You can now ride across Dakota County between Lilydale and South St. Paul on trails the whole way – about eight miles. I just rode the newly widened and paved stretch through the woods in Garlough Park and Marthaler Park which then connects to the NEW TUNNEL UNDER ROBERT STREET. It then winds through the woods behind […]
The intersection of Smith Avenue and Dodd Road in West St. Paul may not seem remarkable, but it’s a bit of a local landmark. It’s the location of what is believed to be the smallest dedicated park in the U.S. Across the street, a small boulder in a strip mall parking lot is infamous on […]
[This post originally appeared on my blog.] On Monday, Nov. 26, the West St. Paul city council considered a site plan for construction at Garlough Environmental Magnet School as part of the 2018 school district bond referendum improvements. In addition to classroom and facility additions, the plans include adding a second driveway and expanding the […]
Transportation of various kinds Train: A Regional Rail System for the Twin Cities by- Erik Ecklund follows his earlier post about rapid transit routes (find it here) with consideration of regional rail saying, “Regional rail can be successful in Minnesota, and despite the Northstar not reaching ridership projections it has done adequately with the bad hand it was […]
In the upcoming West St. Paul City Council primary, there are divergent views on important urban design issues like medians, tunnels, and sidewalks. All of those crucial decisions will come to a head next week, because there’s a four-way race for a ward 3 city council seat that will be narrowed down in a primary […]
Carolyn Swiszcz is one of my favorite local artists, a painter, printmaker, and visual artist who works a lot in some of my favorite slash least favorite landscapes: post-war suburbia. I first came across Carolyn a short musical video she made about West Saint Paul Minnesota, a first-ring suburb near where I grew up. As […]
“Parking is a really personal and passionate issue.” That was Gil Gustafson’s admonition to the West Saint Paul City Council last week as he and a neighbor made their case for an arguably very personal residents-only permit parking zone on his block of Livingston Avenue, a block away from an apartment complex on Robert Street. […]
Here’s new podcast for you discussing the opposite side of the Metro area from the previous episode. This week’s podcast is a conversation with John Justen, a father, small business owner, and resident of West Saint Paul who is running for city council in that suburban city of 20,000 on the north edge of Dakota County. John and I sat down at […]
According to a recent article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the reconstruction of Robert Street in West St. Paul is bumping up against some cost overruns. Says newly elected Mayor Dave Meisinger: “So the numbers are increasing and increasing and increasing,” said Meisinger, who was elected in November after campaigning against the ballooning cost […]