The Streets.MN Rundown
What’s happening around the Twin Cities and Minnesota … Bipartisan support for I-94 Expansion between Maple Grove & St. Cloud [Star Tribune] You know what we need? More lanes on I-94 to St. Cloud. “Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, backed by a bipartisan cohort of about three dozen lawmakers, local elected officials and business folks, … Read more
Joe Soucheray is wrong
*For the record: I do enjoy Joe Soucheray’s sports writing. The Pioneer Press’ resident aging baby-boomer Joe Soucheray is pounding his fist in the air again over Transit for Liveable Communities recent success at getting a bike median on Snelling Avenue at Charles Street in St. Paul. While I think there is a conversation to … Read more
Good Garages, Bad Garages
Good garages in St. Paul (Cathedral Hill) Bad garages in Maple Grove (on Trulia) … When it’s the most prominent architectural feature. The hidden front door. The garage is bigger than the house? *Note: To be fair, I intentionally selected homes in the suburb of Maple Grove that would be equal in price to those … Read more
The Next Big Thing …
Note: Also on the Strib … (I corrected a lot of the spelling errors there, but not here -didn’t have enough time) One of the few podcast I’m still listening to on a regular basis is NPR’s Planet Money (it’s one of the few NPR shows that doesn’t put me to sleep). They have some … Read more
The Benefits of High Speed Rail [Parts 1 & 2]
[V150 train, modified TGV, conventional World speed record holder at 357.2 mph from WikiCommons] Over at Streets.MN, guest writer Matt Sindt has written two solid pieces on high speed rail and its potential in the United States. I recommend heading over there and checking out both [Part 1] and [Part 2]. Here’s a sample: For over … Read more
Urban entertainment districts @ Salon.com
You can read a few quotes from myself over at Salon.com in a great piece by Will Doig. Will writes about cities in Salon and has some really stellar pieces (e.g.: Rust Belt chic: Declining Midwest cities make a comeback and Whole Foods is coming? Time to buy). Here are a few excerpts from the … Read more
In defense of “Kicking the can down the road”
“When a town can’t grow out, it must grow up.” I wrote this on the Strong Towns Blog about the inner-ring suburb of Roseville. This line was supposed to be taken literally and figuratively – as in, the city must literally grow upward (density) and “grow up” by shedding our past development history and accepting … Read more
Give to the MAX. Donate some Cash (to Strong Towns)
I support (and occasionally write) for Strong Towns. It’s a great organization with great objectives. They’re having a fundraising drive right now; and if you’ve got some extra time and money, please go over and donate a few bucks (no matter how small that might be). If your not familiar with the organization, here’s a … Read more
Urban success stories: St. Louis Park’s transformation
[There is a tendency while blogging to dwell on the negative. I’ve done this in the past, but I’m going to attempt to concentrate on the positives for this post. Good things do happen, and I think they should be highlighted] 36th Street west of Highway 100 probably looked like pretty rough 10 years ago. It almost … Read more
Urban success stories: Good things can happen
There is a tendency while blogging to dwell on the negative. I’ve done this in the past, but I’m going to attempt to concentrate on the positives for this post. Good things do happen, and I think they should be highlighted. I thought the best place to start off would be the area of downtown Minneapolis … Read more
