Do stroads cause more accidents?
FYI: You can read this on Strong Towns! The word “Stroad” has officially made it into the Urban Dictionary. “Noun. Portmanteau of “street” and “road”: it describes a street, er, road, built for high speed, but with multiple access points. Excessive width is a common feature. A common feature in suburbia, especially along commercial strips. … Read more
Historic Downtown Nostalgia
Like so many American towns, Mankato dropped the ball. It went from what seemed like a vibrant place, from the postcard and historic photos above, and it transformed into what you see below: When you Google Image Search “Mankato Minnesota Downtown” – this is the first image that pops up. To reassure you, yes, it … Read more
Plans, yes. Implementation, not even close.
The American collective is slowly starting to figuring out how to make plans look good. City Councils and Planning Commission members across most of the Nation have either started to read some literature, fallen in love with New Urbanism or traveled to Europe and want to replicate the charm of an Italian village. Whatever the … Read more
Too Much Infrastructure is a Big Problem
This is one of the reasons why small municipalities are going broke … It’s a four lane road (with turn lanes and a median) into a vast cornfield. About the only thing this road doesn’t have are buildings and people. It can be down-right depressing to drive down the wide, uninhabited boulevards of Mankato’s northeast. … Read more
