urbanMSP

Looks like work has started on 310 N 2nd Street . This is the lot on the same block as ex-TMBR, and for some technical reason, construction had to start on this before it could start on that . I'm still grumpy about this one, which is way overparked. But it will look nice and fill-in more of the Nor...

I wouldn't take that as gospel. I know Minneapolis' study of Bryant Ave is looking at moving buses back to Lyndale to focus on other modes. I certainly hope they decide to do that, it makes the most sense to me to run transit down Lyndale at least to 50th (3.58 mi), while Bryant becomes a dedicated ...

Nothing in the data that jumps out as surprising. The top rated corridors were: 1. Lyndale-Johnson (Yes, should definitely be aBRT) 2. Nicollet (Yes, obviously) 3. Central (Yes, obviously, should be paired with Nicollet as one route) 4. West 7th-WBA (Partially will be covered with Riverview Rail) 5....

Look, your perception is your perception. But a lot of this data is available online , and in just searching through the numbers for Downtown West, I can't see any evidence to suggest a trend of rising crime in past years. For instance... - In 2015 there were 493 violent crimes and 2,244 property cr...

The idea we can abolish or reduce the size of the police department is insane. So is the idea that policing doesn't need reform. There are too many bad people, and too many bad cops. Something like a licensure board requirement for police, increased education requirements and an increased salary se...

Ramsey County is forming two public advisory committees for the Riverview Modern Streetcar Project to increase outreach to and amplify the voices of people who live, work and recreate on and near the corridor. Applications for both the Community Advisory Committee and the Station Area Planning Task...

I love how easily people here handwave away the deep public opposition to some of this stuff. It's charming in a way. I don't think anyone's hand-waving it away; anyone who followed SWLRT knows better than that. But I think what the best project is given the constraints and parameters, and what pro...

According to the Planning Applications Dashboard , there is a new mixed-use proposal for 200 Lake St W, adjacent to and affiliated with the Karmel Square Mall, on the site of the closed Walgreens. The request includes a rezoning of the lot to C2, with the Pedestrian Overlay. So I expect something 4-...

We have a DGX in Philadelphia, in a fairly yuppie neighborhood. We also have a bunch of Dollar Generals, so we know the difference. The company can be a bad actor. They don't invest much in the appearance or safety of their stores. They don't treat workers well. But the DGX concept is different, it'...

A line that operates as what we call "light rail" for 90% of its length but runs in mixed traffic for 10% is totally reasonable for our population density patterns, and it makes a lot of sense in this corridor. This should be called what it is; a line with bad design. You can go all over the world ...

I hope that the Saints wouldn't lose so much of what makes them fun, but I'm not too worried about that, the baseball players have always mostly just played baseball. It would be a great deal for Twins fans, Twins prospects, and the Twins.

The primary differentiation between "modern streetcar" and "light rail" is the right-of-way. That they will use the same vehicle is expected. The Green Line uses a version of the Siemens S70 model, which is alternately billed as a streetcar or as light rail depending on who is buying it. The length ...

Sure, that's true. But those aren't the reason why the project study chose the modern streetcar over LRT, and those weren't fatal to the West 7th alignment in the project study. We need to separate engineering challenges which can usually be overcome, from political challenges which actually drive t...

Last night, the Minneapolis Planning Commission met in a unique special meeting to consider implementation of the 2040 Plan's recommendations for built form. To be clear: this is different than land use, which will be addressed next year. Before the meeting pretty wide-ranging coalition of groups se...

If you believe that transit should go (1) where people live, (2) with as direct a route as possible, then West 7th is the route that makes sense. Let's be clear here, the issue isn't that West 7th is too narrow for transit. The issue is that West 7th is too narrow for transit without taking away som...

I think the average time is a poor measure. Like most streets, West 7th doesn't often traffic delays too often. But when it does, at rush hour and in bad weather, that's when transit should have a built-in advantage, and when it benefits society the most to have people riding transit. So building a ...

Not having a clue about their direction is not laying groundwork and using incendiary language only proved to stoke anger and put more people and businesses at risk. Angry or not, they are not paid to be protesters, they are paid to make a city run and keep its citizens safe. They run purely on emo...

I feel like you folks are being deliberately obtuse. The City Council took action when it did because George Floyd had been killed shortly before and there were big riots and protests in the aftermath. Had those events occurred in March, I suspect the City Council may have acted in April. Like, the ...

Also worth noting that the City Council essentially blew up their standard public process, and was asking the Charter Commission to do the same, in order to rush it through and get it onto the ballot for November.

Surely it's not a mystery to anyone why they did this?

Central is much wider than Hennepin. Wider sidewalks, bus lanes and curb-protected bike lanes should be the starting point here, and the rest should just be a negotiation between parking and left turn lanes.