Anatomy of a proposed urban railway: Penn Station

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Continuing with my series of poor photographs of the landscape around the proposed Minneapolis SWLRT stations, let’s take a closer look at the Penn Avenue station. To briefly review where we’ve already been, the Van White station is 100% pure redevelopment potential. There’s nothing there now, but there is definite room to build new things, potentially taking the area from close to zero to a lot more than zero. Continue Reading

Recommendations for Minneapolis’ 36th Street bikeway

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For those not in the know, Minneapolis is proposing to construct a protected cycle track along 36th Street West this summer. This project hits near and dear to me as my wife and I will be moving into a home a mere 200 feet from this facility in exactly two weeks. Glancing over the design, this project seems like a total slam dunk. I’m not going to spend my time here debating the merits of reallocating space, arguing if cyclists pay their fair share, or anything else. Minneapolis and St Paul (any city, really) need to roll out protected cycle tracks on key corridors whenever they get the chance, and this proposal links together the Bryant bicycle boulevard with the wonderful lake trails, while giving would-be bus riders some respect on what is among the worst pedestrian facilities in the city (also removing a pointless stoplight and consolidating some redundant bus stops – huzzah!). Continue Reading

No participation means no power for neighborhood groups

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Last week, a Minneapolis City Council member said something obvious regarding the unrepresentative composition of neighborhood associations and their influence on the development process. So, of course, the associations were steamed. Lisa Bender, the offending Council Member, was reportedly pelted with abuse at a Whittier Alliance meeting earlier this week. And here’s an excellent rundown of similar displeasure in Lowry Hill East. Continue Reading

Travel times on existing Central Corridor routes

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With the recent news about Green Line training and test trains taking long amounts of time to travel end-to-end from Saint Paul Union Depot to Target Field in Minneapolis, I thought it would be useful to take a look at how long it takes to travel a similar distance on existing buses (according to the published schedules). Routes 16, 50, and 94 each connect the two downtowns. The 16 is the main service, an urban local route along University Avenue which runs at all hours of the day, 7 days a week. The 50 is a limited-stop service overlaid on the 16 route, primarily operating during peak periods and only running on weekdays. The 94 is an express bus running along Interstate 94, also operating 7 days a week, roughly 20 hours per day—its 94B and 94C variants make stops at Snelling Avenue, but the 94D goes directly between the two downtowns (some westbound 94D buses also stop at the oddball Huron Boulevard station—but there is no facility at all for eastbound connections). Continue Reading

Bus Rapid Transit: An introduction

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Recently I completed a series of posts on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Although I had mentioned it as being complete, there should be a quick introduction for those unfamiliar with developing transit techniques. Thus, this post will discuss what Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is, and the main advantages/disadvantages to using such a system. Continue Reading

Wedge Club™ v. City Council in a battle for legitimacy

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Last week, the Star Tribune published an article explaining the frustration experienced by developers in trying to navigate the neighborhood approval process, citing the need for “extensive haggling” with neighborhood groups. This is understandable considering there is no consistent process amongst the 81 neighborhoods, and, though developers are required to present plans to residents, these groups have no formal power. Continue Reading

The I-35E freeway apocalypse

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Interstate 35E played a major role in destroying downtown Saint Paul. Along with Interstate 94 and Hwy 52, it forms a series of concrete trenches and highway interchanges that pin downtown against the Mississippi River and cut it off from its neighborhoods. In addition to destroying downtown, Interstate 35E creates a huge, north-south chasm that cuts Saint Paul in half, separating east from west. There are only a few places to cross this chasm– Phalen Blvd, Cayuga Street, Maryland Avenue, Arlington Avenue and, at the northern border, Larpenteur Avenue. With the exception of Cayuga Street and maybe Arlington, all of these crossings are awful, car-choked, arterial boulevards with little or no provision made for pedestrians and bicyclists. The only pleasant and marginally safe places for pedestrians and cyclists to cross I-35E are the Cayuga Street underpass, a bicycle-pedestrian bridge on the Gateway Trail and a bicycle-pedestrian underpass near York Avenue. Unfortunately, MnDOT’s “I-35E/Cayuga Project” is about to destroy all three of these crossings. Continue Reading

Trials and tribulations at the Legislature

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I have been at the Minnesota Legislature for a long time influencing public policy. I have been guided by my viewpoint what I think is important for civil liberties, privacy, and open government. But life as a concerned citizen has not always been a bed of roses. My satisfaction of getting laws and initiatives passed with which I have had a hand in has been quite satisfying. Many of my actions for or against legislation will never affect me, but I know it will with others. But the trial and tribulation one goes through is another story. Continue Reading