One strange technology that gets mentioned in passing in histories of the Twin Cities streetcar network is the “soda motor”. When I first read about it, I was sure it must have just been a play on words: soda must have come from the tail end of Minnesota, right? Further reading explained that no, [...]
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A Tale of Two Corners
Two intersections that I pass on my daily commute offer vastly different pedestrian experiences. Walking vaguely north-ish on 3rd St N in the North Loop you first encounter 6th Ave N, where despite the stop signs giving priority to cars on 6th over their automotive brethren on 3rd, I experience the most consistent yielding to [...]
Removing our Least Useful Bridges
There has been a lot of discussion across the internet lately about how we’re digging ourselves into a financial hole by overspending on infrastructure that isn’t very productive. Chuck’s post a few days ago called Paved with good intentions is a good example. For the purposes of this post, let’s just assume we agree with [...]
Hooray! Hooray! FHWA Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Project Report Released Today!
We finally have the report on SAFETEA-LU’s Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program! The FHWA released the report today, and it is now available to all for their delight and edification (PDF). This final report has been being promised since 2009 or so, with delivery dates being pushed later several times. This report has been of great [...]
The Benefits of High Speed Rail
[V150 train, modified TGV, conventional World speed record holder at 357.2 mph from WikiCommons] The following post is by guest writer Matt Sindt, a recent graduate of the Hamline University School of Law who has worked in both state and local government, serving as a staffer on both the Business, Industry and Jobs Committee, and the [...]
Why urbanists (and others) should love the coming of the robot car (Part 1)
Much has already been written on the robot car, but streets.mn’s own Bill Lindeke posits that they “will not save us“, citing three problems. While I agree that we probably can’t be saved (from what exactly I can’t say, there are many options), but in my opinion Bill and other urbanists should welcome the robot [...]
Tracing the UMN’s Inter-Campus streetcar line
View UMN intercampus streetcar line in a larger map Many people in the Twin Cities are familiar with the University of Minnesota bus transitway connecting its Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses (the latter actually being in the suburb of Falcon Heights). Since the 1990s, its exclusive access has allowed buses to shuttle quickly between campuses—parts [...]
The Problem of Hiawatha Avenue
Hiawatha Avenue has been a thorn in the sides of south Minneapolis residents for years, and it has been the source of much discussion, including here on Streets.mn. In a recent post called The Urban Future of Hiawatha Avenue, Sam described the corridor as follows: Hiawatha is a “Stroad,” in the words of Chuck Marohn. Marohn [...]
Place and Non-Place
American cities and towns tend to have a large amount of “non-place.” The concept of Place and Non-Place has been described by Nathan Lewis and is a great way to think about the urban built environment. Lewis characterizes Places as areas where end-purpose activity occurs. Homes, offices, restaurants, parks, backyards are all Places, or locations [...]
Opportunities to show up
Woody Allen (or perhaps it was Harry Truman) famously said decisions are made by those who show up. Streets.MN readers who are also Minneapolis residents may be interested in these opportunities to show up (and make decisions): Bicycle Advisory Committee: advise the Mayor, Council and Park Board on bike-related issues. (13 vacancies) Pedestrian Advisory Committee: advise [...]
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The Magic of Streetcars, The Logic of Buses
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Urban Highway Removal in Minneapolis?
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The Problem of Hiawatha Avenue
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A Typology of Beg Buttons
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Time for a change on Park and Portland
