of existential dread as having to […]
On Thursday, the Minneapolis Planning Commission was supportive of a proposed ordinance from Council President Lisa Bender that would prohibit new drive-throughs for banks, drugstores, and fast food restaurants (or any other “facility which accommodates automobiles and from which the occupants of the automobiles may make purchases or transact business”). It’s important to emphasize: if […]
In case you missed it, streets.mn Events Committee organized a bus trip from Uptown to Hopkins last month. About ten people came out for the trip, and a good time was had by all. We caught the 612 bus on a Saturday afternoon. The 612 (named after the zip code area code, of course) goes […]
Today I took the A Line rapid-transit bus south on Snelling, meaning to get off at University and catch the Green Line train. But I wasn’t paying attention and missed the stop at University. That meant I had to ride the bus all the way down to Marshall Avenue (which is about twice as far […]
“The alley is the outback world of the unmentionable, if not the unwanted, the displaced of modern society,” ~ Grady Clay, Alleys: a hidden resource Perhaps I will never be considered “from here”, having moved from Cincinnati nearly three years ago. I may not get invitations to house shows or hot dish socials, or share […]
The curbside has long been overlooked and is playing a growing role in our increasingly multimodal society. It was a main topic of conversation when I attended the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Conference in Los Angeles earlier this month. During one of the sessions, the Parking Manager of Pasadena, CA, Jon Hamblen, […]