urbanMSP

Does anyone know what the layout on the west side of Northrop is going to be? Many of the walks and paths there are all torn up; a new curb cut was installed along Pleasant near the rear of Northrop, and the old curb cut is being removed. I seem to recall plans for some sort of transit layover facil...

I just hope the signage is good. My first attempt through this area involved a lot of guessing, which is not fun on a bike amidst fast-moving automobiles.

I've read somewhere (can't remember where exactly) that first-generation immigrants to the United States, regardless of country of origin, have a significantly higher rate of entrepreneurship than basically any other demographic you can think of. This probably has to do with the fact that most of th...

I think this was always the idea of what the CTIB would be - in the near term, it could bond and put its revenues toward accelerated transitway development, and once this is done, it would transition its revenues into debt service and operations subsidies. However, I think the success of the CTIB ha...

I love the idea you suggested of putting commercial areas under the bridge. It's functionally identical to capping a depressed freeway, while posing many fewer engineering challenges.

If they can deep bore the 2nd Ave Subway in NYC, I'm pretty sure there's a way to tunnel under Lowry Hill in Mpls.

Hmm... slide 7 says "...BRT vehicles won't have on-board fareboxes", which is good. Off-board payment accounts for much of the time savings on these aBRT lines. However, in the image on the same slide, I read " Customers with Go-To cards or passes can tap their card at any door when b...

I love this one from the 'Neighborhood' tab:

Downtown? Just downstairs. Outdoors? Right outside.

I think the way a lot of us feel is summed up like this: Even if the Kenilworth trail is an awesome bike facility; Even if its recreational qualities would be negatively impacted by elevating or relocating it; Even if many of the neighbors would object on aesthetic and property-value grounds; We don...

I don't think they're going to change the SouthWest Station name anytime soon. It's been there for almost 10 years, and is well known by that name in the area.

The remaining musicians' fiat is foolish at best. Those who could get a comparable deal at another orchesta have done so already. The remaining musicians will have a difficult time earning anywhere near what management is offering now or has offered from the beginning; many will be lucky to even fi...

To be fair, kudos to the Loring Pasta Bar owner for ponying up for this out of his own pocket. It's a lot easier to clamor for the public to build you a parking ramp than it is for you to think up a cheaper solution and fund it yourself.

Article in the MN Daily about a free shuttle that the Loring Pasta Bar owner has started running between the 4th St Ramp and Dinkytown. He cited the need to increase access to Dinkytown due to the "hundreds" of off-street parking spots lost to new development. (Never mind, of course, that...

We all saw it coming. Osmo said he would leave if the Carnegie concerts were cancelled. But it was still all I could do not to cry when I saw the official news that he was gone, along with likely most of the top musicians who made this orchestra truly great. I don't have it in me to be angry right n...

Looking at the agenda from yesterday's special CTIB meeting, it looks like EP alignment choices have been narrowed down to 4 options. (Note: apparently the 'City Center' station is what they would call the Mitchell station if it's moved a few hundred feet further west, for some reason. I guess it's ...

I'm fine with LRT to White Bear Lake (which has some good urban bones in the old town), but it's hard to justify it beyond that point.

I'm no good at math, but it seems like you're comparing all the expenses of the line over it's lifetime with one day's worth of riders.

This is the same type of mistake people make when they conflate the federal deficit and the federal debt.

From the second linked article: The city, with assistance from a state grant, is largely financing a $4.9 million parking ramp and surface lot to serve the complex, and the EDA indicated support for tax-increment financing to cover much of the city’s share. It's sad to see that, even while the marke...

Also, the former U of M Market space is being worked on, and has a sign naming the new restaurant as "Abdul's Afandy" (which apparently has a site already in NE).

Is there enough parking at the end without including the Mitchell Road station? If not could more be built where the line does terminate? I don't know since I've never tried to park there and don't know what the ridership forecasts are. SW Station has ~800 existing P&R spots, and I believe the ...